The US offshore regulator says 190,358 barrels per day of production is shut down in the Gulf of Mexico on hurricane disruptions. In addition 184m bcf is shut. A total of 14 platforms or rigs have been evacuated.
The storm is headed for Tampa Bay, Florida and could be catastrophic to that city. The latest forecasts show a faster-moving storm, which means it will hit sooner but won't have as much time to deliver rain, which is certainly positive news.
And don't look now but there's another disturbance in the mid-Atlantic. The NHC gives it a 60% chance of strengthening into a tropical depression in the next 48 hours.
