Texas trouble

[flea beetle]

I think you have the wrong poster, I don't subscribe to conspiracy theories.

I posted the link to an article in the climate change journal Nature, which refuted your claim. Chuck seems to think they are still a credible source, what about you?

HOW DARE YOU refute the all knowing TWITTY!

[TOM4CWB]

"A Giant Flaw in Texas Blackouts: It Cut Power to Gas Supplies
Rachel Adams-Heard, Javier Blas and Mark Chediak
BloombergSat, February 20, 2021, 6:00 AM


(Bloomberg) -- When the Texas power grid was on the brink of collapse and its operator plunged thousands into darkness, it didn’t make an exception for the oil and gas field.

Power was, unsurprisingly, diverted to hospitals and nursing homes. Ercot, as the grid manager is known, was staving off utter catastrophe, its chief executive later said.

But leaving shale fields like the Permian Basin dark had an unintended consequence. Producers who depend on electricity to power their operations were left with no way to pump natural gas. And that gas was needed more than ever to generate electricity.

As one executive described: It was like a death spiral.

The result was a vicious cycle that serves as a painful lesson to any power grid operator and utility company dealing with rolling outages during extreme weather.

Several energy companies say that, while frozen infrastructure and equipment malfunctions caused gas volumes to plummet, a lack of power also had a profound impact on supply. It’s a phenomenon that highlights just how interconnected -- and interdependent -- Texas’s energy network is.

In the Permian, most drillers target more valuable crude, with gas typically considered an unwanted byproduct. That wasn’t the case over days of forced power outages as nearly every source of fuel faltered in the unprecedented cold that slammed Texas.

Even with its explorers focusing on crude, the state is the country’s biggest gas producer, and the fuel makes up just over half of the sources of its power generation mix.

A crucial part of the natural gas system was knocked out by the power outages: compressor stations that help keep gas flowing through pipelines.

As Ercot started asking utilities to prompt big customers to reduce consumption Sunday evening, those stations went down and the pressure across multiple gas pipelines started to drop, ultimately tripping some utilities off line because of lack of fuel.

That, in turn, led some areas of the Eagle Ford shale and the Permian to simply turn off gas production completely.

The situation got much worse in the early hours of Monday as demand continued to climb. Ercot simply didn’t have the power, and millions of homes fell into darkness.

Ercot executives have said the utilities ultimately determine which circuits to turn off during a rotating outage. The grid operator didn’t have information on power being cut to gas compressor stations, a spokeswoman said in an email.

At its peak, nearly 40% of U.S. oil output was shuttered due to the extreme cold and associated blackouts. Three-quarters of the U.S. frack fleet was lost this week, leaving 41 crews working to blast water, sand and chemicals underground to release trapped oil and gas, Matt Johnson, chief executive officer at Primary Vision Inc., said Friday.

Already, companies including Marathon Oil Corp. and Devon Energy Corp. have begun using restored power from local grids or generators to restart output, according to people familiar with the matter.

It’s not yet clear how long it will take to restore all the lost oil and gas supply, but oil traders and executives have said they hope most of the production lost will return within days as temperatures rise and power becomes available.

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P."

https://ca.yahoo.com/finance/news/giant-flaw-texas-blackouts-cut-005229826.html

[burnt]

My son's one buddy went to work on a dairy farm in Texas since 1 year ago - gives a firsthand report of the effect - cows slipping and splitting in ice - huge cull rate happening.

Dairies not functioning due to freezing temps, the dairy where he works has dumped 2 million pounds of milk, about 40 tankers worth, over 3 days.

[wmoebis]

My son's one buddy went to work on a dairy farm in Texas since 1 year ago - gives a firsthand report of the effect - cows slipping and splitting in ice - huge cull rate happening.

Dairies not functioning due to freezing temps, the dairy where he works has dumped 2 million pounds of milk, about 40 tankers worth, over 3 days.

That is crazy how do they milk all those cows with no power? By hand or just let the cows go without being milked?

[burnt]

That is crazy how do they milk all those cows with no power? By hand or just let the cows go without being milked?

I asked and I learned: Apparently they did not lose power in the Panhandle where this lad works.

He said they milk 12,000 cows. No bulk tank - the milk gets loaded directly onto tanker trailers.

The interesting thing is this - my son does weekend milking shifts on alternate weekends on a nearby dairy owned and operated by this other chap's father.

The young lad wanted to go and get some other experience before he made up his mind about taking on a part of the home farm enterprise - a very modern, well maintained 500 cows operation.

[Sheepwheat]

That is crazy how do they milk all those cows with no power? By hand or just let the cows go without being milked?

Every dairy I know has a big generator on the premises, usually in a shed off to itself.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Please keep us informed as to what the young fellow decides about coming back to the home farm after playing around on his little hobby farm for a while.
I always root for the underdog, so I hope he comes back...

[wmoebis]

Every dairy I know has a big generator on the premises, usually in a shed off to itself.

Understandable! Like a lot of people and farms in Sask are getting to be like that. They have back up power for when transmission lines go down some areas were without power for over 50 hrs there this winter, lucky it wasn't too cold. Wonder when/if transmission power will eventually become back up for green and off grid power?

[burnt]

Please keep us informed as to what the young fellow decides about coming back to the home farm after playing around on his little hobby farm for a while.
I always root for the underdog, so I hope he comes back...

My son has worked for this local dairy farmer for quite a few years doing the weekend shifts. Gets fairly well compensated for those 2 - 5 or 6 hours shifts, alternate weekends. And there are all the hours he wants awaiting him in either livestock care or machinery servicing and upkeep. Kinda handy since this is his slow season in his fledgling excavating business.

The home farm is dripping with cash and opportunity. There is far more happening there on the business front that what many would see...

Strangely, even though he could step into this apparent gold mine, the owner's son does not seem very keen to take over. Maybe a daughter will, but she's still fairly young. So, Dad waits...

So for now, the young lad is off to Texas to explore his options and he's right back into dealing with Ontario weather.

Except that down there, they ain't ready and sure not used to it.

[tweety]

“And pumps use electricity, so they’re not even able to lift that gas and liquid, because there’s no power to produce.” FROM WINDMILLS and FROZEN SOLAR PANELS

Why is it so darn hard for people to say it?

And it is getting too damn cold.

So you actually believe windmills caused the power plants to fail?