Several Texas ports began to resume operations on Wednesday, after winter storm Enzo moved out of the state, according to ports and a shipping notice seen by Reuters.
The storm brought several inches of snow to Texas, Louisiana and Florida, where extreme winter conditions are rare. It forced the shutdown of school districts, businesses and roads in large cities including Houston and New Orleans, but has so far caused minor interruptions to energy operations.
The port of Freeport resumed vessel operations on Wednesday morning, while the port of Corpus Christi said ship traffic was moving after reopening on Tuesday. The ports of Houston and Galveston were planning to reopen to vessel traffic later in the day, according to shipping notices and their own reports.
Several Texas ports had reduced ship movements on Tuesday, with Houston also closing all eight public facilities amid low temperatures and snow.
Galveston ship pilots, who assist in moving vessels around ports, were looking to resume services on Wednesday afternoon after suspending vessel activity late on Monday, said Rodger Rees, CEO of Galveston Wharves. Cruise operations were not affected.
In Louisiana, the Lake Charles pilots said on Wednesday their service remained suspended. Vessel movements at the Port of New Orleans were not anticipated to begin until Thursday, a shipping agency advisory said, citing the New Orleans Board of Trade.
Ports of Freeport, Houston and Lake Charles did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
Liquefaction operations at Freeport LNG’s plants were taken offline on Tuesday due to intermittent power supply, but feedgas to the facility was ramping up on Wednesday and repairs had been completed by electricity provider CenterPoint Energy
CNP
to restore service to Quintana Island, where the Freeport LNG plant is located, officials at the power company said.
Power outages in Texas and Louisiana were declining, with about 14,000 customers without power on Wednesday, down from more than 40,000 late on Tuesday, according to Poweroutage.us.
Texas power grid administrator ERCOT said on Wednesday the grid had “sufficient resources” to meet demand, so supply was expected to be normal.
Source: Reuters