20% of GOM oil production remains shut down after Hurricane Francine

A fifth of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and about 28 percent of natural gas production remain shut down after Hurricane Francine made landfall in Louisiana last week.

That’s according to the latest data from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, which said Sunday that personnel remain evacuated from 37 production rigs in the Gulf, nearly 10 percent of manned rigs in the area.

The portion of oil production that remains offline is about 339,000 barrels per day. The amount of natural gas production that remains suspended is approximately 515 million cubic meters per day.

Last week, oil prices rose substantially due to the production disruption that Francine caused in the Gulf of Mexico. As Francine hit the Louisiana coast on Wednesday, up to 46 percent of manned production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico were evacuated, with about 40 percent of crude oil production affected. Almost half of natural gas production in the GOM was shut down last week.

Offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico produce about 14 percent of total U.S. crude oil production, according to Energy Information Administration data. The Gulf also contributes 5% of total natural gas production.

The Gulf Coast also accounts for nearly half of US oil refining capacity and 51% of gas processing capacity. Francine disrupted those operations as well, with some refineries reducing processing rates ahead of the storm.

Exxon and Shell were among them, cutting operating rates at their Baton Rouge and Norco facilities, respectively. As of Friday, Exxon raised rates and Shell was reviewing the condition of its Norco plant in the wake of the storm.

The status of Marathon Petroleum’s Garyville refinery remains unclear after the company declined to discuss it and Reuters sources appeared to have no information on it. The publication noted that there were power outages in the Garyville area. The refinery is the fourth largest in the country.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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