Nearly a Third of U.S. Gulf Oil Production Remains Shut-In After Laura

Hurricane Laura pictured approximately 225 miles south-southeast of Lake Charles, Louisiana, on August 26, 2020. Photo: NASA GOES-East

Nearly a third of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico’s oil production and a quarter of natural gas production remains shut-in after Laura blew through the energy-producing region as a category 4 hurricane last week, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said Tuesday.

Based on current data from offshore operator reports, personnel remain evacuated from a total of 71 production platforms, 11.04 percent of the 643 manned platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

All dynamically positioned rigs have returned to their working locations. Personnel still remain evacuated from one of the 12 non-dynamically positioned rigs operating in the Gulf.

From operator reports, BSEE estimates that approximately 28.38 percent of the current oil production in the Gulf of Mexico remains shut-in, while approximately 24.96 percent of the natural gas production is also still shut-in.

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