Hurricane Isaias Shuts In 1.28 Million Bpd of Gulf Oil Production

Hurricane Isaias has knocked 1.28 million barrels per day of U.S. Gulf oil production offline, up from just 185,120 bpd two days ago as operators clear personnel from the storm's path. The Marine Minerals Administration said Thursday that 62.89% of current Gulf oil production and 57.35% of natural gas production had been shut in based on operator reports submitted by 11 a.m. CDT. Operators evacuated personnel from 121 production platforms, or 32.61% of the Gulf's 371 manned platforms. Five non-dynamically positioned rigs were evacuated, and four of the Gulf's 17 dynamically positioned rigs moved off location. The pace of the shutdown has accelerated quickly. On Tuesday, no production platforms or rigs had been evacuated, and just 9.24% of Gulf oil output and 3.36% of gas production was offline. At that point, the MMA survey reflected only one company's report. Thursday's survey included 12 companies.