en.Wedoany.com Reported - Chevron has shut down production at its Petronius facility in the Gulf of Mexico and evacuated all personnel to shore in response to the approach of Tropical Depression Two. The company is also withdrawing non-essential staff from its Tubular Bells and Blind Faith platforms. Chevron stated that production at its other operating assets in the Gulf of Mexico remains at normal levels.

The low-pressure system could strengthen into Tropical Storm Bertha later Monday. The U.S. National Hurricane Center has issued a tropical storm watch covering areas from the Ochlockonee River in Florida westward to the Jefferson/Plaquemines Parish line in Louisiana, with gradual strengthening expected over the next two days. The storm system is forecast to bring 2 to 4 inches of rainfall to the Gulf Coast from western Florida to the central Texas coast by Friday, with localized amounts up to 8 inches (20.3 cm). According to modeling by consulting firm Earth Science Associates, the U.S. Gulf of Mexico could lose approximately 2 million barrels of oil during the entire storm event, a significant increase from the 10,000 barrels affected by Tropical Storm Arthur last month. The firm noted that the path of Tropical Depression Two passes over more high-output oil platforms. Federal offshore areas in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico produced nearly 2 million barrels of crude oil per day in March, accounting for about 14% of total U.S. crude output, with Shell, BP, Chevron, and Occidental Petroleum being the largest deepwater operators. The region's refining corridor, stretching from Corpus Christi, Texas, to Pascagoula, Mississippi, holds roughly half of the U.S.'s 18.4 million barrels per day refining capacity. U.S. utility company CenterPoint Energy has activated its emergency operations center in preparation for the storm, with Nathan Brownell, Vice President of Resilience, stating that crews are ready to respond to any weather-related outages and restore power as safely and quickly as possible.