Energy firms shut 58% of US Gulf of Mexico oil output due to storm threat

(Reuters) - Energy firms shut 57.6%, or 1.07 million barrels per day (bpd), of offshore crude oil production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico because of the twin threat from Hurricane Marco and Tropical Storm Laura, the U.S. government said on Sunday.

Also, 44.6%, or 1,205 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd), of natural gas output was shut ahead of the storms, the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said.

Workers have been evacuated from 114 production platforms out of the 643 manned platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, BSEE said.

 

(Reporting by Jennifer Hiller; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Chizu Nomiyama)