16 Percent Of Crude Oil Production In Gulf Of Mexico Still Offline: BSEE

The aftermath of Hurricane Ida is still curtailing U.S. crude oil production, with 16% of crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico still offline as of Thursday, according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).

It is the final report on the oil-related devastation from Ida, although the effects from Ida are expected to linger.

The final BSEE report shows that 31 production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico are still evacuated.  Approximately 16.18% of the crude oil production—nearly 300,000 bpd—in the Gulf is still shut in, along with 24.27%—541.12 MMCFD—of all gas production.

Hurricane Ida was responsible for the largest-ever initial loss of crude oil production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico from a hurricane. At the height of the storm’s devastation on the oil industry, almost all of the crude oil in the Gulf of Mexico was shut in. As of September 14, Ida had taken 30 million barrels of oil offline altogether.

Oil production and refineries had been slow to restart after Hurricane Ida hit. One of the platforms, operated by Shell, will remain shut in through the end of this year after it sustained damage in the storm. Shell said that its output will be affected into next year.

One refinery owned by Phillips 66 may remain shut for good, rather than undergo repairs.

U.S. crude oil production dipped from 11.5 million bpd before Hurricane Ida hit, to 10 million bpd the following week. While oil production continues to come back online, it had only reached 10.6 million bpd on average for the week ending September 17.

A new storm—Tropical Storm Sam—has now formed in the Atlantic, and is expected to become a Category 3 hurricane by the weekend.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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