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Selected Hurricane Katrina Coverage, 8.29.05
HURRICANE KATRINA: National Guard Deployed Throughout Area to Help with Disaster Missions, Relief Efforts
Thousands of National Guard troops from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were on duty today as Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Gulfport, Miss., and other areas along the Gulf Coast with 145-mph winds and torrential rains, American Forces Press Service reported.
Nearly 3,500 Louisiana National Guard members had been called to active duty as of 7 a.m. today to assist in missions ranging from assisting law enforcement agencies with traffic control and security; transporting and distributing food, water and ice, conducting searches and rescues; providing generator support; and carrying out other missions to protect life and property.
Louisiana Guardsmen conducted security and screening at the New Orleans Superdome, where a reported 9,000 to 10,000 people sought shelter after the city issued an evacuation order yesterday.
The Florida National Guard, wrapping up its own emergency response to Katrina, was preparing to ship 1,000 cots to Louisiana to augment those provided by the Louisiana Guard.
In Mississippi, nearly 900 Army and Air Guard members were on active duty, with as many as 600 more expected to join them by the day's end, to support what Army Lt. Col. Tim Powell called the worst storm to hit the state in more than 30 years, American Forces Press Service reported.
The Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Arkansas National Guards were working together to provide four UH-60 Black Hawk and three CH-47 Chinook helicopters requested by Mississippi.
An estimated 160 Alabama National Guardsmen were on duty in the southern part of the state, with support from the 711th Signal Battalion and the 226th Area Support Group. Officials said Army and Air National Guardsmen were also monitoring the hurricane and emergency response operations from the Guard's Joint Operations Center in Montgomery.
In addition, the Coast Guard closed ports and waterways along the Gulf Coast Aug. 28 and evacuated its own people and resources.
Coast Guard aircraft, small boats, patrol boats and cutters were positioned in around the region, prepared to conduct immediate post-hurricane search, rescue and humanitarian aid operations, waterway impact assessments and waterway reconstitution operations, officials reported.
HURRICANE KATRINA: Wellman Inc. Temporarily Stops Production at Mississippi Facility
Wellman Inc. has temporarily stopped production at its Pearl River facility located in Hancock County, Miss.
Production at the facility was stopped in an orderly manner and will resume as soon as possible, the company said. Wellman will continue to service its PET resin customers from its Darlington, S.C., facility and from existing inventory.
Wellman manufactures and markets PermaClear brand PET (polyethylene terephthalate) packaging resin and Fortrel brand polyester staple fibers.
HURRICANE KATRINA: Fitch Ratings Estimates Largest Insured Loss Since 9/11 Attacks, Could Reach $25 Billion
Hurricane Katrina likely will be the largest insured loss from a single event since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the largest U.S. hurricane loss since Hurricane Andrew in 1992, Fitch Ratings said today.
Fitch Ratings also said the magnitude of the loss from Katrina likely will be considerably greater than any of the individual losses from the four major land falling hurricanes in 2004. At the high end of the range of current estimates, Katrina would exceed the combined insured losses from the 2004 hurricane season and would represent the largest insured hurricane loss ever.
At this point, two major hurricane modeling firms have released preliminary estimates of the insured losses from Katrina. Eqecat estimates the insured loss to be in the range of $12 to $25 billion. Risk Management Solutions Inc. estimates the loss to be $10 to $25 billion.
The insurance loss due to Katrina will be material to both the primary insurers located in the U.S. and to the reinsurance industry, much of which is domiciled outside of the U.S., Fitch Ratings said.
"Total losses -- insured losses plus uninsured losses -- are often double the insured loss and Fitch notes that flood losses are generally not covered by homeowners' policies," said Donald Thorpe, senior director, Fitch Ratings.
"The range of loss estimates is necessarily wide because this event is still ongoing. Fitch expects loss estimates to be refined once the areas affected are safe enough to physically inspect damage and when the National Weather Service publishes detailed information about the storm track, central pressure and wind speeds," Thorpe said.
The insurance losses are in addition to the damage caused by Katrina's earlier land fall in Florida late last week that caused an estimated $600 million to $2 billion in insured losses. There is also the possibility that Katrina has caused significant damage to offshore oil drilling facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.
