(Reuters) Energy facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast reduced operations and evacuated production sites as Hurricane Helene, initially a Category 4 storm, made landfall before weakening to a tropical storm.
Helene roared ashore in Florida's Big Bend region as one of the most powerful storms to hit the United States, with officials fearing the hurricane would leave a trail of deaths and widespread destruction as it moved inland.
Helene is tied as the 14th most powerful hurricane to hit anywhere in the United States since records have been kept, and is the seventh most powerful to slam into Florida. Helene has weakened into a tropical storm as it moves farther inland over Georgia, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory.
Officials issued dire warnings, pleading with residents in coastal areas along the hurricane's path to evacuate ahead of catastrophic winds and a potentially deadly storm surge.
About 25% of crude oil production and 20% of natural gas output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico was shut in as a result of the hurricane, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said on Thursday.
Offshore production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico accounts for approximately 1.8 million barrels per day or about 15% of the nation's total crude output. Disruptions have the potential to affect U.S. oil supplies, leading to upward pressure on prices for domestic oil and offshore crude grades.
