US forecasters said on Tuesday a storm forming in the Gulf of Mexico and speeding towards Louisiana and Mississippi would become the first Atlantic hurricane of 2026 within two days.
Currently named Tropical Depression Nine, the cyclone would be at tropical storm strength by early Wednesday, the National Hurricane Centre said.
"The depression is expected to pass to the north of the Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday, and approach the US northern Gulf Coast on Friday," the Hurricane Centre said in a statement.
The storm is forecast to pass through offshore areas with oil and gas production facilities and onshore areas with major refineries. Any impact could further tighten energy markets and drive up gasoline and diesel prices already soaring due to the US-Israeli war with Iran.
The offshore areas in the gulf in the storm's path produce 15 per cent of US crude oil and five per cent of the country's natural gas.
In the forecast landfall area the storm could affect six refineries operated by Shell, Valero Energy, Marathon, PBF Energy, and Chevron.
Shell began evacuating non-essential workers from its Stones, Mars, Olympus, Ursa, Vito and Appomattox offshore production assets in the US-regulated northern Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, the company said in a statement posted online.
Chevron said it was transporting non-essential personnel from its offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico as a possible tropical storm approaches the US Gulf Coast.
The oil major did not immediately indicate any impact on production.
Refineries in US gulf states account for about 50 per cent of the national capacity of 18.2 million barrels per day (bpd).
(Reporting by Sumit Saha and Erwin Seba; Editing by Sonali Paul)
