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First Atlantic storm forms in Gulf of Mexico
Source: Agencies |
June 29, 2011, Wednesday
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ARLENE, the first tropical storm of the North Atlantic hurricane season, formed in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico yesterday but looked set to spare Mexico's oilfields from a direct hit.
The storm had maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour (65 kph) and was located about 240 miles (390 km) east of Tuxpan in Mexico, the US National Hurricane Center said.
"Some strengthening is forecast during the next day or so," the center said in a statement, predicting it would make landfall in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas tomorrow afternoon.
Mexico is a top oil exporter to the United States and almost all of its crude oil exports are shipped to refineries on the Gulf Coast of the United States from the three Gulf of Mexico ports, Dos Bocas, Cayo Arcas and Coatzacoalcos.
Outer bands of rain could cause brief closures of those ports, but the center's model showed Arlene hitting further north tomorrow, possibly grazing one coastal oil well near the city of Tampico but avoiding offshore platforms.
The storm could also affect the Madero refinery in Tamaulipas near Tampico, which produces 190,000 bpd.
Mexico's Pemex is the world's No. 7 oil producer.
The area, prone to flooding, is popular with local tourists for its beaches and the Miami-based center said Arlene could bring up to 12 inches (30 cms) of rain and warned of life-threatening flash floods.
The rain could bring some relief to sorghum and fruit farms in the area, however, after a long dry spell that has reached critical levels in some areas of Tamaulipas and in neighboring Nuevo Leon.
Mexico was hit by Hurricane Beatriz, the second tropical storm of the Pacific season, last week but the weather system did no major damage.
The storm had maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour (65 kph) and was located about 240 miles (390 km) east of Tuxpan in Mexico, the US National Hurricane Center said.
"Some strengthening is forecast during the next day or so," the center said in a statement, predicting it would make landfall in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas tomorrow afternoon.
Mexico is a top oil exporter to the United States and almost all of its crude oil exports are shipped to refineries on the Gulf Coast of the United States from the three Gulf of Mexico ports, Dos Bocas, Cayo Arcas and Coatzacoalcos.
Outer bands of rain could cause brief closures of those ports, but the center's model showed Arlene hitting further north tomorrow, possibly grazing one coastal oil well near the city of Tampico but avoiding offshore platforms.
The storm could also affect the Madero refinery in Tamaulipas near Tampico, which produces 190,000 bpd.
Mexico's Pemex is the world's No. 7 oil producer.
The area, prone to flooding, is popular with local tourists for its beaches and the Miami-based center said Arlene could bring up to 12 inches (30 cms) of rain and warned of life-threatening flash floods.
The rain could bring some relief to sorghum and fruit farms in the area, however, after a long dry spell that has reached critical levels in some areas of Tamaulipas and in neighboring Nuevo Leon.
Mexico was hit by Hurricane Beatriz, the second tropical storm of the Pacific season, last week but the weather system did no major damage.
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