BP has also joined the evacuation efforts, pulling staff from its offshore assets in the region. The Gulf of Mexico provides roughly 15% of total U.S. crude output and 5% of natural gas, making even brief operational pauses significant for domestic energy supply. Michael Brennan, director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center, warned of life-threatening impacts starting Friday, as the storm tracks toward a coastline already operating under high-pressure fuel demand.

Refineries across the Gulf Coast are currently running at peak capacity to address a global fuel shortage that has driven retail prices to record levels. Any landfall near these coastal processing hubs threatens to exacerbate the existing price volatility. This supply-side uncertainty arrives during an already turbulent week for global energy markets, compounded by escalating attacks on tankers in the Persian Gulf, further inflating crude prices as traders weigh the potential for a dual-front disruption.