Oil platforms evacuated as Ida approaches
Analysts see little impact on oil and gas prices as Ida weakens
Tom Stundza -- Purchasing, 11/9/2009 9:21:38 AM
U.S. oil companies shut oil and natural gas production over the weekend as they evacuated workers from the Gulf of Mexico ahead of Hurricane Ida. However, Ida weakened to a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico today after boosting the cost of crude by $2 above $78 above $78 a barrel.
Concerns over the systems are pushing crude oil futures prices slightly higher this morning, "but we are not sure the gains will hold given that the system is expected to weaken" says analyst Edward Meier at MF Global. "More importantly," he says, "it should be noted that the hurricane season is approaching its end, capping what has been a remarkably quiet several weeks."
The Associated Press reports that Ida has dropped to a Category 1 storm, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, as it heads towards the oil and gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. A hurricane warning extended this morning from Pascagoula, Miss., east to Indian Pass, Fla. Tropical storm warnings and hurricane watches are in effect across other areas of southeastern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.
A Reuters news roundup finds BP, Chevron, Marathon Oil and Anadarko Petroleum shutting some production and evacuating workers since Saturday off platforms in the eastern and central Gulf of Mexico.
The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, or LOOP, which takes in an average of a million barrels of foreign crude from cargo ships daily, stopped offloading tankers Sunday due to deteriorating sea conditions, according to a spokeswoman.
Exxon Mobil was preparing for possible shutdowns ahead of heavy weather at offshore and onshore Gulf of Mexico locations including its Mobile Bay, Ala., natural gas field. ConocoPhillips operations in the Gulf of Mexico were continuing as normal on Sunday while the company monitored the storm's progress.
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