Hurricane Harvey throws a wrench into US energy engine

Houston

A HURRICANE in the heart of the US energy industry is set to curtail near-record US oil production for several weeks, with the impact expected to reverberate throughout the country and across international energy markets.

Harvey hit the Texas shore as a fierce Category 4 hurricane, causing massive flooding that has knocked out 11 per cent of US refining capacity, a quarter of oil production from the US Gulf of Mexico, and closed ports all along the Texas coast.