Hurrican fears shut down half of the Gulf of Mexico oil production
Major companies reduce production in the wake of the coming storm.
Energy producers have 1.07 million bbl / day or nearly 58% of offshore crude oil production and 1.2 million cf / day or 45% of natural gas production from the Gulf of Mexico because of the dual threat of Hurricane Marco and Tropical Storm Laura closed, according to the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. According to the BSEE, workers on 114 production platforms were evacuated from the 643 manned platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. The Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) says it has "ceased production with the exception of one of our facilities" in the Gulf of Mexico, but does not identify the field that is still producing. Equinor (NYSE: EQNR) says it has completed evacuation and cessation of production of its titanium platform in the Gulf while BHP is ceasing operations of its Shenzi and Neptune oil rigs. BP, Chevron (NYSE: CVX) and Murphy Oil (NYSE: MUR) have also evacuated staff and ceased production, according to previous reports. Crude prices are skyrocketing, with front month futures up ~ 0.2% for both WTI and Brent crude.