Energy Companies Sustain Minimal Damages As Hurricane Francine Weakens Inland

Energy companies on the U.S. Gulf Coast suffered minimal damage after Hurricane Francine made landfall on Wednesday as a Category 2 hurricane and weakened as it made its way inland on Thursday.

Shell plc SHEL inspected its manufacturing sites in Geismar and Norco, Louisiana, to ensure the. integrity of its equipment, systems and processes.

“At this early stage, there does not appear to be serious damage from wind, rain or storm surge at the facilities,” the company said on Thursday.

“As always, the safety of our people, the environment and our assets are Shell's top priority.”

Entergy Corp ETR said it had 10,790 customer outages in the southern area of its Mississippi territory, and that outages are expected to fluctuate throughout Thursday as the storm moved through its service area.

“We have assembled a team of over 1,500 linemen, vegetation workers, damage assessors and support personnel to work with our Entergy teams in the restoration process,” the company said.

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“We stand ready as Francine continues to impact our service area and are responding by assessing damage and restoring service to our customers where it is safe to do so.”

Pipeline operator Enterprise Products Partners LP EPD on Thursday said its assets in south Louisiana did not sustain any noteworthy damage as a result of the storm, but it did say that some customers lost power, Reuters reported.

“The main issue at present is a loss of commercial power at locations in the track of the storm. Temporary generators are being deployed where possible and Enterprise is working with electric service providers to prioritize their restoration efforts,” the company said.

The hurricane weakened Thursday as it headed inland, allowing emergency crews in Lousiana to begin clearing roads while utility workers started restoring electricity, the Associated Press reported.

At the height of the storm, 450,000 people in Louisiana were without power, according to the state’s Public Service Commission. Many outages were caused by falling debris.

Hurricane Francine dumped up to six inches of rain in parts of Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and Georgia and up to 10 inches in some areas of Alabama and Florida.

Price Action: Energy companies with facilities on the U.S. Gulf Coast trended upward on Thursday.

• Shell gained 1.16% to close at $66.98
• Entergy picked up 1.09% to end the trading day at $123.55
• Enterprise Product Partners edged up 0.79% to close at $29.40

Generac Holdings Inc. GNRC, a manufacturer of generators for homes and businesses, declined 1.76% to $140.68 on Thursday.

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Photo: Courtesy NOAA