Fitch currently expects the spread of loss through the insurance industry to be different than the 2004 hurricane season, with reinsurers taking a greater proportion of the loss than in 2004. Fitch expects this to occur because the insured loss from Katrina will be from a single event, which means primary insurance companies will share losses with their reinsurers once losses meet their respective deductibles. This contrasts with 2004 when insured losses were the result of four hurricanes, which meant primary insurers had to pay four deductibles.
Due to the area affected, Katrina is not currently expected to trigger a loss to any of the catastrophe bonds rated by Fitch.
HURRICANE KATRINA: Swift Energy Shuts Down Coastal Louisiana Properties
Swift Energy Company today said that standard hurricane shut-down procedures were implemented beginning Friday, August 26, in all of its coastal Louisiana properties, including the Lake Washington Field in Plaquemines Parish, Bay de Chene Field in Jefferson and Lafourche Parishes, and Cote Blanche Island Field in St. Mary's Parish, due to Hurricane Katrina.
Preparations are being made to return personnel to the fields as soon as practical after the storm has passed in order to assess any damage and determine what actions are required to return the fields to production, the company said.
Necessary safety arrangements conducted in the fields included having two drilling rigs in Lake Washington evacuated, flooded and pinned down in the inland waters, while a third rig under tow to the field was returned to safe harbor.
Two completion rigs along with associated work barges were moved to protected waters.
Production from Lake Washington and Bay de Chene was shut-in on Saturday, August 27, and production from Cote Blanche Island was shut-in on Sunday, August 28. Total production from all three fields is mostly crude oil and averaged approximately 93.5 million cubic feet equivalent per day of crude oil and natural gas over the previous 30-day period, Swift said.
All employee and contract personnel were evacuated from all of the fields well in advance of the storm.
Swift Energy Company, founded in 1979 and headquartered in Houston, engages in developing, exploring, acquiring and operating oil and gas properties, with a focus on onshore and inland waters oil and natural gas reserves in Louisiana and Texas and oil and natural gas reserves in New Zealand.
HURRICANE KATRINA: Florida Power & Light Restores Service to Majority of Customers
Florida Power & Light Company today said it has completed electric service restoration to 1,139,000 of the 1.45 million customers impacted by Hurricane Katrina three days ago.
FPL crews this morning began to roll out from 10 staging sites throughout Miami-Dade and Broward for another full day of work. FPL has assembled a restoration army of more than 14,100 linemen, vegetation and support personnel including workers from 72 utilities, contractors and other companies in 25 states to tackle the massive restoration work.
The company said it is on track to meet its target of getting power back on for 90 percent of affected customers no later than Tuesday night. In some areas, the company expects to get 100 percent of customers restored in northern Broward County and southern Miami-Dade County by Tuesday night.
The latest restoration information:
-- In Broward County, all customers north of Commercial Boulevard should expect power restored by Tuesday night and many will get power sooner.
-- In Miami-Dade County, all customers south of Eureka Drive (SW 184th Street) will have electric service by Tuesday night as well, and many sooner.
-- Additionally, 100 percent of the customers on Key Biscayne in Miami-Dade will have power restored by Tuesday night.
-- In the remaining areas of the two counties, FPL continues to forecast that most of the affected customers will get their power by Tuesday night.
-- Regarding the final 10 percent of hardest hit customers, which FPL earlier said would be restored between Tuesday and Friday, the company today said more specific geographic estimates would be announced tomorrow.
While restoring power to thousands of customers, FPL worked through Sunday to restore the vast majority of traffic signals in the two counties. The majority of public schools in both Broward and Miami-Dade are open this morning. FPL reports that the remaining public schools without power will be in service by tonight. All hospitals received power this weekend.
HURRICANE KATRINA: Howard Weil Moves Equity Trading Desk to Houston
Howard Weil Inc. has invoked its Disaster Recovery Plan and moved the equities trading desk to Houston, Texas, as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
Trading will continue from the Houston office for the foreseeable future. An assessment of damage in New Orleans will determine the timing of the transfer of trading systems and personnel back to the New Orleans headquarters, the company said.
HURRICANE KATRINA: CF Industries Shuts Down Nitrogen Fertilizer Plan in Louisiana
CF Industries Holdings Inc. said it temporary shut down procedures at its nitrogen fertilizer complex in Donaldsonville, La., yesterday in advance of Hurricane Katrina's expected land fall.
The orderly shutdown, done in accordance with the company's established weather emergency plan, included all operations at the complex.
The company noted that timing for the resumption of full operations at Donaldsonville would depend on weather conditions, the availability of natural gas supply, and other factors.
