Texas's largest port closed operations and boat traffic on Sunday to prepare for tropical storm “Beryl” (Beryl), which is expected to intensify into a hurricane before hitting the region on Monday. It is likely to develop into a Category 2 hurricane after it makes landfall on the central Texas coast.

Corpus Christi (Corpus Christi), Port of Houston (Houston), Port Galveston (Galveston), Freeport (Freeport), and Texas City (Texas City) have been closed. Due to high winds expected to blow within 12 hours, all vessel navigation and cargo operations are restricted.

The Port of Corpus Christi is about 200 miles (322 km) from Houston and is America's largest crude oil export hub. The Port of Texas City and Freeport are also major transportation hubs for oil and refined oil products along the US Gulf Coast.

Port closures may result in the temporary cessation of crude oil exports, oil shipped to refineries, and automobile fuel produced by these plants.

The US National Hurricane Center revised the predicted path of “Beryl” and switched to a northerly direction, which is expected to land near Matagorda Bay. The storm is likely to bring wind speeds of 85 mph (136 km/h) and cause severe flooding, including the suburbs near Houston.

According to the PowerOutage.US website, nearly 0.014 million users in Texas lost power on Sunday evening. Electricity supplier Centerpoint Energy (CNP.N) said the company is monitoring the storm situation and making preparations. Acting Texas Governor Dan Patrick (Dan Patrick) is urging those vacationing along the coast to leave before the storm hits. “This is a serious storm, and you must take it seriously and be prepared,” he said during a meeting with officials in Austin.

Energy infrastructure company Kinder Morgan (KMI.N) said on Sunday that it shut down West Clear Lake and Dayton gas storage facilities as well as gas processing facilities in Texas City before the storm hit. “We expect this to have a minimal impact on our pipeline operations,” the company said. All of the company's other facilities on the storm path are still in operation.

Some energy facilities in Texas had to shut down or slow down operations due to the wind damage caused by “Beryl.” Freeport LNG (Freeport LNG) liquefaction lines 1, 2, and 3 as well as a pretreatment facility were voluntarily shut down due to the influence of “Beryl.” The plant operator later restarted the devices, according to a filing with the Texas Environmental Quality Commission.

Freeport said on Sunday that it has reduced production at the liquefaction facility and plans to resume production safely after the weather incident. LNG producer Cheniere Energy (LNG.N) said on Sunday that operations at its Corpus Christi plant were not interrupted, but all non-essential personnel had been disbanded. “Our Gulf Coast assets have strong, proven resilience to severe weather,” the company said in a press release.

Chemours Co (CC.N), a chemical manufacturer with production facilities near Corpus Christi (Corpus Christi), said on Sunday that it has upgraded its hurricane preparedness plan, “including planning safety and adequate staffing during and after the storm, and ensuring the safety of equipment and assets when the storm hits our site.”

Enbridge (ENB.TO), which operates a major crude oil export facility near Corpus Christi, said all assets in the US Gulf region are in operation, adding that they have initiated contingency plans.

Gibson Energy (GEI.TO), which also operates export facilities in the region, said on Sunday that after the closure of Corpus Christi, all Gateway (Gateway) and Houston employees were safe, and facilities and terminals were protected.

Citgo Petroleum Corp cut production at its Corpus Christi refinery, which produces 0.165 million barrels per day, last Saturday, sources said. The refinery plans to keep the plant's operations at a minimum during the “Beryl” transit period.

Some oil producers, including Shell (SHEL.L) and Chevron (CVX.N), have also shut down production or evacuated personnel from offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

In addition to this, wildfires in Alberta, Canada also threaten crude oil supplies.

Warren Patterson, head of commodity strategy at ING Groep NV in Singapore, said: “While 'Beryl' puts some offshore oil and gas production at risk, when the storm hits, there is concern about its potential impact on refinery infrastructure. The long-term shutdown of any refinery will benefit crude oil and improve refined oil products.”