80 percent of Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production remains offline post-Ida

Unused oil rigs sit in the Gulf of Mexico near Port Fourchon, Louisiana August 11, 2010. (Reuters)
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  • Almost 1.5 million barrels per day of oil and 1.9 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas output was shut in as of Wednesday

Four fifths of the Gulf of Mexico’s oil and gas production remains offline due to Hurricane Ida, one of the biggest storms to hit the US in the past 150 years.

Almost 1.5 million barrels per day of oil and 1.9 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas output was shut in as of Wednesday,the US Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement said.

That represents 17 percent of total oil production in the US, and 5 percent of the natural gas output, while about 45 percent of the US’s refining capacity is in the Gulf Coast region.

“As was the case with major hurricane and storm events during the 2016-2020 period, we estimate the cumulative production outage impact to be equivalent to five and a half days of maximum capacity, assuming rapid reactivation to start as soon as 31 August,” Rystad Energy said in a statement, according to Upstream.

Kosmos energy said in a statement it was too early to give an estimated timeline for restoring production while the company is assessing its subsea production facilities.