- Hurricane warning issued for parts of Louisiana, Mississippi
A tropical storm brewing off Florida’s coast has threatened the Gulf of Mexico, causing oil-explorers to evacuate the offshore facilities in the United States’ prime oil region.
Meanwhile, a hurricane warning has been issued from Grand Isle, Louisiana, to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, including Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas and metropolitan New Orleans. Hurricane conditions (winds 74mph or greater) are expected in some parts of this area by late Monday.
Among the threatened firms are Chevron, Murphy Oil, Royal Dutch Shell, BHP, British Petroleum and Hess.
While Chevron and Murphy started evacuating workers from offshore oil and gas platforms on Saturday, others said they were monitoring the storm and prepared to take needed action.
Tropical storm, Sally, is said to have crossed the tip of Florida overnight and moved into the eastern Gulf of Mexico, even as forecast by the National Hurricane Center expected its maximum sustained winds to reach 80 miles per hour (129k/h) ahead of landfall next week.
According to Chevron’s spokesperson, the company has begun evacuating all staff from its Blind Faith and Petronius platforms and initiated shut-in procedures, while production at its other offshore platforms was unaffected.
Murphy Oil also was preparing to evacuate non-essential personnel from its most easterly facilities and monitoring the storm for potential impact on other properties, she said.
The U.S. Gulf of Mexico offshore oil production accounts for about 17 per cent of U.S. crude oil production and five per cent of total U.S. natural gas production.
As much as 1.5mbpd of oil output was shut last month as Hurricane Laura tore through the Gulf of Mexico.
Sally was forecast to strengthen in the next several days and head for an area between southeastern Louisiana and Alabama.
If Sally becomes a hurricane, it would be the second to hit the U.S. Gulf Coast in less than a month.
Hurricane Laura struck Louisiana with devastating 150 mph winds, levelling coastal towns and putting two oil refineries out of commission for weeks.
Sally continues to produce rain and thunderstorms over southwestern Florida Sunday morning, resulting in numerous street closures and several stalled cars.
