The Texas energy industry braced for Hurricane Beryl’s impact on Monday, with threats from the powerful storm forcing the closure of key oil and gas shipping ports, slowing refining and prompting the evacuation of some production sites.
Texas produces the most oil and natural gas, or more than 40 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, of any area of the United States. Over the weekend, the port of Corpus Christi, the country’s leading crude oil export hub, closed operations and vessel traffic in preparation for Beryl. The ports of Houston, Galveston, Freeport and Texas City were also shut ahead of the storm making landfall.