Hurricane Rafael has caused a shutdown of 17% of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico Oil Production

The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement announced on Wednesday that Hurricane Rafael had shut down approximately 17% of crude production and 7% of gas output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

The Bureau reported that energy producers have shut down 304,418 barrels of oil per day and 131,000,000 cubic feet of gas production from Gulf waters.

According to the latest U.S. National Hurricane Center advisory, Rafael, a hurricane of Category 3, was located approximately 70 miles (110 kilometers) south of Havana, Cuba. It had maximum sustained winds (185 kph) with 115 mph.

This week, oil and gas companies began to shut down their Gulf of Mexico production and pull workers off of platforms ahead of a storm that could threaten offshore fields in the late season.

The offshore regulator, citing information from producers, said that 11 production platforms, or about 3% of Gulf of Mexico's total, as well as one drilling rig, were evacuated.

According to federal data, the Gulf of Mexico is responsible for 15% of domestic oil production in the United States and 2% of gas output. (Reporting from Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru, editing by Cynthia Osterman.)

(source: Reuters)