Pipeline breach spills crude oil on Crow

Reservation - Associated Press

BILLINGS, Mont.

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A breached oil pipeline has spilled an undetermined amount of
crude on the Crow Indian Reservation in southeastern Montana and may have been leaking
for months before it was discovered, a tribal official said Wednesday.

The spill was spotted earlier this week by a rancher checking his cows several miles east of
Fort Smith in a remote area near the Montana-Wyoming border, said Vernon Hill with Crow
Disaster and Emergency Services.

Crude oil could be seen on top of the soil in a deep ravine covering an area about 15 yards
(14 meters) wide and 100 yards (91 meters) long, Hill said.

"It looked like it was this past winter when it broke," he said. "It was probably underneath the
snow and the snow melted and they were able to see it."

Hill did not know if the leak had been stopped but said federal officials and oil companies
that operate in the area were notified.

Hill said the spill was about three-quarters of a mile (1.2 kilometers) from Soap Creek and
did not get into any waterways.

Tribal member Richard White Clay said photos taken by the rancher who discovered the spill
appeared to show oil in a ravine that drains into Soap Creek and a hole that was filled with
crude after it was dug by a backhoe on the site. White Clay said his niece is one of the owners
of the affected land.

"They were shocked and upset about why they weren't notified until now," White Clay said.

In 2013, a broken Phillips 66 pipeline spilled up to 25,000 gallons (95,000 liters) of gasoline
on the Crow Reservation. Two earlier breaks along that same line in 1997 spilled a combined
97,000 gallons (368,000 liters). In each case, shifting land was blamed for the breaks.

Hill said there were no obvious signs that the land in the area of the latest spill had shifted.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was monitoring reports on the spill but as of
Wednesday had not received a request for assistance from the tribe, spokesperson Dana
Barnicoat said.
UPDATE 3-U.S. vows to keep gasoline
flowing as oil rigs slow to restart after Ida -
Reuters News
Sentiment:
Mostly negative

03-Sep-2021 02:30:58 AM

 U.S. loans 1.5 mln barrels of oil to Exxon to make gasoline

Adds U.S. loaning Exxon crude, flights hampering return of crudes

By Liz Hampton and Sabrina Valle

HOUSTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - U.S. oil and gas companies strained on Thursday to get
offshore operations up and running after Hurricane Ida, and the White House authorized a
release of emergency fuel stocks as the extent of the storm's damages became more apparent.

Ida's 150-mile-per-hour (240 kph) winds delivered a direct hit to U.S. energy infrastructure.
Most of the Gulf of Mexico's oil and gas output remained offline as energy firms struggled to
complete aerial surveys and return workers offshore. Their efforts were hindered by damage
to onshore terminals and base sites.

Only a quarter of the 288 platforms evacuated last week had crews to restart production,
according to the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. Top offshore
producer Royal Dutch Shell said 80% of its offshore output remained shut, and damages to
one platform were discovered during an aerial survey.

EMERGENCY RELEASE

Exxon Mobil's Baton Rouge refinery will get 1.5 million barrels of crude from U.S.
emergency stocks to produce gasoline, the Department of Energy said after President Joe
Biden directed the department to use all tools, including the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, to
keep gasoline flowing. (Full Story)[nL1N2Q423F]
U.S. Gulf offshore crude production provides about 16% of the country's daily output. Efforts
to begin pumping were slowed with offshore workers dealing with damages to their homes
and helicopter companies struggling to get fuel.

As of Thursday, 1.7 million barrels of daily production were offline, 94% of the offshore
region's output, along with 91%, or 2 billion cubic feet, of natural gas. Output losses
increased from day earlier.

Port Fourchon, Louisiana, a vital center of offshore logistics where Ida made landfall, was
left without power and water and its roads strewn with debris. There were no major
obstruction to its main waterways, a port official said.

'COMPLETELY DEVASTATED'

"The area is completely devastated," said Tony Odak, chief operating officer of Stone Oil
Distributor, a top supplier of fuel to the offshore industry that was relocating some activities
to western Louisiana.

Ida's ferocious winds injured a drill ship's crew members and damaged the vessel. The U.S.
Coast Guard is investigating the incident on Noble Corp's Globetrotter II, an official said. A
cutter and aircraft were sent to escort the damaged vessel to port. (Full Story)

Most Louisiana ports, including the Port of Baton Rouge and New Orleans, were reopened to
vessel traffic on Thursday, the Coast Guard said. A downed transmission line in the
Mississippi River was limiting access to four refineries west of New Orleans, including
Exxon's Baton Rouge refinery.

