⁍ BP, BHP Group Ltd, Chevron Corp, Equinor and Royal Dutch Shell began withdrawing staff from their U.S. Gulf of Mexico offshore facilities ahead of Tropical Storm Zeta.
⁍ The storm could reach hurricane strength before striking the Yucatan Peninsula at mid-day Monday.
⁍ If Zeta strikes the U.S. mainland, it would top the record of 10 named storms to make U.S. landfall in one hurricane season.
– Oil producers in the Gulf of Mexico have begun evacuating ahead of Tropical Storm Zeta, which is expected to strengthen into a hurricane before hitting the Yucatan Peninsula today. BP, BHP Group, Chevron, Equinor, and Royal Dutch Shell began withdrawing staff from their Gulf of Mexico offshore facilities, Reuters reports. The storm could reach hurricane strength before striking the Yucatan Peninsula at mid-day today and approach the northern Gulf Coast on Wednesday at or near hurricane strength. Mexico’s government issued a hurricane warning for parts of the Yucatan Peninsula. “With forecasts indicating the storm will move across the Central and/or Northeastern Gulf of Mexico in the next few days, we are taking steps to respond,” BP said in a statement. BHP, Chevron, and Shell also began moving non-essential staff from offshore facilities, spokespeople said. Equinor withdrew workers and shut production on its Titan production platform, a spokesman said. Occidental Petroleum Corp. did not reply to a request for comment. It has been a challenging year for Gulf of Mexico oil producers, with some companies having to withdraw workers and halt production at least six times as storms churned through the Gulf’s offshore production region. US Gulf of Mexico offshore oil production accounts for about 17% of total US crude oil production and 5% of total US dry natural gas production. If Zeta strikes the US mainland, it would top the record for 10 named storms to make US landfall in one hurricane season. Mississippi River ports from Baton Rouge to the Gulf of Mexico were open on Monday but placed on notice of gale force winds from the storm.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-zeta-energy/us-offshore-oil-workers-flee-as-storm-zeta-heads-toward-gulf-of-mexico-rigs-idUSKBN27B1NT