Upstream oil and gas producers have begun evacuating nonessential staff from their platforms in the US Gulf of Mexico as a tropical depression is expected to develop into a hurricane within two days. Shell said it has halted output at its Stones field and evacuated nonessential personnel as a precautionary measure. Chevron was evacuating crews from some facilities but kept production at normal levels. Murphy Oil also planned to evacuate workers from some platforms. BHP was also evacuating workers from its Shenzi platform.
According to the US National Hurricane Center, Tropical Depression Nine was about 165 miles southeast of Grand Cayman on August 26 and would pass through the central US Gulf of Mexico by August 27-28. The NHC said it could strengthen into a hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 35 miles per hour by August 28 and make landfall in the central Louisiana coast by August 30.
The projected path of the storm includes all of Louisiana and a small part of southeastern Texas. This could potentially disrupt refineries and LNG export facilities in the Gulf Coast. The Gulf accounts for 16% of US crude production, 2% of the nation’s gas output, and 48% of its refining capacity. As of August 27, no operators have announced shutdowns.
