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Karl becomes hurricane, heads for eastern Mexico
Source: Agencies |
September 17, 2010, Friday
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HURRICANE Karl formed in the southern Gulf of Mexico yesterday and gained strength as it disrupted production in Mexico's offshore oil patch.
State-run oil giant Pemex evacuated platforms in the path of the storm and halted production at 14 minor wells, the company said in a statement that did not detail how those measures would disrupt production.
"Since yesterday, as a precaution, we began evacuating platforms in the area and that operation is complete," Pemex said in.
The company is monitoring Karl's progress across the Bay of Campeche in the Gulf, where the bulk of Mexico's 2.55 million barrels per day of oil is produced.
Two of Mexico's main oil exporting ports closed as Karl passed through the region.
The storm was a Category 1 hurricane, the weakest on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, with maximum winds of 130 km per hour, but it was picking up strength as it left Mexico's main cluster of oil platforms behind and barreled toward the state of Veracruz, where it could touch land on Friday night.
"It is not out of the question that Karl could become a major hurricane before landfall," the US National Hurricane Center said. "Karl is expected to strengthen steadily and possibly rapidly."
However, Karl seemed unlikely to inflict lasting damage and oil prices fell more than 2 percent as traders set aside the storm and focused on the expected resumption of a major Canadian pipeline.
The storm is the sixth hurricane of the 2010 Atlantic season. Of these, four have been "major" hurricanes that reach Category 3 or higher. At 5:00 pm EDT (2100 GMT), Karl was located about 225 km east of Veracruz.
NO DAMAGE TO OIL FACILITIES
Pemex suspended small craft shipping to platforms in the bay but there were no reports of damage to any oil installations there, a company employee said.
Storms in the Bay of Campeche have the potential to cause serious disruption to Mexican oil output but rarely pass far enough south to cause problems. Mexico was the No. 3 supplier of crude to the United States during the first half of this year, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
Any disruption in production would likely last days although rare direct hits on major platforms in the past have forced lengthy shutdowns.
Earlier in the week, Karl dumped rain and brought strong winds to the Yucatan Peninsula and hundreds of people, mostly Mayan villagers, were evacuated, authorities said.
The storm also knocked out power to tens of thousands of people throughout the mainly rural area. Majahual, home to a large cruise ship port, bore the brunt of the storm as it made landfall but no serious damage was reported.
Cancun, a top beach destination for US and European tourists, was untouched by the storm.
Forecasters shifted the anticipated landfall of Karl south of the gasoline-importing city of Tuxpan toward Veracruz, a major Mexican port but one which does not handle any crude oil exports.
IGOR AND JULIA
Two other hurricanes, Igor and Julia, churned across the Atlantic Ocean but posed no immediate threat to the US mainland or energy interests. Both are projected to eventually die out far from land.
Igor was 1,350 km south-southeast of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds of 205 kph, having weakened to a still-dangerous Category 3 storm.
Igor was on a track that would bring it close to Bermuda late on Sunday and early on Monday.
Bermudan Home Affairs Minister David Burch urged islanders to get ready. "You should be getting prepared now -- if you wait until Saturday evening, it will be too late," he said.
Local forecasters in Bermuda said the Atlantic island should prepare for a "virtual direct hit" from Igor, which was expected to pass less than 80 km east of the island as a Category 2 hurricane on Sunday.
Bermuda's government said the territory had not been threatened by such a severe hurricane since Hurricane Fabian in 2003, which killed four people and caused millions of dollars worth of damage.
Julia had weakened to a Category 1 storm, with 140 kph winds. It was located about 2,130 km southwest of the Azores and was moving northwest.
The June-November hurricane season has been more active than average this year, with 11 named storms so far, but damage has been relatively limited as several storms fizzled out in the Atlantic.
State-run oil giant Pemex evacuated platforms in the path of the storm and halted production at 14 minor wells, the company said in a statement that did not detail how those measures would disrupt production.
"Since yesterday, as a precaution, we began evacuating platforms in the area and that operation is complete," Pemex said in.
The company is monitoring Karl's progress across the Bay of Campeche in the Gulf, where the bulk of Mexico's 2.55 million barrels per day of oil is produced.
Two of Mexico's main oil exporting ports closed as Karl passed through the region.
The storm was a Category 1 hurricane, the weakest on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, with maximum winds of 130 km per hour, but it was picking up strength as it left Mexico's main cluster of oil platforms behind and barreled toward the state of Veracruz, where it could touch land on Friday night.
"It is not out of the question that Karl could become a major hurricane before landfall," the US National Hurricane Center said. "Karl is expected to strengthen steadily and possibly rapidly."
However, Karl seemed unlikely to inflict lasting damage and oil prices fell more than 2 percent as traders set aside the storm and focused on the expected resumption of a major Canadian pipeline.
The storm is the sixth hurricane of the 2010 Atlantic season. Of these, four have been "major" hurricanes that reach Category 3 or higher. At 5:00 pm EDT (2100 GMT), Karl was located about 225 km east of Veracruz.
NO DAMAGE TO OIL FACILITIES
Pemex suspended small craft shipping to platforms in the bay but there were no reports of damage to any oil installations there, a company employee said.
Storms in the Bay of Campeche have the potential to cause serious disruption to Mexican oil output but rarely pass far enough south to cause problems. Mexico was the No. 3 supplier of crude to the United States during the first half of this year, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
Any disruption in production would likely last days although rare direct hits on major platforms in the past have forced lengthy shutdowns.
Earlier in the week, Karl dumped rain and brought strong winds to the Yucatan Peninsula and hundreds of people, mostly Mayan villagers, were evacuated, authorities said.
The storm also knocked out power to tens of thousands of people throughout the mainly rural area. Majahual, home to a large cruise ship port, bore the brunt of the storm as it made landfall but no serious damage was reported.
Cancun, a top beach destination for US and European tourists, was untouched by the storm.
Forecasters shifted the anticipated landfall of Karl south of the gasoline-importing city of Tuxpan toward Veracruz, a major Mexican port but one which does not handle any crude oil exports.
IGOR AND JULIA
Two other hurricanes, Igor and Julia, churned across the Atlantic Ocean but posed no immediate threat to the US mainland or energy interests. Both are projected to eventually die out far from land.
Igor was 1,350 km south-southeast of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds of 205 kph, having weakened to a still-dangerous Category 3 storm.
Igor was on a track that would bring it close to Bermuda late on Sunday and early on Monday.
Bermudan Home Affairs Minister David Burch urged islanders to get ready. "You should be getting prepared now -- if you wait until Saturday evening, it will be too late," he said.
Local forecasters in Bermuda said the Atlantic island should prepare for a "virtual direct hit" from Igor, which was expected to pass less than 80 km east of the island as a Category 2 hurricane on Sunday.
Bermuda's government said the territory had not been threatened by such a severe hurricane since Hurricane Fabian in 2003, which killed four people and caused millions of dollars worth of damage.
Julia had weakened to a Category 1 storm, with 140 kph winds. It was located about 2,130 km southwest of the Azores and was moving northwest.
The June-November hurricane season has been more active than average this year, with 11 named storms so far, but damage has been relatively limited as several storms fizzled out in the Atlantic.
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