Bloomberg reported that a tropical storm might grow into a hurricane and forecast to hit the U.S Gulf Coast on Sunday night. It would potentially shut down offshore oil and natural gas outfits. The U.S National Hurricane Center in Miami has indicated that the system off the coast of Nicaragua expecting to turn into a tropical storm on Wednesday night. It will reach at hurricane strength with 137 kilometers (85 miles) per hour winds on Sunday night near the U.S coastline between Florida and Louisiana. The NHC in Miami also issued storm warnings for Nicaragua and Honduras. 13 storms have formed across the Atlantic in this season and hundreds of people have been killed in the U.S, Mexico and the Caribbean. These storms caused an estimated damage of more than 300 billion U.S dollars.
Hurricane Harvey temporarily shut down at least 25% of oil and natural gas production in the Gulf in the month of August. After a couple of weeks, Hurricane Irma destructed Florida citrus groves. A hurricane specialist at the NHC, Eric Blake issued a forecast analysis that new storm can affect some areas in the northern Gulf Coast with direct impact from storm surge, heavy rainfall, and winds. The residents from Florida to Louisiana along Gulf Coast should monitor the progress of this new system for the next several days. A meteorologist with MDA Weather Services in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Donald Keeney said that this system can create a risk to the U.S cotton areas, especially western part of the southeast in Georgia and Alabama. The Royal Dutch Shell Plc said in a statement that the company is minimizing its staff in the eastern Gulf and taking essential measures to secure facilities.