Hurricane Isaias Knocks Out Nearly Two-Thirds of Gulf Oil Output

Roughly 1.28 million barrels per day of U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil production has been shut in ahead of Hurricane Isaias, OilPrice.com reports, citing Thursday’s survey of offshore operators by federal regulators.

That is close to 63% of current Gulf crude output and more than 57% of its natural gas production, up sharply from Tuesday, when less than a tenth of oil output was offline. Operators have evacuated 121 of the region’s 371 staffed production platforms, and several drilling rigs have been evacuated or moved off location.

Isaias, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, was forecast to strengthen toward Category 3 before an expected landfall on the northern Gulf Coast early Saturday, with storm surge of up to seven feet possible along parts of the Florida Panhandle and Alabama. Facilities that escape damage are expected to restart after routine inspections.

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