Nearly 30% of US Gulf of Mexico oil output offline after storm
Adds cumulative loss estimate from Hurricane Francine in paragraph 4
HOUSTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) -Nearly 30% of U.S. Gulf of Mexico crude oil production and 41% of its natural gas production remained offline on Saturday following Hurricane Francine, the U.S. offshore energy regulator said.
Francine churned through prime oil and gas producing areas in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and slammed into Louisiana with up to 100 miles per hour (161 kph) winds. The midweek storm toppled trees, flooded coastal areas and knocked out power across four states. There were some 37,000 customers in Louisiana without power on Saturday.
A survey of energy producers showed more than 522,000 barrels of oil production and 755 million cubic feet of natural gas remained offline on Saturday, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said.
Cumulative offshore production losses this week due to Francine total 1.82 million barrels of crude oil and 4.12 billion cubic feet of natural gas, according to BSEE estimates.
There were 52 oil and gas platforms unmanned by energy workers on Saturday, about 14% of the total, down from 171 evacuated offshore platforms at peak earlier in the week, the offshore regulator said.
Two of Chevron's CVX.N platforms were operating at reduced rates due to an onshore gas plant disruption, the company said on Saturday. Full production at the two - Jack/St. Malo and Big Foot - will resume after the onshore disruption is resolved, it said.
Chevron did not identify the operator of the gas plant.
The second-largest U.S. oil producer said it was continuing to return workers and restore oil production at its Anchor and Tahiti platforms that were shut-in ahead of hurricane Francine. Initial assessments show neither suffered significant damages, Chevron said.
Reporting by Gary McWilliams;
Editing by Alistair Bell and Diane Craft
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
