Michael Brennan, director of the US National Hurricane Center, warned that certain areas of the northern Gulf Coast could face life-threatening impacts from Friday and through the weekend. Tropical Storm Isaias formed at sea near Mexico on Wednesday and is moving towards the US Gulf Coast. Forecasters say it could make landfall on Saturday and strengthen into a hurricane by the end of the week.
Chevron has begun procedures to shut in four facilities it operates in the US Gulf of Mexico. The company is moving some additional personnel onshore, while production at five of its other Gulf facilities continues at normal levels.
Shell is evacuating all personnel and suspending production at its Mars, Olympus, Ursa, Vito and Appomattox assets. It had already removed non-essential staff from its Stones asset. BP is also evacuating employees from offshore platforms in the Gulf.
Chevron and Shell have shut in oil and gas production at nine offshore sites between them. Neither company has said how much output the closures have affected.
Operators routinely shut in production when tropical storms threaten offshore platforms, securing wells and getting crews away before conditions worsen. Output generally resumes after a storm has passed and facilities have been inspected, though the timing depends on the storm's path and any damage.
The closures affect a region whose offshore fields account for about 15% of total US oil production and 5% of US natural gas production. Crude prices are already elevated by supply risks in the Middle East, where attacks on tankers have intensified.
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