NorthAmOil: Gulf of Mexico spill shuts in seven producers, 3% of the region’s production

An oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is now estimated at 1.1mn gallons or more, and it has shut in six producers, according to reports.

Reuters reported that about 61,165 barrels of daily oil output, or around 3% of crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, has been shut in. The leak came from a Third Coast Infrastructure underwater pipeline.

Gulf of Mexico federal offshore oil production accounts for 15% of total US crude output and federal offshore natural gas production in the Gulf accounts for 5% of total US dry production, according to the latest figures from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The spill – the equivalent of 26,190 barrels – is near Main Pass Oil Gathering Co's (MPOG) pipeline system in the US Gulf.

The 108-km pipeline was closed by MPOG on November 16. The spill was seen about 31 km southeast of New Orleans, 30 km offshore of the Mississippi River delta, near Plaquemines Parish.