129 Gulf Of Mexico Oil And Gas Platforms Evacuated As Hurricane Isaias Forces Production Offline

US oil and gas producers have shut down nearly 1.46 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico as Hurricane Isaias approaches Florida.

The shutdowns have affected more than 71% of the region’s oil output and forced workers to leave 129 offshore production platforms.

The Marine Minerals Administration said on Friday that producers had also shut in 1.26 billion cubic feet of natural gas production per day, accounting for 58.84% of the Gulf’s output.

Oil production shut-ins increased by about 176,000 bpd from Thursday, when around 1.28 million bpd was offline.

Hurricane Isaias could disrupt 7.2 million barrels of Gulf oil production, according to consulting firm Earth Science Associates. The firm lowered its estimate from 9 million barrels on Thursday after the storm’s expected path shifted eastward.

The storm is also expected to affect about 500,000 bpd of refining capacity, including the Pascagoula refinery in Mississippi, according to Energy Aspects.

The US federal offshore Gulf of Mexico produces about 2 million bpd of oil, or roughly 15% of the country’s total crude oil output, according to the US Energy Information Administration. The region also produces an average of 2.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.

Workers have been evacuated from 129 of the Gulf’s 371 staffed production platforms, the Marine Minerals Administration said. This represents nearly 35% of the total.

Crews have also left eight of the 11 non-dynamically positioned drilling rigs. Two of the 17 dynamically positioned rigs have moved away from the storm’s path.

The shutdowns have increased over the past three days. On Tuesday, before Isaias became a hurricane, no platforms or rigs had been evacuated, and 9.24% of Gulf oil production was offline. By Thursday, that figure had risen to 62.89%. It reached 71.51% on Friday.

Shell said late on Thursday that it had completed evacuations at its Appomattox, Mars, Ursa, Olympus and Vito facilities. Production remained shut down at Mars, Ursa, Olympus and Vito.

Chevron has evacuated most of its personnel from Gulf of Mexico facilities. The company is continuing production at four of its operated platforms but has shut down output at the other five.

BP, Chevron, Eni, Murphy Oil and Shell are among the companies most exposed to the storm, according to the Earth Science Associates model.

The shutdowns do not mean the oil and gas will be lost permanently. Producers often stop operations and evacuate workers before hurricanes. They can restart production after the storm passes, provided their facilities are safe to use.

Undamaged platforms may resume operations after safety checks. However, damage to platforms, subsea equipment, pipelines or onshore facilities could delay the restart.

Isaias, the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season, has strengthened into a Category 3 storm and is moving north-northeast. The National Hurricane Center expects it to weaken after landfall, which was forecast along the Florida Panhandle late on Friday.

References: Reuters, Oil Price