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Texas freeze 2021 dates8/22/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() For example, in some cases, firms could only identify damaged seals in one part of a plant after completing and testing repairs to other components. ![]() This caused more damage that took longer to identify and repair. The unexpected and long-duration cold, sudden power loss and disruption of natural gas liquids supplies precluded a normal, orderly shutdown. The capital-intensive chemicals manufacturing industry (excluding pharmaceuticals) directly employed 67,100 Texans at the start of 2021, but job multipliers for the industry indicate as many as 4.6 times that number are indirectly supported downstream in supply chains, construction and maintenance, logistics, engineering and other sectors, according to the American Chemistry Council. Most of these goods go through multiple intermediate stages of processing before becoming a final consumer product. The largely intermediate goods produced enter supply chains around the country and the world. Texas is home to roughly three-quarters of basic U.S. Many chemical facilities need three to five days to stop operations due to the complex interconnections, continuous processes, high temperatures, pressures and the materials involved.Ĭhemical plants produce a variety of substances from the ingredients for chlorine-based disinfectants and plastic bottles to fertilizers, pesticides and packaging. Refineries typically need as little as 24 hours’ notice to safely shut down-usually in preparation for an oncoming hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, whose development may have been tracked for over a week. Gasoline fell to 27 days of supply at the end of March, while diesel was at 36 days. consumption following a pandemic lull reduced domestic gasoline and diesel “days of supply”-inventories divided by consumption-to comparatively low five-year average levels. However, the subsequent drop in refiner output amid increasing U.S. Limited mobility during the freeze and a dip in exports helped reduce the immediate effects of the lost supply on U.S. Crude processing recovered to 8.0 mb/d by the end of March 2021 ( Chart 1). The roughly 50 percent drop was comparable in magnitude to the weekly impacts of hurricanes Ike (2008) and Harvey (2017). The volume of crude oil processed by these Gulf Coast refiners in February fell to a low of 3.9 million barrels per day (mb/d) on a weekly basis, down from an average of 7.8 mb/d the month before. operable refining capacity-Texas alone accounts for nearly one-third. The region is home to more than half of U.S. The Energy Information Administration’s report on the Gulf Coast region covers Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico. The combined effect of electricity blackouts, declines in the supply of raw materials and the intense cold itself forced a rapid shutdown of refinery and chemical plant facilities that required weeks to unwind. The petrochemical and refining sectors of Texas rely on natural gas and co-produced natural gas liquids-mainly ethane and propane-not only for heat needed during manufacturing, but also for raw materials used in many of their products and processes. Texas natural gas production ultimately fell by 45 percent. ![]() The unusual cold even led to instances where the water co-produced with oil and gas in wells froze, reducing the flow of gas available to power generators. Fearing a collapse of the power grid infrastructure, the agency overseeing it, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, initiated rolling blackouts affecting most Texas residents and businesses.Īmong those affected by the double-barreled challenge of cold and loss of electric power were many energy producers and pipeline operators that feed natural gas to electricity generators and industry. Failure to winterize electricity generation infrastructure contributed to power shutdowns. Texas power producers struggled to meet surging demand. The deep and persistent cold drove up heating demand across a broad swath of the nation. The impacts to supply chains have contributed to rising producer price inflation, and the challenges of restocking those supply chains are expected to persist through much of 2021. The weather disruption tightened motor fuel supplies, created shortfalls of petrochemicals and slowed Texas exports. Operations did not fully return until early April and sustained lasting damage. The record-breaking Arctic cold that flowed deep into Texas in mid-February hit the Texas refining and petrochemical sectors as hard as any hurricane and with less warning. ![]()
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