Oil Moves Slightly Lower as Beryl Pummels Texas - OilPrice.com
Oil Moves Slightly Lower as Beryl Pummels Texas | OilPrice.com
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More than 1.8 million homes and businesses in Texas were left without power on Monday after Category 1 hurricane Beryl made landfall near Matagorda around 4 a.m. local time, leaving in its wake a trail of dangerous storm surges, floods and heavy winds. CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP), a public utility that serves nearly 2.6 million customers, reported that more than 1.5 million were without power in its service area as of 09.51 am ET.
After wreaking havoc in the Caribbean and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, Beryl weakened to a tropical storm but strengthened again late Sunday, packing winds of at least 80 mph due to the hot air in the Gulf of Mexico. The deadly hurricane left at least 11 people dead as it tore through the Caribbean last week and has already claimed one casualty in the U.S. after a Texas man died when the roof of his house collapsed. The local National Weather Service office estimated that 6 to 8 inches of rainfall fell in a large area southwest of the Houston metro area, bringing flash floods from midnight to 6:30 a.m. local time. Beryl is the earliest Atlantic storm in a calendar year to become a Category 5 hurricane.
“As Hurricane Beryl approaches the Texas coast, now is the time for Texans to make their final preparations to protect themselves and their property. 121 counties are already under state disaster declaration, and more may be added if conditions warrant,” Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said on Sunday.
Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX) and Shell Plc (NYSE:SHEL) are among Gulf oil operators that have evacuated staff from their offshore platforms. After notching a fourth straight weekly increase on Friday, oil prices have kicked off the new week on the backfoot with dated Brent and WTI crude slightly lower in Monday’s intraday session.
Over the past decade, climate experts have reported that climate change is making hurricanes stronger and more intense, leading to higher wind speeds, heavier rainfall, and more severe storm surges. According to the U.S. Environmental [Protection Agency (EPA), sea surface temperature has been consistently higher during the past three decades than at any other time since reliable observations began in 1880, with 2023 the warmest year on record.
By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com
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Alex Kimani is a veteran finance writer, investor, engineer and researcher for Safehaven.com.
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