NorthAmOil: Hurricane Ida disrupts Gulf operations

Production in the US Gulf of Mexico and coastal downstream operations alike were severely disrupted by Hurricane Ida this week, which made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane on August 29.
According to the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), 94.6% of Gulf oil production and 93.6% of gas output had been shut in as of August 30. This equates to 1.72mn barrels per day (bpd) and 2.09bn cubic feet (59.1mn cubic metres) per day of oil and gas shut-ins respectively.
Also as of August 30, around 75% of Louisiana’s refining capacity remained offline, estimated at 2.2mn bpd of capacity.
Refiners and offshore producers were starting to assess the impact of the storm after it passed. There have been warnings that offshore production could be slow to return owing to the hit Louisiana’s Port Fourchon – a key point of entry to the Gulf and a hub for supplies to oil and gas platforms – took from Ida.
Oil and gasoline prices rose as a result of the storm, though West Texas Intermediate (WTI) prices remained down by over 6.5% for the month.
It remained too early to tell what the ultimate impact of Ida on the oil and gas industry will be as of August 31. However, more and more companies are expected to report updates on their offshore production and refining operations in the coming days. Data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) over the coming weeks will also reflect the impact more clearly.