US Gulf Oil Production Cut by 63% as Hurricane Nears
October 9, 2026
US producers in the Gulf of Mexico shut in about 1.3 million barrels per day of oil production and 1.1 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas as Hurricane Isaias blew through the corridor ahead of an expected landfall somewhere between southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle later this week.
The shut-ins represent roughly 63% and 57% of US oil and natural gas production in the Gulf, respectively, according to the Marine Minerals Administration. Oil prices rose 4% on Thursday, partly due to mounting supply disruptions as the hurricane approached. O/R
Personnel have been evacuated from 121 production platforms, representing 33% of the 371 manned platforms in the Gulf, and workers had been removed from five of 11 non-dynamically positioned rigs, it said.
Four of the Gulf's 17 dynamically positioned rigs moved off location as a precaution to avoid the hurricane's path, the agency said.
Isaias, the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season, could strengthen as it moves toward the northern Gulf Coast, with expected landfall near the Mississippi-Alabama-Florida border on Friday night.
On Wednesday, 25% of oil production and 16% of natural gas output had been shut in.
About 9 million barrels of oil production could be lost across the Gulf through the storm, a marked increase from the 7.1-million-barrel effect from Tropical Storm Bertha in July, according to a model forecast from consulting firm Earth Science Associates.
Companies with the most exposure to the storm include BP, Chevron, ENI, Murphy and Shell, according to the model.
The US federal offshore Gulf of Mexico produces about 2 million barrels of oil a day, according to the US Energy Information Administration, or roughly 15% of total US crude output.
The region also produces an average of about 2.1 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas.
BP on Thursday said it had shut in production and evacuated all personnel from its Na Kika and Thunder Horse platforms, while Chevron shut in production at five of its Gulf of Mexico facilities, with the majority of its offshore personnel moved onshore. Production continues at its remaining four platforms in the region, it said.
Shell on Wednesday said it was also curtailing Gulf operations.
About 500,000 barrels of daily refining capacity are in the storm’s path, including the Pascagoula, Mississippi, refinery, Energy Aspects estimated.
(Reuters - Reporting by Sumit Saha in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Porter, Cynthia Osterman, Nathan Crooks and David Gaffen)
