(Reuters) Energy facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast have scaled back operations and evacuated some production sites as Hurricane Francine passed through the region.
Francine strengthened into a hurricane on Tuesday night and is moving toward the Louisiana coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
About 24% of crude production and 26% of natural gas output in the Gulf of Mexico were offline due to the storm, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said on Tuesday. Such interruptions have the potential to affect U.S. oil supplies, leading to upward pressure on prices for domestic oil and offshore crude grades.
Offshore production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico accounts for about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) or about 15% of the nation’s total crude output.
The port of Brownsville near the border with Mexico and other smaller terminals in Texas remained closed, while other ports, including Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi, Texas City and Freeport, were working with restrictions. Ports in Houma, Morgan City and the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port were closed to navigation, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
"As Francine moves north through the Gulf of Mexico, we will continue to work closely with our maritime industry partners to fully reopen impacted ports as soon as it is safe to do so," the U.S. Coast Guard said.
