Today’s WSJ does a nice job trying to summarize what’s going on in US energy markets here…
“Tropical Storm Harvey’s crippling of Gulf Coast refineries, ports and pipelines is being felt across the country and even globally, a result of a U.S. energy boom that has made the country and the world increasingly reliant on Texas.
Harvey shut down a third Gulf Coast refining center Wednesday, and is knocking on the door of a fourth. More than a dozen refineries are affected—including the country’s two biggest, Saudi Arabian Oil Co.’s Motiva facility in Port Arthur and Exxon Mobil Corp.’s XOM -0.46% Baytown facility—cumulatively representing more than 30% of U.S. refining capacity, according to IHS Markit.
More than 3 million barrels a day of refining capacity in Texas remained shut Wednesday morning, according to analysts, more than Brazil’s daily national consumption of petroleum products. Three shuttered refineries said on Wednesday they were either starting up or planning to start up again.
Port closures are compounding the refineries’ woes. Port Houston has warned shippers it is likely to be closed to large vessels at least through Saturday. U.S. Coast Guard officials say it could be weeks before large container ships and oil tankers can safely navigate the Houston Ship Channel leading into the port, the second busiest in the U.S. by tonnage, and a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official said Tuesday that Houston’s port will likely be closed to large ships “for the foreseeable future.””
And, expect API and EIA weekly status reports to be noisier than usual going forward….
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