Chevron evacuated and shut in its Blind Faith oil and gas production platform in the Gulf of Mexico in advance of Hurricane Milton, which has strengthened into a category 5 storm as it barrels toward Florida's west coast.
Output from Chevron's other operated facilities in the region remains at normal levels, the company said today. The 65,000 b/d Blind Faith platform is located around 160 miles southeast of New Orleans.
Milton, with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph, was about out 130 miles west of Progreso, Mexico, according to an 11am ET National Hurricane Center advisory. The storm will move through the Campeche Bank offshore region north of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula — where state-owned Pemex's largest oil and natural gas production operations are located — today and Tuesday, then cross the eastern Gulf of Mexico and approach the west coast of the Florida Peninsula by Wednesday.
On its current track, the hurricane is expected to skirt to the south of the majority of US offshore oil and natural gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. The region accounts for around 15pc of total US crude output and 5pc of US natural gas production.
Hurricane Helene temporarily shut in up to 29pc of oil production and 20pc of gas output in the Gulf of Mexico late last month.
