Energy facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast have begun scaling back operations and evacuating some production sites as Tropical Storm Francine swept through the energy-rich region, and was poised to strengthen into a hurricane later Tuesday.
Francine was advancing toward the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, set to become the fourth hurricane of the Atlantic season, which concludes on November 30. Francine could intensify into a Category 2 hurricane, ahead of its expected landfall along the Louisiana coast on Wednesday evening, the National Hurricane Center said.
Offshore production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, which accounts for approximately 1.8 million barrels per day or about 15% of the nation’s total crude output, could face disruptions as the storm progresses. Such interruptions have the potential to affect U.S. oil supplies, leading to upward pressure on prices for domestic oil and offshore crude grades.
The U.S. Coast Guard has imposed vessel restrictions at some Texas ports, including Brownsville, Corpus Christi, and Freeport, which are key hubs for oil imports and exports. The ports of Houston and Galveston in Texas, along with New Orleans in Louisiana, remained open to vessel traffic on Monday, and the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) was operating under normal conditions.
| OPERATOR | FACILITY | CAPACITY | DATE | DETAILS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ExxonMobil | Hoover offshore platform | - | Sept. 09 | Shut-in output and evacuated staff |
| Chevron | Gulf of Mexico facilities, Anchor platform, Tahiti oil platform | - | Sept. 09 | Evacuating non-essential staff from four offshore platforms, shutting in oil and gas output at two offshore production platforms |
| Shell | Perdido oil platform, Whale platform | 125,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) for Perdido oil platform; 100,000 boe/d for Whale platform | Sept. 09 | Evacuating non-essential personnel from three offshore oil platforms, paused drilling operations at two others |
| Freeport (LNG) | LNG export plant in Texas | 2.1 billion cubic feet per day | Sept. 09 | Begun storm preparations at its Texas plant |
| Cameron (LNG) | LNG export plant in Louisiana | - | Sept. 10 | Amount of natural gas flowing to the export plant dropped |
| Enbridge Inc | South Marsh Island 76,Ship Shoal 207, 332 platforms | - | Sept. 10 | Pulled employees from several offshore U.S. Gulf of Mexico platforms |
(Reuters - Reporting by Sherin Elizabeth Varghese in Bengaluru; editing by Jonathan Oatis)