GASOLINE WORRIES

Seven oil refiners that produce gasoline and motor fuels could be out of operation for up to
four weeks due to a lack of power and water.

The storm knocked out plants in southeast Louisiana operated by Marathon Petroleum
MPC.N, Phillips 66 PSX.N, Valero Energy VLO.N and PBF Energy PBF.N.

"Like everyone else, we are waiting on the results of the utility's damage assessment and their
plans for re-energizing the grid," said Michael Karlovich, a spokesman for PBF Energy,
which shut its 190,000-barrel-per-day Chalmette, Louisiana, refinery on Sunday.

When crude supplies are restored, refinery operators who idled operations ahead of the storm
face the dangerous task of firing up massive boilers and pressure vessels used to produce fuel.
Most refinery accidents occur during shutdowns or restarts.

Crude prices rose more than $1 on Thursday, supported by optimism about the economy and
a weaker dollar. (Full Story)
(Additional reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar, Erwin Seba and Marianna Parraga; writing
by Gary McWilliams; Editing by Leslie Adler, Bill Berkrot and David Gregorio)

(( [email protected] ; +1 469-691-7668; ))

UPDATE 7-Oil rises on economic recovery

03-Sep-2021 12:27:21 AM

Updates to settlement, adds details, new quote

By David Gaffen

NEW YORK, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose more than $1 a barrel on Thursday,
rebounding on optimism about global economic growth despite the coronavirus pandemic,
and after U.S. crude inventories fell more than anticipated.

Brent crude LCOc1 ended up $1.44, or 2%, at $73.03 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate
(WTI) crude CLc1 settled up $1.40, or 2%, to $69.99 a barrel.

The rally briefly pushed U.S. crude futures above the 50-day moving average for the first
time in a month, a signal of bullishness for investors. In addition, later-dated crude contracts
rallied more than the front-month, another sign that market participants expect demand to rise
as supply declines.

In the United States, crude inventories dropped by 7.2 million barrels last week, the Energy
Information Administration said on Wednesday. EIA/S

"There are good reasons for this rally - we have 1.5 mln barrels still offline in the Gulf,
yesterday's crude number was down 7.2 million barrels and storage was at its lowest level
since September 2019," said Robert Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho.

The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week, while layoffs
in August dropped to their lowest level in more than 24 years, suggesting the labor market
was charging ahead despite new COVID-19 infections. (Full Story)
Optimistic about the global economic recovery, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries and allied producers including Russia, together known as OPEC+, raised its
demand forecast for 2022. (Full Story) (Full Story)

On Wednesday, the group agreed to continue a policy of phasing out record production
reductions by adding 400,000 barrels per day (bpd). It did not take up entreaties from the
United States to accelerate removal of those supply curbs. (Full Story)

Hurricane Ida, meanwhile, has shut about 80% of the Gulf of Mexico's oil and gas output. Oil
refineries in Louisiana could take weeks to restart, which will sap crude demand, but that
could be offset by slow ramp-up of production offshore due to damage to key support
facilities. (Full Story) (Full Story)

"Crude oil processing will probably take considerably longer to recover from the outages than
crude oil production, which suggests that crude oil stocks will increase in the coming weeks,"
said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.

India's gasoline demand is set to hit a record this fiscal year as more people hit the road after
easing of COVID-19 curbs. (Full Story)

(Additional reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafed in in London and Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by

(( [email protected] ; Twitter: https://twitter.com/bozorgmehr; ))

UPDATE 1-Storm-hit U.S. oil refineries

02-Sep-2021 02:40:20 AM

Adds comment from PBF

HOUSTON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Louisiana oil refineries shut by Hurricane Ida could take
weeks to restart, costing operators tens of millions of dollars in lost revenues as they wait for
water and electrical power to be restored, analysts said this week.

Ida slammed into Port Fourchon, Louisiana, on Sunday packing 150-mile-per-hour (240 km-
per hour) winds that knocked out power to much of the state. Utility outages are hampering
refinery, shipping and pipeline operators' ability to resume operations.

Louisiana Governor Jon Bel Edwards on Tuesday advised residents of areas hit by the storm
not to return until utilities can be restored. These areas include the homes of refineries
operated by PBF Energy Inc PBF.N, Phillips 66 PSX.N and Valero Energy Corp <VLO.N>.

"Like everyone else, we are waiting on the results of the utility’s damage assessment and
their plans for re-energizing the grid," said Michael Karlovich, spokesman for PBF Energy,
which shut its 190,000-barrel-per-day Chalmette, Louisiana, refinery on Sunday.

