Freezing cold and blowing winds on Friday cut off electricity and power production in the United States, raising heating and electricity prices as people prepare for the holiday celebrations.
Winter Storm Elliott threatened nearly two-thirds of the United States with continued cold and snow throughout the Christmas holidays, along with sub-freezing temperatures and extreme weather warnings.
More than 1.5 million homes and businesses were without electricity, while oil refineries in Texas cut gasoline and diesel production due to equipment failures. Heating and electricity prices rose due to losses. Oil and gas output from North Dakota to Texas suffered freeze-ins, cutting supplies.
Most of the 312,500 bpd production units at Pemex’s Houston-area refinery in Deer Park, Texas, remained closed Sunday, according to people familiar with plant operations.
Sources said units were idling on Thursday night and Friday due to severe cold weather from Winter Storm Elliott. The most important problem facing the refinery is that most of its steam supply is interrupted by the 47-degree drop in temperatures between Thursday and Friday.
Russia will reduce its natural gas production and exports in 2022 due to the closure of its export infrastructure, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday, according to the news agency TASS.
“By the end of the year, gas production will be 12% less than in 2021 and exports will fall by about a quarter. This is mainly due to the closure of the export infrastructure,” Novak said in the interview with TASS.
Most Gulf stock markets fell in early trading on Monday with modest trading volumes in the absence of many foreign investors for the Christmas holidays.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index (Tadawul Stock Exchange Index – TASI) decreased by 0.1%. It fell 0.6% in Retal Urban Development Co and 1.1% in Saudi National Bank, the kingdom’s biggest lender.
