About 63% of US Gulf oil production shut in ahead of Isaias, US agency says
USO•About 62.89% of current US Gulf oil production and 57.35% of natural gas production had been shut in by Thursday as operators responded to Hurricane Isaias. A model forecast estimated that about 9 million barrels of oil production could be lost across the Gulf through the storm.
1. Offshore shutdowns expand
The Marine Minerals Administration said personnel had been evacuated from 121 of the Gulf’s 371 manned production platforms. Workers were also removed from 5 of 11 non-dynamically positioned rigs, while 4 of 17 dynamically positioned rigs moved off location as a precaution.
2. Storm and production outlook
Isaias, the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season, was forecast to make landfall near the Mississippi-Alabama-Florida border on Friday night and could strengthen as it moved toward the northern Gulf Coast. On Wednesday, 25% of oil production and 16% of natural gas output had been shut in. The Gulf produces about 2 million barrels of oil and 2.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.
3. Company operations affected
BP said it had evacuated all personnel from its Na Kika and Thunder Horse platforms and shut in production. Shell and Chevron had said they were curtailing offshore operations. About 0.5 million barrels per day of refining capacity, including the Pascagoula refinery, was in the storm’s path, an Energy Aspects estimate said.
