Winter Storm Mara Update

Texas’ natural gas supply continued to hold steady during winter storm Mara on Wednesday, the Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) revealed.

The RRC, which said it is keeping up its round the clock contact with operators and other state agencies during the storm, said natural gas utilities were reporting no service issues providing home heating and noted that several had pre-deployed trucks with compressed and liquid natural gas as backups for residential heating but have not needed to utilize them yet.

“Oil and gas operators along the natural gas supply chain, from production to pipelines to underground storage, are maintaining stable operations, and there is adequate natural gas supply in the state,” the RRC said in an organization statement.

“The RRC’s Emergency Management Team continues to work with operators and other state agencies to handle requests for assistance given the severe icy conditions gripping different parts of Texas,” the RRC added.

“Icy roads are contributing to yet another day of dangerous driving conditions in Texas this week. The RRC urges operators and residents to heed warnings from state and local emergency officials and stay safe. We will continue our work to ensure Texas gets through this week’s winter storm,” the RRC continued.

Durable Performance, ERCOT Expectation

In a statement sent to Rigzone on Wednesday, the Texas Oil & Gas Association (TXOGA) said Texas natural gas production, processing, transmission, and storage sectors continued durable performance “due to industry efforts”.

“Natural gas supply is holding strong,” TXOGA said in the statement.

“Most weather-related issues are due to icy road conditions. There is some production loss within normal conditions. Most issues in the field are due to icy road conditions,” TXOGA added.

In the statement, TXOGA highlighted that personnel safety and ensuring safe operations are the first priorities of operators. The organization also warned that many elements can impact continued field operations outside of the operator’s control, including:

• Transportation
• Third party contractor disruptions
• Lightning strikes
• Loss of power
• Telecommunication loss

In a statement posted on its Twitter page on Wednesday, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said power lines and trees weighed down by ice could lead to outages but added that it expected adequate supply to meet the demand on the grid.

Texas Urged to Remain Weather Aware

On Tuesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s office highlighted that Texans in the North, West, and Central regions of the state should prepare for continued freezing cold temperatures, wind-chills, freezing rain, sleet, and icing conditions today through Thursday. Central, East, and Southeast Texas may also be impacted by flash flooding through Thursday, Abbott’s office warned.

“The State of Texas is working around the clock to keep Texans safe and warm over the course of this severe winter weather and flooding event,” Abbott said in a government statement.

“Texans are urged to remain weather-aware and stay off the roads if possible. If driving is absolutely necessary, motorists can check DriveTexas.org to receive the most up-to-date road conditions. I thank all of our emergency response personnel across the state who are braving the severe weather to keep their fellow Texans safe,” Abbott added in the statement.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com