About 29% of crude production and 17% of natural gas output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico were shut in response to Hurricane Helene, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said on Wednesday.
Energy producers had shut-in 511,000 barrels per day of oil production and nearly 313 million cubic feet of natural gas from Gulf waters, the bureau added.
The hurricane was located about 480 miles (775 km) south-southwest of Tampa, packing maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. There were 17 oil and gas platforms evacuated as of Wednesday, about 4.6% of the Gulf of Mexico total, the offshore regulator said citing reports from producers.
Chevron said it was shutting in production at Chevron-operated Gulf of Mexico facilities and evacuating all associated personnel.
Norwegian oil producer Equinor also said it has shut in operations and evacuated staff at its Titan platform in the Gulf of Mexico as of Tuesday morning.
The U.S. Gulf of Mexico accounts for about 15% of all domestic oil production and 2% of natural gas output, according to federal data.
(Reporting by Anmol Choubey in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and David Gregorio)