Houston (ICIS)-Louisiana continues to repair electrical infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Ida, which made landfall as a powerful Category 4 storm on Sunday.
Regional power distributor Entergy said on Thursday that it has restored power to 167,000 customers and continues to work in safe and accessible areas.
The company once again emphasized that there may be several weeks of power outages in the worst-hit areas.
Poweroutage.us shows that more than 900,000 customers in the state have lost power, which may include power services from other distributors.
Refineries and chemical plants in the region are continuing to conduct damage assessments, but operations cannot be restarted until the supply of raw materials, electricity and other important third-party utilities are restored.
Although the impact will be far less severe than the winter storm Uri in mid-February, power outages and floods will limit production for several weeks.
The most affected products include polyvinyl chloride (PVC), diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), styrene, linear alpha olefins (LAO), phthalic anhydride (PA) and butanediol (BDO) Chlor-alkali chain.
The status of the plant below shows the status of chemical plants and refineries affected by Ida.
Rail renewal Rail operations at the Port of New Orleans have resumed, and daytime operating hours have been adjusted to connect BNSF, Norfolk South (NS) and Union Pacific (UP).
The American railroad company said on Wednesday that BNSF has reopened almost all the main lines connecting Lafayette, Louisiana and New Orleans.
UP said on Wednesday that its rail line between St. James, Louisiana and New Orleans is still closed, making it one of the three lines that have ceased service in the state due to Hurricane Ida.
It expects the line to open on Thursday, but the company did not respond to a request for confirmation before the release.
Mississippi River reopened The US Coast Guard has reopened the lower Mississippi River to almost all ships, but as recovery operations continue, some key areas along the river are still closed.
After the devastation caused by Hurricane Ida, some chemicals transported by barge on the Mississippi River may still be delayed.
Coast Guard crews continue to work with port partners to identify and mitigate stranded and submerged ships along the river bank.
Port reopens The Port of New Orleans reopened on Wednesday afternoon. The port conditions have returned to normal, but some terminal operations are still restricted. Ship movement and cargo operations are restricted.
The inner harbor channel remains closed.
Terminal operators continue to work hard to resume operations, depending on the restoration of power.
Container operations at the New Orleans terminal and U.S. ports will remain closed until more information is known and depends on the restoration of power.
The grocery operations of Empire, Coastal Cargo, Gulf Stream Marine, and Ports America will be closed until more information is obtained and depends on the restoration of power.
The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) has suspended crude oil deliveries until Hurricane Ida subsides.
LOOP works directly with shippers to minimize storm-related impacts.
Facility assessment and maintenance are in progress.
The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port is the only deep-water oil port for supertankers in the United States. About 50% of the national refining capacity can be provided by LOOP, which moves 12% of the country's annual crude oil imports.
Additional reporting by Joseph Chang, Janet Miranda, and Al Greenwood
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