US Gulf producers curtailing operations on storm threat

Oil companies started to halt offshore operations in the US Gulf of Mexico ahead of an expected hurricane strike later this week.

Shell said it paused some drilling operations at the Perdido and Whale platforms — located about 190 miles south of Houston — as a precaution as tropical storm Francine threatened to develop into a hurricane as it moves north from the Bay of Campeche toward the Texas and Louisiana coasts.

ExxonMobil said all staff had been transported off the Hoover platform, located about 200 miles south of Houston, and operations shut-in.

And Chevron said it is evacuating non-essential workers from its Anchor, Big Foot, Jack/St. Malo and Tahiti facilities, though production from company-operated assets remains at normal levels. Those facilities are located about 280 miles south of New Orleans.

"We continue to supply our customers at our onshore facilities, where we are following our storm preparedness procedures and paying close attention to the forecast and track of the storm," Chevron said.

Francine, which formed off the east coast of Mexico over the weekend, is forecast to become a hurricane as it moves north toward the Texas coast and northwestern Gulf, according to the National Hurricane Center. Current forecasts have it coming ashore somewhere between the Texas/Louisiana border and New Orleans Wednesday evening.

A hurricane watch is in place for parts of southern Louisiana as Francine is expected to bring heavy rainfall and the risk of flash flooding across the region.

By Stephen Cunningham