About 25% of crude oil production and 20% of natural gas output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico was shut in as a result of Hurricane Helene, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said on Thursday.
Energy producers had shut-in 441,923 barrels per day of oil production and nearly 363.4 million cubic feet of natural gas from Gulf waters, the bureau said.
Fueled by the Gulf of Mexico’s warm waters, Helene intensified into a Category 2 hurricane early on Thursday with sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph) as it sped toward Florida.
There were 27 oil and gas platforms evacuated as of Thursday, about 7.3% of the Gulf of Mexico total, the offshore regulator said, citing reports from producers.
Oil producer BP said on Wednesday that it had secured its offshore facilities and was safely working toward ramping up production across its Gulf of Mexico facilities.
Shell has started restoring production to normal levels at both the Appomattox platform and the Stones site in the Gulf of Mexico, the company said on Tuesday.
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 Chris Reese and Leslie Adler)