Producers operating in the US Gulf of Mexico shut down nearly 35% of oil output, and more than 32% of natural gas production before Tropical Storm Cristobal made landfall in southern Louisiana on Sunday. The shutdown includes 635,000 bpd of crude and 878 MMcfd of natural gas supplies. Energy producers evacuated 188 or roughly 30% of platforms and rigs in the region.
Over the past week, the storm caused ports shutdown in southern Mexico and then moved inland in the US Gulf Coast, causing heavy rainfall from Louisiana to Florida. BP, Occidental, Equinor, Shell, and other Gulf producers have evacuated their staff or activated their hurricane teams, while temporarily shutting oil and gas production from their platforms in the vicinity of the storm’s path.
US Gulf production totalled nearly 2 million bpd before the COVID-19 pandemic. The output has fallen to 1.85 million bpd, according to the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. However, some analysts estimated total production to have dropped to 1.62 million bpd in June as producers cut output due to lower prices.
