Hurricane Isaias Shuts Down 71% of Oil Production in the Gulf of Mexico

The U.S. Marine Minerals Administration announced that Hurricane Isaias has led to the shutdown of 1,458,814 barrels per day, equivalent to 71.51% of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and about 58.84% of gas production, as the storm approaches landfall.

According to the agency, 129 out of 371 manned platforms were evacuated. A shutdown of 185,120 barrels per day had been reported three days earlier, meaning production losses multiplied several times over within a few days.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center confirmed the upgrade of Isaias to Category 3 status at 7:20 a.m. local time on Friday, with winds reaching 120 mph and atmospheric pressure at 959 millibars, located about 240 miles south of Pensacola.

Shell, Chevron, and BP had scaled back operations and evacuated personnel from platforms, amid extensive preparations to deal with the hurricane's impact on oil infrastructure in the U.S. Gulf. This total surpasses a shutdown rate of about 63% reported a day earlier, as the storm intensified and approached landfall.

What do these terms mean?

Barrels per day (b/d): A unit of measurement for the rate of oil production or consumption, representing the number of barrels produced each day.

Category 3 hurricane: A classification for powerful hurricanes on a five-category scale, accompanied by winds exceeding 111 mph.

Millibar: A unit of measurement for atmospheric pressure; a drop in pressure indicates storm intensification.

Offshore platform: A facility constructed at sea from which oil or gas wells are drilled and pipelines are connected.