Spending on repairs and lost revenue could cost each company could tens of millions of
dollars. Last year, after Hurricane Laura struck the Lake Charles area in western Louisiana,
Citgo Petroleum Corp PDVSAC.UL reported repair expenses were $29 million net of
insurance recoveries. A nearby Phillips 66 plant was out of commission for up to seven
weeks due to lack of power and wind damage.

In Plaquemines Parish, home to Phillips 66's storm-idled Alliance refinery, officials have
been told to expect power will be out three weeks, said parish spokeswoman Jade Duplessis.

Exxon Mobil Corp XOM.N said it began restart procedures at its 520,000-bpd Baton Rouge,
Louisiana, refinery after external power supply was returned. The plant was running at half-
capacity into the storm and halted operations only when power was jeopardized.

Most refineries generate internal electrical power using gases produced in the refining
process. But electricity supplied by utilities such as Entergy Corp ETR.N is required for the
needed balanced power supply.

Utilities also supply electricity to pipelines that supply crude oil to refineries, said Andrew
Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston.

“In essence, electrical power from utilities is required in every step in this process,” Lipow
said.

Robert Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho Securities USA, said restarts are neither
safe or easy. "You can’t simply flip the switch and bring neither production nor the refinery
back online,” he said.

The time to restart the refinery units or entire refineries would begin after power was
restored.
Some refiners, like Marathon Petroleum Corp MPC.N at its 578,000-bpd Garyville,
Louisiana plant, are using diesel generators to make repairs so it begin restarting once a stable
power supply is restored.

(Reporting by Erwin Seba, additional reporting by Stephanie Kelly; Editing by David

(( [email protected] ; +1 832 746 4269; Reuters Messaging:

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions -

U.S. energy firms strain to shake off

02-Sep-2021 10:30:00 AM

By Liz Hampton and Sabrina Valle

HOUSTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - U.S. oil and gas companies strained to get offshore operations
back up and running on Thursday as the extent of Hurricane Ida's damages became more
apparent.

Ida's 150-mile-per-hour (240 kph) winds delivered a direct hit to the nation's energy
infrastructure. About 80% of the Gulf of Mexico's oil and gas output remained offline in
hundreds of platforms and rigs as energy firms struggled to complete aerial surveys and
return workers because of damages to onshore terminals and base sites.

A few companies, including BHP BHP.AX and Murphy Oil MUR.N, took first steps for
restarting offshore production. But they were in the minority. Just 39 of the 288 platforms
evacuated last week had received new crews by Wednesday, according to the U.S. Bureau of
Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

Some pipeline and oil processing facilities were able to resume operations. But most were
hampered by power outages, lack of supplies and damages caused by the powerful winds.
Port Fourchon, Louisiana, a vital center of offshore logistics, was left without power and
water and its roads closed to all but emergency vehicles.

"The area is completely devastated," said Tony Odak, chief operating officer of Stone Oil
Distributor, a top supplier of fuel to the offshore industry. His company was relocating some
activities to western Louisiana as part of its recovery plan.

The storm's severity was brought into focus by damages suffered by a drill ship that was
tossed by Ida's winds. Shaken crew members on Noble Corp's Globetrotter II appealed to the
U.S. Coast Guard for help, which said it sent a cutter and aircraft to escort the vessel to port.
(Full Story)

More than two dozen oil tankers scheduled to discharge imported crude for Louisiana
refineries or load oil for exports anticipate delays, according to tanker tracking data and
shipping sources.

Seven oil refiners that produce gasoline and other motor fuels could be out of operation for
up to four weeks due to a lack of power and water. The storm knocked out plants in southeast
Louisiana operated by Marathon Petroleum MPC.N, Phillips 66 PSX.N, Valero Energy
VLO.N and PBF Energy PBF.N.

"Like everyone else, we are waiting on the results of the utility's damage assessment and their
plans for re-energizing the grid," said Michael Karlovich, a spokesman for PBF Energy,
which shut its 190,000-barrel-per-day Chalmette, Louisiana, refinery on Sunday.

Refinery operators that safely idled facilities ahead of the storm face a dangerous and delicate
task of firing up massive boilers and pressure vessels used to produce fuel.

U.S. Gulf offshore crude production accounts for about 16% of daily U.S. output. As of
Wednesday, 1.46 million barrels of daily production were offline, along with 1.9 billion cubic
feet per day of natural gas production.

(Additional reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar, Erwin Seba and Marianna Parraga; writing
by Gary McWilliams; Editing by Leslie Adler)

(( [email protected] ; +1 469-691-7668; ))