HOUSTON: The US Coast Guard has warned of the closure of Texas ports from Corpus Christi to Houston and began limiting shipping because of Tropical Storm Beryl, which is expected to become a hurricane before making landfall at Port Lavaca early Monday.
Port closures may temporarily halt shipments of crude oil to and from refineries for motor fuel.
The port’s status is “out of reach,” the Coast Guard Port of Corpus Christi captain said Saturday evening, limiting shipping at the port from Matagorda Bay, 101 miles (163 km) southwest of Houston to the US-Mexico border.
Citgo Petroleum Corp cut output by 165,000 barrels per day at its Corpus Christi, Texas refinery on Saturday, ahead of Beryl’s approach to the Texas coast.
Citgo plans to keep its Corpus Christi refinery at minimum production as the storm drains the Coastal pipeline hub to the projected location in Port Lavaca.
Oil producer Shell Plc has completed the evacuation of workers from its Perdido production platform in the US-controlled Gulf of Mexico ahead of the storm.
Production at Perdido was shut down before the evacuation. Shell said it had also evacuated workers from the Kit platform, which is due to start production later this year.
Gibson Energy, which operates the main oil terminal in Corpus Christi, said operations were still underway but expected to take further steps.
The storm had a maximum sustained wind of 60 mph (95 km / h) on Saturday, according to the National Disaster Center.
The latest forecast calls for the dry side of the storm, where the lowest winds and least rainfall are expected. But Beryl can bring strong winds to the port, so the coast guard restricts traffic or closes the port.
Much of the northern oil and gas production in the North Bay lies east of the Beryl prospect line.
According to the US Energy Information Administration, offshore production in the US Gulf of Mexico is about 1.8 million barrels per day, about 14% of US crude oil production. Any impact on supply could boost U.S. oil prices and offshore crude.
Oil major Chevron Corp, one of the largest US offshore producers, said on Friday that production from its operating assets was normal. But it is evacuating non-essential personnel from several facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.
Murphy Oil Corp. said it had not shut down production or evacuated workers, and was continuing to monitor the storm.
