The U.S. energy industry began preparing for a major hurricane strike by Tuesday, cutting crude production at a rate approaching the level of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina and halting oil refining at plants along the Texas/Louisiana coast. The storm will rapidly gain strength and become a major hurricane with sustained, 115 mile per hour (185 kph) winds when it strikes the coast by early Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center. The intensification will bring at least a 10-foot (3-meter) storm surge to the upper Texas coast and could produce a devastating category 4 hurricane, said Chris Kerr, a meteorologist at agriculture, energy and weather data provider DTN. On Monday, the storm had shut 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil output, 82% of Gulf of Mexico’s offshore […]