From staff reports GULF COAST – Oil and natural gas production was interrupted last week when multiple offshore oil platforms were evacuated due to the pending arrival of Hurricane Helene. The Category 4 hurricane made landfall in the southeastern United States Thursday, killing at least 44, according to early reports from The Associated Press.
Data compiled by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement indicated that 29% of oil production (511,000 barrels per day) and 17% of natural gas production (313 million cubic feet per day) on offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico were shut down on Wednesday afternoon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Although the hurricane’s path took the major storm away from the high-producing oil and natural gas areas of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, vessel traffic to Florida’s Port Tampa Bay was halted where over 17 million tons of petr oleumand natural gas-related products move through in a typical year.
How long the por t closures will impact trade movements for petroleum and natural gas has not been determined.