Texas energy firms assess damage after Hurricane Beryl batters Gulf Coast
Al Jazeera
Beryl made landfall near Texas town on Monday, posing problems for the heart of the US energy sector.
The Texas energy industry was evaluating the impact from Hurricane Beryl after the powerful storm lashed the United States’ Gulf Coast, closing key shipping ports and hitting the oil refining and production sectors.
Beryl made landfall near the coastal town of Matagorda, Texas, on Monday morning, packing maximum sustained winds of 129km/h (80mph) and posing problems for the heart of the country’s energy sector.
The storm had strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane before landfall, but was downgraded to a tropical storm mid-morning and expected to weaken throughout the day. It is forecast to move across eastern Texas and into the Lower Mississippi Valley and Ohio Valley later in the week, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Texas is the largest US oil and gas producing state, accounting for some 40 percent of oil output and 20 percent of gas production.
US crude futures CLc1 settled 83 cents lower at $82.33 a barrel on Monday as hopes of a ceasefire deal in Gaza eased global supply concerns and capped gains driven by storm-related disruptions.
