Will Hurricane Lee Affect USA Oil and Gas?

In a report sent to Rigzone this week, analysts at Standard Chartered predicted Hurricane Lee’s effect on oil and gas in the United States.

“Its trajectory is forecast to be northerly, moving parallel to, but significantly offshore from, the U.S. east coast,” the analysts said in the report.

“It should not therefore affect any oil and gas production facilities, although there could be an impact on New York area refining capacity, dependent on storm surges and where it finally makes landfall,” they added.

The analysts also looked at Hurricane Margot, noting that the storm has turned northerly in the center of the Atlantic.

“As such should have no impact on oil and gas production or refining,” the analysts said in the report.

“However, both hurricanes could potentially disrupt shipping routes,” they added.

At the time of writing, Hurricane Lee has maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour and a 15 mile per hour northerly movement, while Hurricane Margot has maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour and a three mile per hour east-northeasterly movement, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC).

“Lee is moving toward the north near 15 miles per hour and this general motion with an increase in forward speed is expected through Saturday,” an advisory posted on the NHC website at 6am UTC on Friday noted.

“A turn toward the north-northeast and then northeast is forecast Saturday night and Sunday. On the forecast track, the center of Lee will continue to move farther away from Bermuda this morning, approach the coast of New England and Atlantic Canada today and Saturday, and move across Atlantic Canada Saturday night and Sunday,” the advisory added.

“Some gradual weakening is forecast tonight and Saturday, but Lee is expected to remain large and dangerous for the next couple of days … Lee is a very large hurricane. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 105 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 345 miles,” the advisory went on to state.

At the time of writing, the NHC is also tracking one unnamed disturbance in the Atlantic, which it says has a 90 percent chance of cyclone formation in 48 hours.

Red Cross Preparing to Respond

In a statement sent to Rigzone on Thursday, the Texas Gulf Coast Red Cross noted that Hurricane Lee is “threatening parts of the East Coast with strong winds, a devastating storm surge and heavy rain later this week”.

“The American Red Cross is preparing to respond and urges everyone in Lee’s potential path to monitor their local weather and be prepared for this storm,” the organization said in the statement.

“The Texas Gulf Coast Red Cross region and our dedicated volunteers are preparing to respond to Hurricane Lee before the storm makes landfall. Across the region, we have deployed more than a dozen volunteers to locations on the East Coast, where they will assist with sheltering and other storm response needs,” it added.

“Even if the storm weakens, the National Hurricane Center warns that will not diminish the storm’s potential for devastating impacts. Because of the storm’s monstrous size, areas far away from the storm’s center could still see Lee’s effects,” it continued.

The statement warned that tropical storm-force wind gusts could impact portions of Connecticut and eastern Massachusetts on Friday night and affect other areas in New England this weekend.

“Maine is likely to see the worst effects of the storm with strong winds, heavy rain and waves that could be more than 30 feet high,” the statement said.

“Due to ongoing heavy rain, the ground is already saturated in many of the areas where Lee is expected to hit, increasing the risk of flooding,” it added.

“The Red Cross is monitoring the storm closely and preparing to respond as Hurricane Lee heads north. We pre-positioned disaster teams and supplies to be ready to support communities who may be impacted by the storm,” it continued.

In the statement, the Red Cross noted that, in addition to preparing for an East Coast hurricane, it is continuing to respond to Hurricane Idalia in Florida.

A statement posted on the NHC website at 7.45am EDT on August 30 highlighted that the “extremely dangerous Category 3 Hurricane Idalia” had made landfall in the Florida Big Bend.

In a report posted on its website on the same day, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) highlighted that Hurricane Idalia was impacting U.S. Gulf Coast production and pipeline facilities.

Also on August 30, in a release posted on its website, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that EPA Administrator Michael Regan issued an emergency fuel waiver “to address a fuel supply emergency in Florida caused by Hurricane Idalia”.

The hurricane also affected some Chevron and Kinder Morgan operations and knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of customers in Florida.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com