U.S. Gulf Coast ports are taking steps to get ready for rough weather as Tropical Storm Francine advances northeast across the Gulf of Mexico toward what is expected to be a Louisiana landfall.
The storm, which the National Weather Service expects to strengthen to a Category 1 hurricane with winds up to 95 miles per hour (mph), is forecast to come ashore Wednesday (9/11) evening (see map below) barring any further moves east.
Last week, Hurricane Delta became the latest of a string of hurricanes and tropical storms that have assaulted the Gulf Coast this year and disrupted energy production in the Gulf of Mexico — and energy exports. A number of major storms made direct hits or glancing blows to crude export centers like Corpus Christi, Houston, Beaumont, and Louisiana, forcing marine terminals to either slow down their carrier-loading operations or shut down for a few days at a time. That led to a yo-yoing of weekly export volumes: way down one week, way up the next. Despite the short-term dislocations, however, total export volumes since the hurricane season started on June 1 are actually up slightly from the first five months of 2020, a testament to the resilience not only of the export market but to the marine terminals themselves. Today, we discuss how hurricanes and tropical storms have been affecting export-terminal activity.
