Tropical Storm Francine strengthened as it moved northward in the Gulf of Mexico, prompting oil companies to evacuate crews and halt some offshore oil production. At the same time, the U.S. Coast Guard warned carriers of approaching gale-force winds.

Francine is expected to batter parts of the Gulf Coast with strong winds and heavy rain as it moves toward making landfall as a full-fledged hurricane on Wednesday, U.S. government meteorologists said in a report from Houston time at 1 p.m. advisoryThe system, located 450 miles (720 kilometers) southwest of Cameron, Louisiana, saw wind speeds increase from 50 mph (80 km/h) earlier in the day to 60 mph (96 km/h).

Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp. and Shell Plc are among the companies taking measures, including evacuating workers from vulnerable facilities, suspending drilling and shutting some wells. The storm’s predicted path will cross fields holding about 125,000 barrels of crude oil and 300 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, according to Bloomberg calculations based on data from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the National Hurricane Center.

On its expected path, Francine could hit nine major platforms, including Enchilada, Cerveza, Perdido and Hoover. That said, the storm is unlikely to have a major impact on overall energy production, Chuck Watson, a disaster modeler at Enki Research, said in a social media post.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard has declared Port Condition X-Ray in Houston, Galveston and other major Texas ports, warning that bad weather is expected within 48 hours. One advantage Francine will bring when it comes ashore is that it will bring much-needed water to the parched Mississippi River, temporarily boosting boaters’ fortunes before dry conditions return.

“Francine is expected to become a hurricane when it reaches the northwestern Gulf Coast on Wednesday or Wednesday night, and there is an increasing chance of life-threatening storm surge flooding for portions of the Upper Texas and Louisiana coastlines,” Philippe Papin, a senior hurricane specialist at the center, said in a forecast.

This is the third storm to hit the continental United States this year. It is expected to peak as a Category 1 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale with 85 mph winds. It could bring a storm surge of 10 feet ashore in the Cameron area.

There’s a chance it could strengthen as it swirls over the unusually warm Gulf waters, providing fuel for storms, said Adam Douty, a meteorologist at commercial-forecaster AccuWeather Inc.

If the storm strengthens significantly, that will likely happen Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday, said Ryan Truchelut, president of WeatherTiger LLC. However, as the storm approaches the coastline, it could encounter crosswinds, or wind shear, which could weaken it.

Copyright 2024 Bloomberg.

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Catastrophe Natural Disasters Windstorm Energy Oil Gas