Factbox: Hurricane Helene Causes US Gulf Coast Energy Facilities to Scale Back Operations

Energy facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast have reduced operations and evacuated some sites in anticipation of Hurricane Helene, which is expected to bring severe winds and storm surges to the northeastern Gulf Coast.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Helene is projected to traverse the eastern Gulf of Mexico on Thursday and make landfall on the Florida Big Bend coast that evening. The hurricane is anticipated to reach Category 4 status, with sustained wind speeds of up to 156 miles per hour.

Officials have issued urgent warnings, urging residents in coastal regions along the hurricane’s path to evacuate to avoid the effects of devastating winds and a potentially lethal storm surge.

As a result of Hurricane Helene, approximately 25% of production and 20% of output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico has been halted, as reported by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. Offshore production in this region accounts for about 1.8 million barrels per day, representing roughly 15% of the nation’s total crude oil production. As a result, these disruptions could influence U.S. oil supplies, leading to increased pressure on domestic oil prices.

Several operators have taken precautionary measures:

• Kinder Morgan has shut down its Tampa area terminals in preparation for the storm.
• Shell has evacuated non-essential personnel from its facilities in the Mars Corridor and has paused drilling operations while shutting down production at its Stones and Appomattox facilities.
• Chevron has evacuated all personnel from its platforms, including Blind Faith, Anchor, Big Foot, Jack/St. Malo, Petronius, Malo, and Tahiti, and has shut-in production at these sites.
• Equinor evacuated some staff from its Titan oil production platform.
• BP removed non-essential personnel from its Argos, Atlantis, Mad Dog, Na Kika, and Thunder Horse platforms, shut-in production at Na Kika and Thunder Horse, and reduced production at Argos and Atlantis.

Efforts are ongoing to safely ramp up production across the Gulf of Mexico portfolio once conditions allow.