US Hurricane Knocks Out Gulf Output [UPDATE]
Hurricane Delta had led to the shut-in of almost 62% of gas and 91.5% of oil supply in the Gulf of Mexico as of 1:00 pm CDT on October 9, the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) reported.
Some 1.685bn ft3/day of gas and 1.693mn barrels/day of oil production had been shut-in, BSEE said in a 1:00 pm CDT update October 9. Some 274 of the 643 manned platforms in the region had been evacuated, along with seven of the 10 rigs stationed there.
At 1:00 pm CDT October 9, Delta was about 130 km south-southwest of Cameron, Louisiana and packing maximum sustained winds of 175 km/hour, according to the US National Hurricane Center. The category-3 storm is now expected to make landfall in Louisiana later this afternoon, and depending on its path, could force the Cameron and Sabine Pass LNG export terminals to temporarily suspend operations, the US Energy Information Administration said, as they did before Hurricane Laura in August. The facilities' operators have not reported any disruptions.
Brent crude oil futures were up 3% on October 8, closing at $43.34/barrel, but have fallen 0.75% so far on October 9. US Henry Hub gas for November delivery was $2.72/mn Btu at 12.05 pm (UK local time), up 3.5% on the day.