By Erwin Seba
HOUSTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Coast Guard warned on Monday that ports from Corpus Christi to Houston, Texas, could be closed due to Hurricane Beryl, which is expected to make landfall by Monday morning south of Port Lavaca.
Closing the ports could temporarily halt shipments of crude oil to refineries and motor fuel from those plants.
Shell (LON:) PLC said it has completed the evacuation of workers from its Perdido production platform in the U.S.-regulated Gulf of Mexico ahead of Tropical Storm Beryl.
Production at the Perdido field was halted ahead of the evacuations. Shell said it was also evacuating workers from the Well platform, which is scheduled to start production later this year.
Gibson Energy (TSX:), which operates a large oil terminal in Corpus Christi, said operations were continuing, but it would take further steps depending on the outlook.
The latest forecasts show Corpus Christi on the dry side of the storm, with less wind and less rain expected. But Beryl could still bring gale-force winds to the port, which is why the Coast Guard has decided to close it.
Most of the oil and offshore production in the northern Gulf is located east of Hurricane Beryl’s projected path.
U.S. crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, which is about 1.8 million barrels per day, accounts for about 14% of total production, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Any impact on supplies could push U.S. and offshore crude oil prices higher.
major oil company Chevron BP Plc (NYSE:BP), one of the largest U.S. oil and gas companies, said on Friday that production from its operated assets remained at normal levels and that it had evacuated non-essential employees from some of its facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.
