Tropical depression nears storm strength on GOM track early Mon

Singapore (Platts)--17Oct2005

A tropical depression on track toward the US Gulf of Mexico oil and gas
production region had neared tropical storm strength and a hurricane watch
remained in effect for Cayman Islands in the Caribbean, the US National
Hurricane Center said in its latest update at 0200 EST (0600 GMT) Monday.
     Maximum sustained winds were near 55 km/hr (35 mph), with higher gusts.
The system was "slowly becoming better organized" and could become a tropical
storm later Monday, the NHC said. That would make it the NHC's 21st named
storm of 2005, tying the record 21 named storms set in 1933, the NHC said.
     Maps posted to the NHC website placed the system east of Mexico's Yucatan
peninsula by late Wednesday and into the southern GOM by late Friday.
     Tropical depression 24 had "meandered" in the same general area about 270
km (170 miles) southeast of Grand Cayman over the past few hours, but was
expected to drift slowly west or southwest near 4 km/hr (2 mph) over the next
24 hours. "Steering currents remain weak and some erratic motion" was possible
over the next 1-2 says, the NHC said.
     Early Monday, benchmark NYMEX light, sweet West Texas Intermediate crude
futures rallied a sharp $1.23/bbl to a high of $63.86/bbl before pulling back
to last change hands at $63.75/bbl at 0611 GMT.

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