More than a quarter of the oil production capacity in the Gulf of Mexico in the U.S. has remained offline since Hurricane Rafael debilitated into a tropical storm. According to the forecasts of the National Hurricane Center, it now moves south and southwest this week.
Till Sunday, according to the data from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, over 480,000 barrels per day in oil production capacity and 310 million cubic feet of natural gas were shut down.
As per another report by the BSEE, these figures are a representation of 27.59% of the entire crude oil production capacity and 16.67% of the natural gas production capability. In its update, BSEE mentioned that the facilities will be examined once the tropical storm passes away. They have also stated that the production from the undamaged facilities will be starting soon as all the standards checks are completed.
Reuters mentioned that Chevron has already begun returning evacuated workers to the Gulf platforms, and they have started restoring the production at six production facilities. It is a relief, as at least one of the companies has resumed production in the meantime. In the remark made by the company, they mentioned that they will keep a close eye on the system.
Hurricane Rafael was formed earlier this month which escalated to a greeted level last week, raising concerns about the production of oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico. Computer models indicated that the hurricane could impact around 4 million barrels each day in oil prediction if it remains the same.
Out of all the storms in the Atlantic this season, Rafael was the 17th named storm and the tenth one since September 2024. As per the predictions by the Energy Information Administration, there could be around 25 named storms this season affecting the American oil and gas sector.
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