Texas Border Business
NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION, TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE
Texas’ natural gas production, processing, transmission, and storage sectors continue to have needed production and storage. No significant changes in production, pressures or availability have been reported.
RRC has conducted more than 1200 weatherization inspections of critical infrastructure in the field. There is 522,396 billion cubic feet of working natural gas in underground storage in Texas as of the end of November 2024.
TEXAS FIELD CONDITIONS
Overall conditions have been stable even with the cold temperatures. Personnel are in place to maintain operations.
RRC has issued a notice to operators preparing for the upcoming freezing weather and potential snow/ice. Oil and gas operators and pipelines are preparing assets and implementing cold weather contingencies with ample storage and available gas, No reports of concerns or impacts at this time. Reports indicate Generators are preparing and activating their cold weather preparedness plans and have been working with suppliers to ensure continuous operations. Transmission providers have also indicate they have been conducting cold weather training and preparations and have put staffing and other needs in place and in preparation for any potential issues resulting from potential weather events. TxDOT has been pretreating roads ahead of expected weather activity.
TEXAS POWER STATUS
ERCOT reports operations normal as of Monday, January 6 at 3:15 PM. Peak demand occured at 8:10 AM. Available capacity at peak demand was 83,950 MW, with demand at 68,271 MW. There was enough power to meet demand.
| WEATHER STATUS Multiple systems approaching will bring snow to New Mexico/far West Texas on Wednesday and a possible wintry mix Thursday and Friday across FEMA Region 6. Marginal risk for heavy rainfall (level 1 of 4) across the Gulf Coast on Thursday and Southeast Lousiana on Friday. Minor river flooding will continue in Arkansas, East Texas and Lousiana into next week. |
WINTERIZATION IN THE FIELD
Onsite, seasonal weatherization techniques include methanol injection, temperature activated pumps, steamer units, equipment shelters, and insulated critical lines and valves. Additional pre-storm and offsite measures include:
Securing shelter/housing and pre-positioning personnel to be closer to assets for access
Adjusting employee schedules to ensure planning and preparations are in place
Having extra methanol and other supplies on trucks
Preparing and draining tanks to increase on-site storage and providing a temporary buffer for necessary third-party movement of product
Pre-inspection of assets prior to weather events
“Line-packing” to maximize product and pressurization in pipelines
Communication with third party vendors to prepare for inclement weather contingencies
Identification of the most critical assets to help maintain power from electric utilities
IMPACT OF WEATHER ON FIELD OPERATIONS
Personnel safety and ensuring safe operations are the first priorities of operators. Many elements can impact continued field operations outside of the operator’s control.
Transportation – the accumulation of precipitation can impact operators’ ability to access remote well sites to check on operations and make any needed adjustments
Third party contractor disruptions
Lightning strikes
Loss of power
Telecommunication loss
INDUSTRY ACTIONS
Read more about how the Texas oil and natural gas industry prepares for winter weather events
STATEWIDE RESOURCES
TDEM maintains a webpage with information and resources here.
TxDOT provides road closure information in real-time, which can be found here.
RRC reports road issues to TXDOT. You can submit a road issue form here.
RRC notice to operators ahead of winter weather can be found here.
RRC provides a weatherization practices guidance document here.
RRC maintains a 24-hour, toll-free emergency line, 844-773-0305, to report emergencies, including leaks or spills and damage to gas pipelines.
PUC provides an electric outage map, which can be found here.
TCEQ reports water and sewage outages here.
ERCOT shares a grid condition dashboard, which can be found here.
For more information on how the Texas oil and natural gas industry prepares for winter weather, visit TXOGA.org/WinterReady.
