U.S. Energy Operations Begin Recovering After Tropical Storm Gordon

Gordon pictured over the Mississippi River valley, September 5, 2018. Photo: NOAA

HOUSTON, Sept 5 (Reuters) – Energy companies and port operators along the U.S. Gulf Coast took steps on Wednesday to resume operations after Tropical Storm Gordon shut 9 percent of the region’s oil and gas output.

Coast Guard inspectors flew over ports in Mississippi and Alabama to inspect the facilities, which remained closed to most traffic, Petty Officer 3rd Class Alexandria Preston said. In New Orleans, pilots began moving cargo ships through the mouth of the Mississippi River after the storm, said Matt Gresham, a spokesman for the Port of New Orleans.

Gordon never became a hurricane, and made landfall near the Alabama-Mississippi border, helping to keep production and refining operations running unimpeded at most energy operations in the Gulf and along the Louisiana coast.

Several energy companies were in the process of inspecting offshore facilities ahead of returning workers.

Companies including Exxon Mobil Corp, Chevron Corp , Talos Energy Inc and Anadarko Petroleum Co evacuated 54 offshore platforms ahead of the storm.

In all, they halted 156,907 barrels per day of oil production and 232 million cubic feet per day of natural gas output, according to estimates Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

Offshore oil production accounts for 17 percent of total U.S. oil production and 5 percent of the nation’s natural gas production. (Reporting by Erwin Seba and Gary McWilliams; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Jeffrey Benkoe)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018.

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