Approximately 80.42 per cent of the current oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut in ahead of the latest Hurricane Delta, according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement on Wednesday.
In the report, BSEE also stated that approximately 50 per cent of all gas production were shut in, and as a result, oil and gas companies are evacuating more platforms and rigs in the region.
It said staff from 180 production platforms, which is nearly a third of all manned platforms in the Gulf had been evacuated.
However, the bureau said it had activated its Hurricane Response Team that monitors offshore oil and gas operations on platforms and rigs in the Gulf of Mexico as Delta approaches.
It will be recalled that several storms this season had shut in production in the Gulf, starting with Cristobal in June and most recently ending with Sally.
The hurricane that shut in the most oil and gas production in the Gulf, however, was Laura, which made landfall in late August.
So far, the shut-ins and evacuations have cost oil field operators in the Gulf of Mexico some $9bn, according to Reuters.
