About 31 percent of U.S. oil output and about 10 percent of gas production, comes from the Gulf of Mexico according to the Energy Department

By Dan Hart – Jul 24, 2010

Bonnie has degenerated to a “disorganized area of low pressure” near the U.S. Gulf Coast, hours after the National Hurricane Center lifted tropical storm warnings for the northern Gulf of Mexico, the center said.

The remnants of the weather system slowed to about 14 miles (22 kilometers) per hour as of 5 p.m. New York time as it moves to the west-northwest, the center said in its last public advisory. The low is anticipated to dissipate tonight or tomorrow, and no coastal watches or warnings are in effect, the NHC said.

Storms are closely watched in the Gulf, partly because they may topple oil production platforms and rupture pipelines. Bonnie hampered BP Plc’s efforts to drill relief wells near the Macondo spill site, as the company yesterday disconnected ships that had been drilling relief wells as the storm approached. The vessels began returning today, BP spokesman John Curry said by telephone from New Orleans.

The Gulf is home to about 31 percent of U.S. oil output and about 10 percent of gas production, according to the Energy Department.

Bonnie’s maximum sustained winds were about 30 mph, which are about the same reported in the previous advisory at 11 a.m. The storm was located about 100 miles east-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River.

The storm is expected to produce rainfall totals of one to two inches over southern parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, and the far-western part of the Florida Panhandle. Some areas might record as much as three inches, the agency said.

A storm must have winds of at least 39 mph to be considered a tropical storm.

More:  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-24/tropical-storm-bonnie-weakens-over-florida-heads-into-gulf-of-mexico.html