Hurricane alert in Gulf of Mexico
Mon, 04 Aug 2008 07:26:41
Tropical storm Edouard, the 5th of the Atlantic Hurricane season, has formed near a main oil and gas producing area in the Gulf of Mexico.
Edouard, located around 95 miles (155 km) southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River by 2200 GMT, was expected to come ashore at close to hurricane strength in a few days on the Texas coast, the US National Hurricane Center said.
The computer models indicated that Edouard could strengthen into a hurricane, with winds in excess of 74 miles per hour (119 km per hour). However, the official forecast called for Edouard to top out at 60 knots, or 69 mph (111 kph).
Edouard was moving west at 6 mph (9 kph) on a track that would take it to the upper Texas coast by Tuesday, Reuters reported.
Much of US offshore oil production was in the likely path of the storm, which could also threaten Gulf Coast refineries.
Oil companies are trying to strengthen platforms to withstand hurricane-force winds.
A series of powerful hurricanes in 2004 and 2005, including Hurricane Katrina, toppled oil rigs and severed pipelines in the Gulf, where the US produces almost a third of its crude and 15 percent of its natural gas.
