🌪⚠️🛢 Tropical depression forms in the Gulf, could become a "dangerous hurricane" before landfall in the U.S., NHC says

📝: In the hurricane's path are 4 refineries: the Marathon Garyville, LA, refinery, the Shell and Valero refineries in Norco, LA and the Chevron Pascagoula MS refinery.

@CIG_telegram

🌪⚠️🛢 Chevron evacuates some workers from Gulf of Mexico platforms at risk of storm

Chevron ‌said on Tuesday it was ​transporting non-essential ​personnel from its ⁠offshore platforms ​in the Gulf ​of Mexico as a possible tropical ​storm approached ​the US Gulf Coast.

"Production ‌from ⁠Chevron-operated assets remains at normal levels," it ​added ​in ⁠a statement. "At our onshore ​facilities, we ​are ⁠following our storm preparedness procedures."

🔗 https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chevron-evacuates-some-workers-gulf-mexico-platforms-risk-storm-2026-10-07/

🇧🇷♨️ The 2026-2027 El Niño event will cause a historic drought in the Amazon River Basin

Water is a cornerstone of the Brazilian economy and society, underpinning both productive sectors and social well-being in multiple ways. In the power sector, hydroelectric plants are responsible for more than half of the country’s electricity generation. In agriculture, dependence on rainfall is equally pronounced: only 13% of farmland is irrigated, making stable and sufficient water supply essential for crop productivity.

The agriculture sector plays a central role in Brazil’s economy. In 2024, it accounted for 5.5% of the gross domestic product (GDP), and when considering the broader agribusiness production chain, its contribution reached almost 24%. Globally, the importance of Brazilian agriculture is equally significant: in 2024, Brazil was the largest producer of soybeans, coffee, orange juice, and sugar; the second-largest producer of beef and chicken; and the third-largest producer of corn and cotton.

A striking feature of Brazilian agriculture is its dependence on rainwater. In 2022, only 13% of agricultural land was irrigated, leaving most production highly exposed to fluctuations in precipitation. This dependence has already translated into considerable economic losses. According to the National Confederation of Municipalities (Confederação Nacional de Municípios – CNM), between 2013 and 2022, the country lost an estimated US$ 34 billion in crops and US$ 12 billion in livestock due to drought.

Brazil’s waterway network plays an increasingly vital role in national logistics and commodity exports. All hydrographic regions have recorded growth in cargo movement, with the Amazon and Paraguay regions standing out. Between 2010 and 2023, soybean and corn transport via waterways increased by 782%, and ports in Arco Norte saw grain exports grow between 70% and 80% between 2020 to 2024. The federal government has also announced plans to expand the potential of Brazilian waterway infrastructure to lower freight costs for commodity exports.

However, reoccurring droughts have negatively disrupted grain transport via the waterway network. During the 2020/2021 drought, the Tietê-Paraná waterway fell to critical levels, leading to the interruption of transport on its rivers. In 2023, the drought in the Amazon reduced the volume of grain transport by about 40%, requiring cargo to be rerouted to the South and Southeast. In 2024, the Madeira River reached a record low of 25 cm in depth, leading to the interruption of operations at the port of Porto Velho. That same year, Hidrovias do Brasil suffered significant losses—estimated at US$ 114 million—due to drought conditions in the North and South corridors.

In other words, a drought in the Amazon River Basin will disrupt Brazil's exports leading to higher prices and potentially even shortages, of soybeans, corn, cocoa beans, sugarcane and coffee. Anything that is transported by barge on the Amazon or its tributaries will be affected including Brazil's lithium exports and other minerals and metals it extracts from the Amazon rainforest.

Soybean is mainly used to make soybean feed used to feed pigs, poultry, cattle and farmed fish. Disruptions to the soybean market will reflect in the prices of pork, beef, chicken and fish meat.

The Amazon river according already lost 50cm of draft in the last 7 days alone.

🔗 https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/when-the-river-runs-dry-how-amazon-deforestation-threatens-the-brazilian-economy/