(Bloomberg) -- The Atlantic hurricane season is less than three weeks old yet it’s already threatening the energy-rich Gulf of Mexico coastline with flooding rains and sparking tropical storm warnings in Venezuela.
Tropical systems in the Gulf of Mexico often grab the notice of energy traders because the Texas and Louisiana coastline is home to offshore rigs and platforms accounting for about 17% of U.S. crude oil output and 4.1% of natural gas production. They can lead to the evacuation of non-essential personnel from rigs and platforms, cause power outages and also disrupt shipping.
|2 potential systems gathering strength
Two potential systems are gathering strength at either end of the Caribbean Sea at a time of year when multiple storms are unusual. One is near Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and may slip into the Gulf of Mexico overnight. The other is off the coast of South America and bearing down on Trinidad and Tobago.
“It is unusual but not unprecedented,” said Bob Henson, a meteorologist and blogger with Weather Underground in Boulder, Colorado. “Both will affect land.”
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