(Bloomberg) -- Natural gas production will continue sliding in Texas as a winter storm freezes wells and other equipment in the biggest gas-producing U.S. state, an industry group warned.
Early indicators “suggest production declines will increase throughout the day,” the Texas Oil & Gas Association said in a release on Thursday. “Factors include icy roads, some power loss, high winds, mechanical issues and freezing equipment that is being addressed by personnel in the field.”
About 5% of overall U.S. gas production has been knocked offline as sub-freezing weather blankets Texas and neighboring Oklahoma, BloombergNEF said earlier in the day. The interruptions probably will take several days to correct, BNEF analyst Jade Patterson said.
Outages “are anticipated and unavoidable in inclement weather,” the Austin, Texas-based industry group said. “Some early reports of transportation problems and getting service trucks to sites due to icy road conditions could have impact if prolonged.”
