* Damage to Shell offshore facility keeps three oilfields
shut
* U.S. offers to emergency crude oil stocks to second
refiner
(Updates shut production figures, paragraph 9)
By Erwin Seba
HOUSTON, Sept 4 (Reuters) - U.S. Gulf Coast energy companies
on Saturday got a boost from the reopening of ports and restart
of oil refineries shut by Hurricane Ida, but damage to key
facilities still crimped oil production.
The ninth named storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season
has cut more U.S. oil and gas production than any of the eight
named storms to strike the U.S. Gulf Coast last year. After
landfall in Louisiana last Sunday, Ida raced to the U.S.
northeast, causing deadly flooding.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the largest U.S. Gulf Coast
producer, was still evaluating damage to its West Delta-143
offshore platform, which when operating transfers about 200,000
barrels of oil and gas per day from three offshore oil fields.
Shell's work on a replacement heliport needed to ferry
offshore continues, Shell said. Damage to its original facility
prevented a return of offshore workers to platforms.
Several Louisiana heliports were damaged or without power
and access to fuel, slowing crew returns at several major oil
producers.
REFINERS BEGIN RESTARTS
Shell's 230,611 barrel-per-day (bpd) Norco, Louisiana, oil
processing plant also remained knocked out by the storm. The
refinery sustained damage and assessments continue on its status
and at a Geismar, Louisiana, chemical plant, the company said.
The White House this week agreed to provide a combined 1.8
million barrels of crude oil from the nation's Strategic
Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to refiners Exxon Mobil Corp,
and Placid Refining Company to produce gasoline.
Nine refineries were knocked offline by Ida's winds and
utility power losses. Five, including those owned by Exxon,
Placid and Marathon Petroleum Corp, could be back online
by within two weeks, estimated Robert Campbell, head of oil
products research at consultancy Energy Aspects.
About 21% of offshore platforms remained unoccupied, and 93%
of oil production and 86% of natural gas output were offline,
government data released on Saturday showed. Some wells in the
Gulf of Mexico, which accounts for about a fifth of U.S. output,
could be shut for weeks, analysts said.
MISSISSIPPI RIVER OPENS
The lower Mississippi River and New Orleans ports were
reopened to traffic and cargo operations, the Coast Guard said,
allowing the resumption of grain, metal and energy shipments.
"It was imperative for the economy of the region and entire
United States that the river be reopened in a timely manner,"
said Brett Bourgeois, executive director of maritime trade group
New Orleans Board of Trade.
Over 5,000 deep drafts vessels bring cargo in and out of the
five major ports, he said.
The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), near to where Ida
made landfall with 150 mile per hour (240 kph) winds, was
continuing repairs and assessments of its facilities, it said on
Saturday.
The LOOP is the only U.S. deepwater oil port, with an
offloading platform that can receive more the 1 million barrels
a day of crude. Its marine terminal sits 18 miles south of Grand
Isle, Louisiana.
POWER SLOWLY RETURNS
Utility Entergy Corp said on Saturday most of Baton
Rouge should have power restored by Tuesday, followed by most of
New Orleans by Wednesday. However, areas between the two could
be without electricity through month's end. More than 700,000
Louisiana homes and businesses remain without power, according
to PowerOutage.com.
U.S. weather forecasters were warning about a new tropical
disturbance, expected to move north across the Gulf of Mexico
next week that could bring more rains to Louisiana.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center gave the disturbance at
least a 30% chance of becoming a tropical depression. If it
becomes a tropical storm, with winds of at least 39 miles per
hour (63 kph), it will be named Mindy.
(Reporting by Erwin Seba
Editing by Gary McWilliams, Alistair Bell and Richard Chang)
