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US Gulf Coast homeowners run away, oil production shut as Francine heightens

Hurricane Francine was intensifying and on track to become a cyclone on Tuesday, the U.S. National Cyclone Center stated, triggering Louisiana residents to get away inland and oil and gas companies to shutin Gulf of Mexico production.

Francine could wallop the Louisiana coast on Wednesday with dangerous winds, drenching rains and an up to 10-foot ( 3-m) storm rise. Authorities called for a necessary evacuation of citizens in coastal communities, schools were shut and officials distributed sandbags.

The storm is expected to increase its forward speed on Tuesday simply off the coasts of northeastern Mexico and southern Texas before making landfall near Cameron in Louisiana. It will be a significant test for melted gas (LNG) export plants recently built in the region.

Energy business started leaving offshore employees and shut-in output at a number of production platforms ahead of the storm.

The region is home to about 15% of U.S. oil production and 2% of gas output.

U.S.

gas costs

increased over 2% on worries about the production shut-ins and possible influence on LNG plants. Global oil need concerns eclipsed the storm and

U.S. crude

futures fell more than 5%.

Oil refiners and fuel suppliers along the Louisiana coast were preparing to weather the storm. Citgo Petroleum said its Lake Charles oil refinery was implementing its hurricane strategy.

Kinder Morgan said it prepares to shut by the end of Tuesday its coal-handling International Marine Terminal on the Mississippi River.

The port of Brownsville near the border with Mexico and other smaller terminals in Texas remained closed on Tuesday, while other ports, including Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi, Texas City and Freeport, were working with constraints.

In Between Texas and Louisiana, the Coast Guard set port condition Yankee for Beaumont, Port Arthur, Lake Charles, Cameron, Sabine, New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Plaquemines, suggesting vessels should set up instant departure or seek alternate destinations. Cargo operations need to stop.

Ports in Mississippi and Alabama, including Pascagoula also began preparations, but stayed open for industrial traffic on Tuesday. After landfall, the center of Francine is expected to move into Mississippi on Wednesday night or Thursday.

Energy pipeline operator Enbridge pulled workers from numerous U.S. Gulf of Mexico platforms. Its Manta Ray Gas Gathering system declared force majeure at its Green Canyon 158 Brutus receipt point and stopped getting gas, the business informed customers. Exxon Mobil, Shell and Chevron on Monday eliminated overseas staff and halted some Gulf of Mexico oil and gas operations.

New LNG export plants in Louisiana - Sempra's. Cameron LNG, Venture Global LNG's Calcasieu Pass LNG and. Tellurian's Driftwood LNG advancement - are in the. crosshairs of Francine.

Natural gas flowing to the Cameron LNG export plant dropped. on Tuesday to 1.3 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) from about. 2.2 bcfd on Monday, LSEG information revealed. Sempra did not respond to a. request for remark.

Freeport LNG, which runs the country's second-largest. export plant for the super-chilled gas, stated it had actually begun storm. preparations at its Texas plant without providing information.

(source: Reuters)