Storm Helene prompts US Gulf Coast energy facilities to scale back operations

(Reuters) -Energy facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast reduced operations and evacuated production sites as Hurricane Helene, initially a Category 4 storm, made landfall before weakening to a tropical storm.

Helene roared ashore in Florida's Big Bend region as one of the most powerful storms to hit the United States, with officials fearing the hurricane would leave a trail of deaths and widespread destruction as it moved inland.

Helene is tied as the 14th most powerful hurricane to hit anywhere in the United States since records have been kept, and is the seventh most powerful to slam into Florida. Helene has weakened into a tropical storm as it moves farther inland over Georgia, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory.

Officials issued dire warnings, pleading with residents in coastal areas along the hurricane's path to evacuate ahead of catastrophic winds and a potentially deadly storm surge.

About 25% of crude oil production and 20% of natural gas output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico was shut in as a result of the hurricane, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said on Thursday.

Offshore production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico accounts for approximately 1.8 million barrels per day or about 15% of the nation's total crude output. Disruptions have the potential to affect U.S. oil supplies, leading to upward pressure on prices for domestic oil and offshore crude grades.

OPERATOR FACILITY DATE DETAILS

KinderMorgan Sept. 25 All Kinder Morgan bulk terminals

in the Tampa area have prepared

for the storm and have been shut

down.

Shell Stones and Appomattox Sept. 22 Evacuating

facilities non-essential personnel from its

assets in the Mars Corridor, have

paused some of their drilling

operations, and shut production at

its Stones and Appomattox

facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.

Chevron Blind Faith, Petronius, Sept. 23 Evacuated all personnel from Blind

Anchor, Big Foot, Jack/St. Faith and Petronius platforms and

Malo, and Tahiti platform the facilities have been shut-in.

Non-essential personnel were also

being transported from Anchor, Big

Foot, Jack/St. Malo, and Tahiti

platforms.

Shut-in production and

Sept. 25 Sept. 27 evacuated all associated personnel

at the platforms, which includes

the Anchor, Big Foot, Blind Faith,

Jack/St. Malo, Petronius and

Tahiti facilities.Begun to

redeploy personnel and restore

production at the company-operated

platforms after storm Helene.

Equinor Titan oil production platform Sept. 23 Evacuated some staff

from its Titan oil production

platform in the U.S. Gulf of

Mexico.

BP Argos, Atlantis, Mad Dog, Na Sept. 23 Removed non-essential

Kika and Thunder Horse personnel from Argos, Atlantis,

platform Mad Dog, Na Kika and Thunder Horse

platforms. Shut in production at

Na Kika and Thunder Horse

platforms, and curtailed

production from Argos and Atlantis

platforms.

Sept. 25 Working toward safely ramping up

production across Gulf of Mexico

portfolio.

(Reporting by Bangalore Commodities and Energy team; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Jonathan Oatis)