Almost 15 pct of U.S. GoM Output Down Ahead of Storm
About 14.6 percent of U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil production is offline ahead of Tropical Storm Nate, the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said on Thursday.
Nate is forecast to enter the Gulf and strengthen into a hurricane before making landfall early on Sunday in Louisiana, near several major refineries. Several producers have started evacuating staff from Gulf platforms ahead of the storm, with production equaling 254,607 barrels of oil per day already offline, according to BSEE.
About 6.4 percent of Gulf natural gas production remains offline, BSEE said.
Reporting by Ernest Scheyder
