(Reuters) – Exports of crude oil and liquefied natural gas from U.S. Gulf Coast ports tumbled to zero on Sunday before rebounding on Monday, after a massive winter storm swept across the country, ship-tracking service Vortexa said. An Arctic blast has pummeled the United States in recent days, straining energy infrastructure and power grids. Up to 2 million barrels per day of oil production went offline over the weekend due to the frigid weather, according to some analyst estimates.
Port closures, enacted as a precautionary measure during inclement weather to prevent incidents and minimize port congestion, reduced exports, said Samantha Santa Maria-Hartke, head of market analysis at Vortexa. Exports rebounded on Monday with flows above seasonal norms, she added, as ports reopened.
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Crude oil exports were around 4.2 million bpd on Saturday, and fell to zero on Sunday before climbing to 4.4 million bpd on Monday, Vortexa data showed.
Exports of liquefied petroleum gas, such as propane and butane, fell by 75% to 739,454 bpd from Saturday to Sunday, Vortexa said.
Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Editing by Andrea Ricci, Rod Nickel
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