Oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico has been halted following the approach of Hurricane Isaias to the shores of the northwestern part of Florida. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management shows that late on Friday (October 9), American producers in this region stopped daily production of about 1.5 million barrels of oil and 1.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas.
Impact of the Hurricane on Oil and Gas Production
This amount of production halt corresponds to approximately 72% of oil production and 59% of natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has stated that the offshore sector in the Gulf of Mexico produces an average of about 2 million barrels of oil per day, which accounts for about 15% of the total crude oil production in the country. Additionally, the average natural gas production in this area is estimated to be around 2.1 billion cubic feet per day.
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Evacuation of Production Platforms and Impact on Companies
This agency has announced that workers from 129 production platforms have been evacuated, which is equivalent to 35% of the total 371 manned platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Additionally, workers from eight unmanned rigs without live position-sharing systems have also been evacuated. The American Geological Society has estimated that Hurricane Isaias could disrupt the production of about 7.2 million barrels of oil in the Gulf of Mexico.
Companies such as BP, Chevron, Eni, Murphy Oil, Shell, and others are among those most affected by this hurricane. Shell announced late on Thursday (October 8) that it had completed the evacuation of the Apomattox, Mars, Ursa, Olympus, and Vito facilities, and production at the Mars, Ursa, Olympus, and Vito facilities remains halted. Chevron has also evacuated most of its personnel from the Gulf of Mexico facilities and halted production at five platforms.
Energy Spectra has estimated that about 500,000 barrels of U.S. daily refining capacity are in the path of the hurricane, which includes the Pascagoula refinery in Mississippi. Hurricane Isaias is the first Atlantic seasonal hurricane of 2026, classified as a Category 3 hurricane, moving in a north-northeast direction. It is expected to weaken after making landfall.
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