On Sunday, the US Department of Interior data said that the crude oil output from the US Gulf of Mexico was still low after Hurricane Laura prompted evacuation and shutdowns of many offshore facilities last week.
Crude output still slumped by 70% or 1.29 million bpd with 139 platforms or drilling rigs in the region were unmanned on midday Sunday. This is compared with Wednesday’s 310 drilling rigs or platforms already evacuated on Wednesday.
According to the US Coast Guard, several ports in Texas have operated normally on Sunday including the Port of Houston, Ports of Texas City, Galveston, Freeport, and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway from West Port Arthur Bridge east to High Island Bridge. The port of Port Arthur, Texas, was open with restrictions.
However, ports closer to the landfall of the storm remained without power and were closed such as the ports of Lake Charles and Cameron and the Calcasieu Waterway, all in Louisiana.
Companies are reportedly continuing to return crews to the evacuated facilities.
Likewise, the region’s offshore natural gas output was still down by 50% as on Sunday, 1.35 bcfd was shut yesterday. Energy producers are said to start restoring output.
Six coastal refineries in the US Gulf of Mexico were also prompted to shut last week but refineries without significant damage have also started taking steps to restart operations.
The region makes up 17% of total US crude oil output, 5% of total natural gas output, and 12% of the country’s oil processing capacity.
