Exxon sues Australian gas company

Due to the energy blackout that ravaged Texas a month ago, ExxonMobil Corp has taken Australia’s Macquarie Energy to court for allegedly not fulfilling its part of a contract. 

According to the lawsuit, Exxon was unable to meet up the demand because of the snowstorm that swept through Texas, which made the company fail to fulfill its part in a contract with Macquarie energy gas company. If the court rules in favor of Exxon, the company will not be liable for damages that are worth $11.7 million. 

More than 4.3 million homes in Texas lost power 

During the snowstorm, more than 4.3 million homes in the state were left without electricity. Gas prices also soared to record heights, with gas at a western Texas area costing up to $203.50 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). 

The soaring prices led the governors of Texas and Louisiana to declare a state of emergency, and allowed gas controllers to access the states’ power generators. Australia’s Macquarie benefitted from the Texas storm, gaining a profit worth over $317 million from the crisis.

Macquarie says the snowstorm does not qualify as a natural disaster

The Australian company released a rebuttal to Exxon’s claim that the contract was breached because of a natural disaster. The company later in a statement  “issued its own force majeure declaration over gas it had agreed to provide Exxon in Texas”.

Properties worth millions were destroyed in the snowstorm. Social media was filled with images of roofs leaking and homes flooded. According to a police report, the police also found bodies of homeless people that had frozen to death in the street. 

Ted Cruz, the governor of Texas, was caught fleeing the state with his family during the storm. Many Texans called for his resignation, and he has since released a statement to apologize for his behavior.