CF Industries Holdings Inc., headquartered in Long Grove, Ill., is the holding company for the operations of CF Industries, a major producer and distributor of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizer products.
HEADLINE
HURRICANE KATRINA: Chevron to Implement 'Volume Controls' at Eastern U.S. Terminals, New Orleans Office Closed
Chevron today announced that it safely evacuated all of its offshore employees and contractors from facilities in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico prior to the approach of Hurricane Katrina.
Chevron said it continues to produce some oil and natural gas in the Western Gulf of Mexico region. Due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina, its marketing organization is implementing volume controls at all of its supply terminals in the Eastern U.S. for motor gasoline and diesel until further notice. The effort is being made to ensure that all customers have continued access to ratable volumes, Chevron said.
Chevron's New Orleans office is temporarily closed and employees and contractors who work there were advised to follow evacuation recommendations made by government agencies where they reside.
As precautionary measures, the company's Pascagoula, Miss., refinery and its Oronite chemical plant in Belle Chasse, La., were both shut down and all personnel were evacuated prior to Katrina making landfall.
Chevron Pipe Line Company safely shut down pipeline facilities and evacuated employees on the Louisiana Gulf Coast ahead of Hurricane Katrina. As of noon Central Time today employees were able to start returning to facilities in the Lafayette, La., area.
Chevron will begin reconnaissance flights and damage assessments of all facilities in the affected area as soon as conditions permit safe aircraft operations. Teams are ready to deploy to assist with any recovery and remobilization operations as soon as it is safe and allowed by government officials.
HURRICANE KATRINA: Area Electric Utility Says Katrina Ranks as 'Worst-Ever' Storm in Company's History
Hurricane Katrina has proven to be an extremely dangerous storm and already ranks as the worst in Entergy's history, the electric utility said today.
Entergy's service territory is experiencing a record number of power outages and the company anticipates a long and difficult restoration in the aftermath of the extensive damage caused by Katrina.
As of 3 p.m. today, Entergy's electrical power outages from Hurricane Katrina stood at more than 939,000, with some 790,000 in Louisiana and about 149,000 in Mississippi without power.
The outage total -- which is continuing to rise -- already has more than tripled the previous Entergy record of 270,000 set only last month during Tropical Storm Cindy. The record prior to that was 260,000 in Hurricane Georges in 1998.
Entergy has 4,000 line workers committed to restoring service and remains in contact with other utilities and contract workers to bring in additional assistance to help restore service.
The company warns that customers should be prepared for extended power outages since severe damage to Entergy's system could require weeks to rebuild. In addition, restoration may be hampered by flooding, blocked access or other obstacles.
Entergy cannot assess damage or determine how long restoration may take until after the storm passes and it is safe for personnel to go into the field.
All of the four Entergy System states, including Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas, are contributing significant numbers of restoration workers to help restore service, the company said.
HURRICANE KATRINA: Atmos Energy Closely Monitoring Effect of Storm on Natural Gas Operations
Atmos Energy Corporation today said it is closely monitoring Hurricane Katrina and the effect the storm is having on its customers and natural gas operations. Atmos Energy is the largest natural gas supplier in both Louisiana and Mississippi.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the people in the path of one of the largest hurricanes in decades," said Earl Fischer, Atmos Energy senior vice president of utility operations. "Atmos Energy administrative offices are closed in Louisiana and eastern Mississippi today, allowing our employees to protect themselves and their families.
"However, Atmos Energy field employees continue to be available to assist our customers in emergency situations. Atmos Energy employees will return to our office locations in Louisiana and eastern Mississippi as soon as possible, where we will continue to provide vital services to our customers," Fischer said.
More than 900 employees provide natural gas for Atmos Energy customers in Louisiana and Mississippi. Atmos Energy also has crews in Texas and other states standing by in the event they are needed to assist in restoring service.
HURRICANE KATRINA: Pioneer Natural Resources Announces Evacuations, Gas and Oil Shut-Ins
Pioneer Natural Resources Company today announced that daily net production of approximately 65 million cubic feet of gas and 5,000 barrels of oil has been shut in as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
The Canyon Express gas gathering system and the Devils Tower field facilities were evacuated on Saturday, and production from several other fields along the Gulf Coast has also been impacted, the company said.
