Sept 11 (Askume) – Power plants along the U.S. Gulf Coast have cut back operations and evacuated some generating sites as Hurricane Francine passed through the region.
Hurricane Wanjing intensified into a hurricane late Tuesday night and headed toward the Louisiana coast, the National Hurricane Center said.
The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said on Tuesday that the storm shut down about 24% of crude oil production and 26% of natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico . Such disruptions could affect US oil supplies, putting pressure on domestic oil and offshore crude oil prices.
The US Gulf of Mexico offshore production is about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd), about 15% of the country’s total crude oil output.
The Port of Brownsville near the Mexican border and other smaller terminals in Texas are closed, while other ports including Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi, Texas City and Freeport are restricted. The ports of Houma, Morgantown and a Louisiana offshore oil port are closed to shipping, according to the US Coast Guard.
The US Coast Guard said, “As Francine moves north through the Gulf of Mexico, we will continue to work closely with our maritime industry partners to fully reopen affected ports as soon as possible.”
