Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has banned natural gas exports until normal electricity is restored, Reuters reported, citing a statement from the governor.
The export ban is in effect until Sunday, with Abbott noting, “It will also increase the power that will be produced and sent to homes here in Texas.”
What social media users call Texas frost they wreaked havoc on the Texas grid and its energy industry, and the probe heads and production buffers were not isolated against freezing temperatures. As a result, natural gas production fell, leading to rising prices that exceeded the $ 9,000 per MWh cap imposed by the state’s energy regulator.
Lone Star State produces about 25% of the US total. In December, the state’s share was between 22 and 27.8 billion cubic meters per day. It has now shrunk by 8 to 10 billion cubic meters, according to various estimates.
According to industry information quoted by Natural Gas Intelligence, at least 7 billion cubic meters of production capacity was shut down by cold weather, which caused the wellhead to freeze, the gas processing plant to close and pipelines to close.
According to Refinitiv data from Reuters, this week’s production rate fell from 7.9 billion cubic meters before the frost to 1.9 billion cubic meters now.
Texas exports much of its natural gas production to other states and Mexico: up to 40% of Mexico’s gas imports from the United States come from Texas. These exports also fell this week from 5.7 billion cubic meters to 3.8 billion cubic meters.
Due to its dependence on US imports, Mexico, in its northern part, was also affected by the interruption of gas production in Texas this week. Media reports said that on Monday, up to 4.77 million people in northern Mexico were powerless due to the events in Texas.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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