Production from the Pioneer-operated Falcon Corridor in the western Gulf of Mexico, which represents approximately 60% of the company's Gulf of Mexico production, is not expected to be affected by the storm.
Three drilling rigs that were active on wells in which Pioneer owns an interest were also evacuated and activity was suspended.
Depending on local conditions and helicopter availability, it is anticipated that personnel will begin returning to offshore platforms to assess damage later this week.
Pioneer is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the United States, Argentina, Canada, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, South Africa and Tunisia. Pioneer is headquartered in Dallas.
-HURRICANE KATRINA: Continental Cancels 111 Flights, Waives Penalties for Rescheduling Travel
Continental Airlines and Continental Express today said they have cancelled a total of 111 flights, including all flights at New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette, La.; Mobile, Ala.; Gulfport/Biloxi, Miss.; and Pensacola and Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
Flights are subject to delay or cancellation at other airports in the region. Continental Airlines anticipates resuming service to these markets as local airport authorities give approval to reopen the affected airports.
Continental is providing the option to reschedule or reroute travel without penalty for customers ticketed to any of the affected cities through Sept. 3.
HURRICANE KATRINA: Spinnaker Exploration Announces Halt in Production, Eye of Storm Passes Near Its Front Runner Facility
Spinnaker Exploration Company today said that net daily production of approximately 110 million cubic feet of gas equivalent is currently shut-in as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
The duration of production shut-ins is unknown at this time, the company said, adding that some production "will likely recommence by tomorrow."
The eye of Hurricane Katrina appears to have passed approximately 70-80 miles east of the company's Front Runner facility, located in Green Canyon Block 338. Spinnaker is not certain at this time when personnel will be sent back to the facility by the operator.
Additionally, drilling operations have been suspended at four locations where Spinnaker is either the operator or where the company holds an interest. It is anticipated that drilling and completion operations at three of these locations could be resumed as early as today.
Spinnaker had evacuated all affected personnel prior to the storm's arrival.
Spinnaker Exploration Company is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil and gas in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and West Africa.
HURRICANE KATRINA: Williams Assessing Impact of Hurricane on Gulf of Mexico Operations
Officials for Williams are reviewing the effect that preparations for Hurricane Katrina had on its operations and interests in the Gulf of Mexico area.
The full impact of the hurricane will not be known until the company conducts inspections of facilities following the storm.
Late last week and during the weekend, Williams shut in and evacuated personnel from the majority of its onshore and offshore gathering and processing assets in the Gulf of Mexico area.
The interests include the Canyon Station fixed-leg platform in East Main Pass Block 261; the Devils Tower deepwater spar at Mississippi Canyon block 773; the Mobile Bay, Ala., natural gas processing plant; the Nansen and Boomvang offshore gathering pipelines; the GAA-244 junction platform; the Discovery natural gas pipeline, processing and fractionation system; the Geismar, La., olefins production plant; the Markham, Texas, natural gas processing plant; and some Transco and Gulfstream compressor stations.
Williams has continued operation of the Transco and Gulfstream natural gas pipeline systems in the region, though volumes have been reduced because of producers' storm-related supply shut-ins, the company said in a statement.
Both the wholly owned Transco system and the 50 percent-owned Gulfstream system have the ability to access supplies from onshore as well as offshore sources.
Williams' personnel will begin inspecting company facilities as soon as conditions allow. The company will publish updated information once it has determined the post-storm impact on its operations and interests in the Gulf of Mexico region.
Williams, through its subsidiaries, primarily finds, produces, gathers, processes and transports natural gas. The company also manages a wholesale power business. Williams' operations are concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountains, Gulf Coast, Southern California and Eastern Seaboard.
HURRICANE KATRINA: Apache Shuts in 336 of Its 386 Gulf of Mexico Structures
Apache Corporation today said it has shut in gross operated volumes of approximately 70,000 barrels of oil and 565 million cubic feet of gas per day in the Gulf of Mexico and onshore Louisiana.
The company began shutting-in production in portions of the Gulf of Mexico Saturday in advance of Hurricane Katrina.
A total of 336 of Apache's 386 structures in the Gulf of Mexico are shut in and the storm is now affecting onshore facilities. Later today, Apache expects to begin repopulating structures in the Gulf west of Lafayette, La., outside the main path of the storm. The company declined to speculate on damage or a timetable for restoring production.
Apache Corporation is a large independent oil and gas company with core operations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom sector of the North Sea, Egypt and Australia.
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