Ports restrict shipping, some oil facilities shut down as Milton nears Florida By Reuters

HOUSTON (Reuters) – At least one oil and gas rig in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico was shut down on Monday and Florida ports imposed shipping restrictions as Hurricane Milton rapidly intensified.

Most of the US Gulf Coast’s energy infrastructure, including oil and gas production facilities, liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants and refineries, is expected to be out of the storm’s path, but terminal closures could temporarily disrupt exports and imports .

Florida was the sixth largest exporter of state goods last year, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Forecasters are forecasting 10 to 15 feet (3.05 to 4.57 meters) of storm surge, 120 miles per hour (mph) to 140 mph wind gusts and say more than 2 feet of rain is possible. -along Florida’s Gulf Coast, in the area where Milton landed. probably near Tampa.

President Joe Biden has approved an emergency declaration for Florida.

The US National Hurricane Center said on Monday that the storm would approach the west coast of the Florida peninsula by Wednesday after becoming a powerful Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

Electricity supplier Duke Energy (NYSE: ) said it was mobilizing about 10,000 responders in Florida as it prepared for more than 1 million power outages associated with Milton.

US energy producer Chevron (NYSE: ) said Monday that all personnel at its Blind Faith platform in the Gulf had been evacuated and the facility was shut down.

Blind Faith, located 160 miles (257.5 km) southeast of New Orleans, is Chevron’s deepest water development in the world. It produces oil from four wells and has two flowlines that direct crude oil and gas to a platform anchored in 6,500 feet of water.

Production from Chevron’s other assets in the Gulf of Mexico remained at normal levels, it added.

The U.S. Coast Guard imposed restrictions on vessel navigation Saturday in most Florida ports, including Tampa, St. Petersburg, Fort Myers, SeaPort Manatee, Panama City, St. Joe, Key West, Port Canaveral, Jacksonville and Fernandina.

Large ocean-going vessels, including tugs and barges, already in port or arriving will continue preparations and safely depart ports before the closure, the Coast Guard said in an advisory on Sunday.

Other ports in Florida, Mississippi and Alabama that handle oil and fuel imports and exports, including Pensacola, Pascagoula and Mobile, remained open Monday, the Coast Guard said.

LNG facilities on the US Gulf Coast are mostly in the path of the storm. However, the United States exports marginal volumes of LNG in ISO containers from the ports of Miami and Fort Lauderdale, US Department of Energy data show.