More than 25% of US Gulf crude oil still offline after Hurricane Zeta – S&P Global

The latest Platts’ report from the S&P Global suggests that over 500,000 barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil isn’t yet back to the benches of the US Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Zeta damaged the oil-producing region with a power outage.

The report cites data from the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) to convey that an estimated 518,441 b/d of crude production and 431.48 MMcf/d of natural gas production was still shut-in on Nov. 2, reflecting 28% and 15.9% of US Gulf output, respectively. It further said, “Fewer than 5% of the Gulf's platforms and rigs, or 28 facilities, remained evacuated.”

Key quotes

Earlier in October, Hurricane Delta forced more than 90% of the US Gulf's nearly 1.9 million b/d of crude production to be shut in, and Zeta nearly took as much offline.

Named storms Zeta, Delta, Beta, Sally, Marco, Laura, Hanna and Cristobal have all disrupted activities in the Gulf from June through November.

Market implications

The update helps the WTI prices to extend pullback from five-month low, marked the previous day, towards $37.30 during the early Tuesday morning in Asia.