NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION, TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE
Throughout the value chain, Texas’ natural gas system – including production, processing, transmission, and storage – performed strongly since Saturday. Production declined slightly during the nights, as expected with cold weather. Local issues, including isolated instances of compression outages, suspension of water hauling, and instrument performance were experienced at night, but personnel have been in place to resolve these issues. Overall, there has been a minimal impact to the natural gas production and distribution system. Transmission and distribution systems are experiencing stable pressures and receiving needed products. Transmission from storage is performing well, delivering what appears to be record-high natural gas withdrawals for the week. Preparedness and response protocols were successfully implemented to respond to and restore operations as needed.
TEXAS FIELD CONDITIONS
Overall conditions have remained stable and continue to improve. Personnel have been able to respond to issues occurring at night without significant impediments. Production and operations are within the anticipated ranges. There have been a few instances over the last several days where operators experienced isolated power outages or third-party impacts, but there have not been systemic effects. Transportation pressure is reported as being stable, and natural gas storage and supply have remained amply available to meet requirements. No systemic loss of power to operations have been reported.
TEXAS POWER STATUS
ERCOT reports normal conditions as of Wednesday, January 17, at 9:50 a.m. The peak this morning occurred at hour ending 8 a.m. with demand of 77,379 MW. Available capacity at that hour was 93,957 MW. The peak demand this evening is forecasted to occur at hour ending 8:00 p.m. with peak demand of 64,133 MW and available capacity of 98,620 MW. Demand on the grid is forecasted to be lower for the remainder of the week.
WEATHER STATUS
The National Weather Service indicates:
- Winter precipitation has ended, but localized hazardous travel potential continues into Wednesday morning mainly across East Texas.
- Temperatures 20-30 degrees below normal
- Warming temps above freezing Wednesday afternoon-Thursday, then colder for much of Texas on Friday into the weekend (but not as cold as now). No wintry precipitation expected.
WINTERIZATION IN THE FIELD
Onsite, seasonal weatherization techniques include methanol injection, temperature activated pumps, steamer units, equipment shelters, and insulated critical lines and valves. Additional pre-storm and offsite measures include:
- Securing shelter/housing and pre-positioning personnel to be closer to assets for access
- Adjusting employee schedules to ensure planning and preparations are in place
- Having extra methanol and other supplies on trucks
- Preparing and draining tanks to increase on-site storage and providing a temporary buffer for necessary third-party movement of product
- Pre-inspection of assets prior to weather events
- “Line-packing” to maximize product and pressurization in pipelines
- Communication with third party vendors to prepare for inclement weather contingencies
- Identification of the most critical assets to help maintain power from electric utilities
IMPACT OF WEATHER ON FIELD OPERATIONS
- Personnel safety and ensuring safe operations are the first priorities of operators. Many elements can impact continued field operations outside of the operator’s control.
- Transportation – the accumulation of precipitation can impact operators’ ability to access remote well sites to check on operations and make any needed adjustments
- Third party contractor disruptions
- Lightning strikes
- Loss of power
- Telecommunication loss
INDUSTRY ACTIONS
Read more about how the Texas oil and natural gas industry prepares for winter weather events here.
STATEWIDE RESOURCES
- TDEM maintains a webpage with information and resources.
- TxDOT provides road closure information in real-time, which can be found at drivetexas.org
- RRC reports road issues to TXDOT. You can submit a road issue form found here.
- RRC notice to operators ahead of winter weather can be found here.
- RRC provides a weatherization practices guidance document.
- RRC maintains a 24-hour, toll-free emergency line, 844-773-0305, to report emergencies, including leaks or spills and damage to gas pipelines.
- PUC provides an electric outage map, which can be found here.
- TCEQ reports water and sewage outages here.
- ERCOT shares a grid condition dashboard, which can be found here.
For more information on how the Texas oil and natural gas industry prepares for winter weather, visit TXOGA.org/WinterReady.
