Hurricane Milton is expected to come ashore on Florida's Gulf coast near Tampa Bay late Wednesday, bringing life-threatening storm surge and destructive winds that have already spurred widespread evacuation orders.
US president Joe Biden warned Milton could be one of the worst storms to hit Florida in 100 years, as he urged residents under evacuation orders to act without delay. "It's a matter of life and death," he said today.
The storm was located about 520 miles southwest of Tampa at 2pm ET today, with maximum sustained winds of 155mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. Storm surge is expected to range from 10-15 feet along the Florida coast from north of Tampa to Englewood.
The fall-out for offshore oil and gas production in the US Gulf of Mexico appears limited given the forecast track takes Milton far south of most platforms.
Mexican state oil company Pemex said its ports in the Gulf of Mexico stopped operations over the last 24 hours as Milton passed north of the Yucatan Peninsula, but the company did not report on the status of offshore production.
Milton is expected to pick up speed as it turns toward the northeast later today, with the center forecast to move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico and approach the west-central coast of Florida through Wednesday. Landfall is expected on Wednesday night before Milton sweeps across central Florida.
"While fluctuations in intensity are expected, Milton is forecast to remain an extremely dangerous hurricane through landfall in Florida," the center said.
Florida officials are dispatching previously stockpiled fuel to retail stations throughout the state as hundreds of thousands of residents flee the western coast. Ports and terminals on Florida's Gulf coast from Tampa to Fort Myers Beach closed at 8am ET today as a precaution.
Chevron previously evacuated and shut in its Blind Faith oil and gas production platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The 65,000 b/d platform is located around 160 miles southeast of New Orleans. Crude production from Blind Faith feeds into South Louisiana Intermediate crude slate, which is not actively traded in the spot market but is typically priced using Heavy Louisiana Sweet.
Shell, BP and ExxonMobil all said there has been no impact to their drilling or production in the Gulf of Mexico, although the companies continue to monitor the hurricane.
