(Reuters) – Energy facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast have begun scaling back operations and evacuating some production sites as Tropical Storm Francine swept through the energy-rich region, and was poised to strengthen into a hurricane later Tuesday.
Francine was advancing toward the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, set to become the fourth hurricane of the Atlantic season, which concludes on November 30. Francine could intensify into a Category 2 hurricane, ahead of its expected landfall along the Louisiana coast on Wednesday evening, the National Hurricane Center said.
Offshore production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, which accounts for approximately 1.8 million barrels per day or about 15% of the nation’s total crude output, could face disruptions as the storm progresses. Such interruptions have the potential to affect U.S. oil supplies, leading to upward pressure on prices for domestic oil and offshore crude grades.
The U.S. Coast Guard has imposed vessel restrictions at some Texas ports, including Brownsville, Corpus Christi, and Freeport, which are key hubs for oil imports and exports. The ports of Houston and Galveston in Texas, along with New Orleans in Louisiana, remained open to vessel traffic on Monday, and the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) was operating under normal conditions.
OPERATOR FACILITY CAPACITY DATE DETAILS
ExxonMobil Hoover offshore platform – Sept. 09 Shut-in output and evacuated staff
Chevron Gulf of Mexico – Sept. 09 Evacuating
facilitiesAnchor platform, non-essential staff from four
Tahiti oil platform offshore platforms, shutting in
oil and gas output at two offshore
production platforms
Shell Perdido oil platform, Whale 125,000 barrels of oil Sept. 09 Evacuating
platform equivalent per day non-essential personnel from three
(boe/d) for Perdido oil offshore oil platforms, paused
platform; 100,000 boe/d drilling operations at two others
for Whale platform
Freeport (LNG) LNG export plant in Texas 2.1 billion cubic feet Sept. 09 Begun storm preparations at its
per day Texas plant
Cameron (LNG) LNG export plant in Louisiana – Sept. 10 Amount of natural gas flowing to
the export plant dropped
Enbridge Inc South Marsh Island 76,Ship – Sept. 10 Pulled employees from
Shoal 207, 332 platforms several offshore U.S. Gulf of
Mexico platforms
(Reporting by Sherin Elizabeth Varghese in Bengaluru; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Comments