Chevron halts production on 2 platforms in the Gulf of Mexico due to hurricane

Oil company Chevron said on Monday that it was moving workers to a safe location and temporarily halting production at two offshore production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico as it prepares for Hurricane Ian.

“We have begun transporting all personnel from our Petronius and Blind Faith platforms and are closing the facility,” Chevron said in an emailed statement. The oil company added, however, that the rest of the production from the fields in the Gulf of Mexico “remains at normal levels”.

Shell, another offshore producer, said it was also keeping an eye on the storm. “We are closely monitoring Hurricane Ian,” the company said in an emailed statement. “To date, there have been no impacts on Shell’s operations in the Gulf of Mexico.”

Oil Price Information Service analyst Tom Kloza assesses that other offshore production fields could be affected as Ian moves forward.

“It looks like the storm has moved a little to the west and my feeling is that the runway takes it closer to some offshore platforms,” Kloza said. “Probably won’t miss any, but precautionary shutdowns could have an impact.”

The two Chevron platforms that stop production can produce about 120,000 barrels a day of oil combined, although actual daily production could be less than that.

Total offshore oil production in the Gulf of Mexico is about 1.8 million barrels per day, which is about 16% of the total US production of 11 million barrels per day.

Offshore natural gas production is about 5% of total US production, according to the US Department of Energy.