Louisiana governer, Bobby Jindal, declared a state of emergency as the storm is forecast to hit the state's coast on Sunday.
Tropical storm Bonnie threatened efforts to plug BP Plc's Gulf of Mexico oil leak, officials said today, and many of the vessels and rigs involved in the operation will prepare to move out of the system's path.
"While these actions might delay the effort to kill the well for several days, the safety of the individuals at the well site is our highest concern," retired coast guard admiral, Thad Allen, said in a statement late on Thursday.
They were supposed to prepare to move out of harm's way Thursday night, Allen said, though it was unclear exactly when they would pull out or stop operations.
Among the rigs involved is the one drilling the relief well that will permanently kill the leak. It had been on track to intercept the ruptured well by mid-August.
Officials have said an evacuation could force a delay of 10 to 14 days in operations. But the blown-out well will remain capped even as the evacuation forces a temporary halt to the operations, including monitoring.
BP capped the well last week, choking off the flow of oil that has caused an ecological disaster for the first time since the April 20 rig explosion.
Its containment efforts have been keenly eyed by investors because BP's ultimate costs may hinge on how much oil is determined to have flown into the Gulf.
The US National Hurricane Centre said Bonnie, the second named storm of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, was packing maximum sustained winds of 40 miles (65 kph) per hour.
It formed near the Bahamas on Thursday on a track that could take it over the BP spill site. The storm is expected to move into the eastern Gulf on Friday night and Saturday.
Louisiana governer, Bobby Jindal, declared a state of emergency as the storm is forecast to hit the state's coast on Sunday.
The largest offshore oil spill in US’s history, triggered by the explosion that killed 11 workers, has unleashed an environmental disaster in the Gulf and devastated the region's tourism and fishing industries.
Workers have been close to completing the relief and launching a ‘static kill’ operation to pump heavy drilling mud and possibly cement into the well.
The spill has sparked a crisis for British energy giant BP, which created a $20 billion fund to compensate victims of the disaster and still faces mounting costs.
BP shares remained relatively steady on New York trading on Thursday, climbing 0.3% as the overall market rose. It is due to report quarterly results next week.
President Barack Obama, who has been under political pressure for his handling of the spill, will spend the August 14 weekend along the hard-hit Florida Gulf Coast, the White House announced.
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