Ports and rigs in US Gulf of Mexico take precautions for Tropical Storm Cindy
Shipping and offshore industry in the Gulf of Mexico has been disrupted by a Tropical Storm shaping up for a Thursday landfall in the Texas and Louisiana area, according to Bloomberg.
On Tuesday evening Tropical Storm Cindy was sitting about 350 miles off Galveston, Texas, while packing winds of 45mph and expected to become stronger with potential for flooding rains onshore.
Vessel offloading was halted at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) marine terminal as a precaution. LOOP is a deep-water port near Port Fourchon.
Different companies were taking other measures with their Gulf oil rigs in response to advisories from the National Hurricane Centre.
BP, Anadarko Petroleum and Enbridge were evacuating non-essential personnel from their rigs.
BHP Billiton suspended non-essential operations. Royal Dutch Shell suspended some rig operations but said production was unaffected.
Watches and warnings were in force along the Texas and Louisiana coastline including Galveston Bay, the entrance to the Houston Ship Channel and Sabine Pass liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal.