Hurricane Isaias has led to the shutdown of 1,458,814 barrels per day of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico. This amount represents 71.51 percent of the oil production in this region and marks a significant increase compared to the 185,120 barrels per day recorded just three days ago.
Production Shutdown Information
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management reported that in addition, 1.26 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas production has also been halted, equivalent to 58.84 percent of Gulf gas production. This shutdown includes 176,000 barrels per day of oil production that has been lost since Thursday.
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Impact on Infrastructure
Operators have currently evacuated 129 production platforms, which constitutes nearly 35 percent of the 371 manned platforms in the Gulf. Additionally, out of 11 non-dynamically positioned drilling rigs, 8 rigs have been evacuated, while two out of 17 dynamically positioned rigs have also moved out of the storm's path.
The scale of the production shutdown has changed rapidly. On Tuesday, before Isaias became a hurricane, no production platforms or rigs had been evacuated, and only 9.24 percent of Gulf oil production was shut down. However, this figure rose to 62.89 percent by Thursday, and now more than 70 percent of the Gulf's production barrels have been temporarily removed from the market.
It is important to note that a production shutdown does not mean a permanent loss of supply. Offshore operators regularly shut in wells and evacuate personnel before a storm, and then resume production after inspecting the facilities. This process depends on the damage left by Isaias. Undamaged platforms can quickly return to operation after safety inspections, but damage to platforms, subsea equipment, pipelines, or onshore infrastructure can significantly increase downtime.
The Gulf shutdown comes at a time when the oil market is in a sensitive supply position due to disruptions in the Middle East over the past few months and declining inventories.
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