More than half of US Gulf oil production shut as major storms approach

LONDON (ICIS)–More than half of the current oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut as two major storms approach, with 114 platforms already evacuated, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSSE) said.

Oil companies have evacuated workers from 114 out of the 643 platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, representing 17.7% of the total, according to the BSSE on Sunday.

Some 1.07m bbl/day of oil production has been shut-in in the Gulf of Mexico, representing 57.6% of total Gulf output, while 1,205 million cubic feet/day of gas production has been shut, representing 44.6% of the total, the BSSE said.

The Gulf of Mexico hosts several offshore oil wells, accounting for 17% of the nation’s crude production, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The region is home to more than 45% of its refining capacity and 51% of its natural-gas-processing capacity.

There are four operational liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants along the Gulf Coast; Corpus Christi and Freeport LNG in Texas; and Sabine Pass and Cameron LNG in Louisiana.

Tropical Storm Marco, which had strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane before easing off, is expected to approach the Louisiana coast on Monday afternoon before turning west and moving close to the coast through Tuesday night, the National Hurricane Center said in its latest update at 04:00 local time (10:00 London time).

Wind speeds had decreased to near 60mph with further weakening expected, though the NHC warned of dangerous storm surges before it dissipates on Wednesday.

Source: NHC

Tropical Storm Laura is forecast to move over the Caribbean sea just off the southern coast of Cuba on Monday, before moving into the Gulf of Mexico and strengthening to a hurricane on Tuesday.

“Gradual strengthening is expected, and Laura is forecast to become a hurricane by early Tuesday,” the NHC said in its latest advisory.

“A Hurricane Watch will likely be required for portions of the US northwest Gulf coast area by this evening,” the agency added.

Source: NHC

Updates with latest storm information

Additional reporting by Al Greenwood, Nurluqman Suratman and Ruth Liao

Thumbnail picture: Tropical Storm Laura making landfall in Guayama, Puerto Rico, on 22 August. The storm is expected to strengthen to a hurricane as it moves into the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday. Source: Thais Llorca/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock.