The United States oil companies are keenly monitoring tropical storm surging in the Gulf of Mexico. This is the first tropical storm in 2020s Atlantic hurricane season that risking the condition of the United States oil patch located in the area.
Exxon Mobil Corp, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Chevron Corp, BP Plc, Hess Corp and Murphy Oil were taking precautionary measures ensuring the safety of their properties and employees but not yet evacuating workers from offshore production platforms. The Gulf of Mexico is the home to 19% of U.S. crude oil output and 6% of daily dry natural gas output, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration show.
Tropical Storm Cristobal that formed Tuesday afternoon was circulating in the Bay of Campeche off the coast of Mexico and was forecasted to linger on the gulf until Sunday (June 7) before moved towards the coast. The United States National Hurricane Center forecasts the storm will cross the Gulf of Mexico to make landfall on the Louisiana coast by early next week. The centre of Cristobal made landfall at the west of Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico, on Wednesday (June 3) with force winds of 60 miles per hour. Cristobal will cross the major offshore oil and natural gas production areas in the Gulf before arriving on the United States shore.
