News, August 2008

96% of US Gulf Oil Production Halted Ahead of Hurricane Gustav, Republicans Change Convention Schedule

U.S. Republicans change convention schedule due to hurricane Gustav

www.chinaview.cn 2008-09-01 06:53:59  

    ST. PAUL, the United States, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) --

U.S. Republicans have decided to change the schedule of their Sept. 1-4 national convention due to Hurricane Gustav, Republican presidential hopeful John McCain said Sunday.

    "This is a time when we have to do away with our party politics and we have to act as Americans. We have to join the 300 million other Americans on behalf of our fellow citizens. It's a time for action. So, we're going to suspend most of our activities tomorrow except for those absolutely necessary," said McCain, speaking from St. Louis, Missouri.

    Campaign manager Rick Davis told reporters that Republicans would meet in an abbreviated fashion, conducting only what was necessary to constitute a convention, such as calling the convention to order, receiving a report from the credentials committee and adopting the party platform.

    "Tomorrow's program will be business only and will refrain from any political rhetoric that would be traditional in an opening session of a convention," he said.

    The convention will begin at its regularly scheduled time, 3 p.m. central time (2000 GMT), and adjourn around 5 p.m. or 5:30 p.m.(2200 GMT and 2230 GMT), according to Davis.

    The four-day Republican National Convention, or RNC, will formally start Monday in St. Paul, Minnesota and McCain will formally accept presidential nomination of his party.

    Davis said the rest of the week's schedule would be determined on a day-by-day basis. Earlier Sunday, McCain said it wouldn't be appropriate to hold a political celebration during the storm.

    "We must redirect our efforts from the really celebratory event of the nomination of president and vice president of our party to acting as all Americans," he said, adding that it was likely the event would change into a "call to the nation for action."

    "I pledge that tomorrow night, and if necessary, throughout our convention ... to act as Americans, not Republicans, because America needs us now no matter whether we are Republican or Democrat," he said.

    Also on Sunday, the White House announced President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney would not be in attendance. Instead of attending, Bush is likely to address the convention's Monday session, if there is one, via satellite, other officials said.

    First lady Laura Bush is scheduled to attend. The last time an incumbent president skipped his party's convention was in 1968, when President Lyndon Johnson stayed at his Texas ranch while Democrats met in Chicago, Illinois.

    On Saturday, Bush declared a state of emergency in Mississippi, following similar declarations in Louisiana and Texas. The president ordered federal aid to supplement state and local efforts in the areas in the forecast path of Hurricane Gustav.

    Bush and his administration were heavily criticized in 2005 for not moving fast enough to send federal help to the Gulf Coast when Hurricane Katrina hit.

    The McCain campaign arranged a charter flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday afternoon for delegates who wish to return to the Gulf Coast region ahead of Hurricane Gustav.

    A senior McCain source said Saturday that officials were considering turning the convention into a massive telethon to raise money for the Red Cross and other agencies to help with hurricane aid.

    "He wants to do something service oriented if and when the storm hits and it's as bad as it's expected to be now," the McCain source said.

    They are also hoping to get McCain himself to a storm-affected area as soon as possible.

    Republican governors Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Charlie Crist of Florida, Haley Barbour of Mississippi and Rick Perry of Texas, whose states lie in the path of the Category 3 Gustav, will skip the GOP convention because of the storm.

    The storm has forced last-minute changes in the convention's announced schedule: If the convention -- originally scheduled to start Monday -- commences by Tuesday, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's speech will probably move to that night from Wednesday.

    The hardest decisions, like whether to cancel a day or two of the four-day gathering or to condense days, will be made at the last second, GOP officials said, but the logistics are being discussed. 

Over 96% of U.S. Gulf oil production halted ahead of Hurricane Gustav

www.chinaview.cn 2008-09-01 06:56:04  

    WASHINGTON, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) --

More than 96 percent of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has been closed as Gustav, a Category 3 hurricane, is forecast to hit the U.S. coast on Monday, according to the Department of the Interior (DOI) on Sunday.

    "From the operators' reports, it is estimated that approximately 96.26 percent of the oil production in the Gulf has been shut-in," the DOI's Minerals Management Service said in a statement.

    At the same time, more than 82 percent of natural gas production in the Gulf had been shut down ahead of the hurricane, it said.

    Personnel have been evacuated from platforms and rigs, according to the statement.

    As of Sunday afternoon, at least nine refineries with a combined capacity of 2.2 million barrels per day, were being shut along the south Louisiana coast.

    Other refineries were reducing processing rates and further shutdowns were possible, said the statement.

    Dangerous Gustav has already killed more than 80 people in the Caribbean, and if current forecasts hold up, it would make landfall in the U.S. coast as early as Monday.

    Gustav could rival the wrath of Hurricane Katrina, some analysts believe.

    Katrina, which hit the U.S. Gulf late August 2005, and Hurricane Rita, which followed Katrina, resulted in damages to more than 100 oil platforms.

    The two hurricanes three years ago shut down a quarter of U.S. oil production and closed several large refineries for months.

    Because of Gustav, oil prices could rise as much as 10 U.S. dollars per barrel, analysts have warned.

    After the hurricane has passed, facilities will be inspected, according to the statement.

    Once all standard checks have been completed, production from undamaged facilities will be brought back on line immediately. Facilities sustaining damage may take longer to bring back on line, it said.