Hurricane Beryl made landfall on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula on Friday, and was traveling toward the Gulf of Mexico, with the potential to hit Texas and other parts of Mexico in the next few days.
Some oil companies have begun evacuating personnel from offshore oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico on a precautionary basis. Companies that have announced evacuations include Shell, Chevron, and Exxon Mobil. All else being equal, production shutdowns tend to cause prices to rise. On Friday, Brent crude, the global benchmark, was…
Hurricane Beryl made landfall on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula on Friday, and was traveling toward the Gulf of Mexico, with the potential to hit Texas and other parts of Mexico in the next few days.
Some oil companies have begun evacuating personnel from offshore oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico on a precautionary basis. Companies that have announced evacuations include
Shell
,
Chevron
,
and
All else being equal, production shutdowns tend to cause prices to rise. On Friday, Brent crude, the global benchmark, was up 0.1% at $87.54 per barrel, after closing on Thursday at its highest level since April.
Shell evacuated personnel from a project called Perdido, and from a project that hasn’t begun operations yet called Whale. “We have safely paused some of our drilling operations, but there are currently no other impacts on our production across the Gulf of Mexico,” the company said. Shell did not respond to a question about how much production would be shut-in, but the Perdido project can produce 125,000 barrels of oil per day at peak rates, the company previously said.
Chevron also announced some evacuations of nonessential personnel on Thursday, but said production “remains at normal levels.” One project where it removed personnel, known as Anchor, is expected to begin production this quarter.
And Exxon Mobil is evacuating all personnel from a Gulf platform known as Hoover, which is south of Houston. The company expects minimal changes in production.
Advertisement – Scroll to Continue
In the past, hurricanes have caused wide damage to energy assets, including offshore platforms and refineries. About half of America’s refining capacity sits along the Gulf Coast. The hurricane season this year is starting particularly early—Beryl beat 2023’s first named hurricane by about three weeks—and could be much more destructive than recent years. Parts of the Atlantic Ocean have been at record-high temperatures for a prolonged period, increasing the likelihood of severe weather.
Write to Avi Salzman at avi.salzman@barrons.com
Read More: Hurricane Beryl Causes Oil Giants to Evacuate Gulf of Mexico Platforms