Houston’s Corporate Giants Idled by Hurricane Ike

By | September 15, 2008

It’s not quite business as usual in Houston Monday after Hurricane Ike knocked out power to millions, shattered skyscraper windows and wiped out water pressure in the nation’s energy hub.

In the midst of an oil boom, the storm’s destruction has largely paralyzed the nation’s fourth largest city, which has seen its economy grow even as the nation’s has faltered.

Most office workers were asked to stay at home. Two days after the Category 2 storm made landfall in Galveston, streets were filled with fallen trees and debris and most traffic lights do not work, making the office commute a hazardous affair.

Police have blocked the entrance to many downtown streets in an effort to speed up the clean-up. Office buildings had their windows blown out or broken by flying debris, raining glass on sidewalks. Trees and shrubs were torn from their planters.

A number of the glass walkways in the city’s center meant to protect workers from the city’s blistering heat are missing panes and are now open to the humid air.

Tap water was declared unsafe for drinking.

The 75-story JPMorgan Chase Tower in downtown lost hundreds of its window in the hurricane and is home to the energy investment banking arms of firms such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Lazard Ltd.

Many energy trading floors, which expanded in recent years to capitalize on rising energy prices, were said to be working with skeleton staffs. One major oil trading operation said it had “computer issues.”

The world’s largest company Exxon Mobil Corp., which owns 44-story building in downtown Houston, has shuttered its office tower and other Houston offices to nonessential personnel.

Transocean Inc, the world’s largest offshore oil and gas drilling contractor, shipped operations workers to Dallas, Austin and and College Station ahead of the storm, but its offices in Houston are closed Monday and Tuesday because of the buildings’ low water pressure.

“We’re watching it day by day,” Guy Cantwell, the company’s spokesman said.

Transocean is also providing cash or gift cards to workers in need of essential supplies, Cantwell said.

“There are some broken windows and a little bit of water damage,” Apache Corp. spokesman Bill Mintz said of the company’s headquarters building. “Some employees are here, but most people are home dealing with the storm’s aftermath.”

Schlumberger Ltd, the world’s largest oilfield services company, said its corporate offices in the Galleria Area of Houston sustained wind damage and are closed until further notice, an email from a spokesman said.

Ahead of the storm, Schlumberger also rescheduled its annual analyst meeting that had been set for Tuesday.

A spokeswoman for Continental Airlines Inc said the company’s headquarters building downtown was open to essential workers.

Other companies that have Houston offices operating with limited personnel include Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Hess Corp. and oil major ConocoPhillips.

On its website, ConocoPhillips said it would return to normal business operations Tuesday.

(Additional reporting by Bruce Nichols; Editing by Mary Milliken and Andre Grenon)

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Energy Oil Gas Hurricane

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