U.S. regulators said 94 per cent of daily oil and 67 per cent of daily natural gas production in U.S. regulated areas of the Gulf of Mexico were shut by Hurricane Isaac Tuesday.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said oil and gas producers had shut 1.287 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil production, up from 1.076 million bpd on Monday, and three billon cubic feet (bcf) per day in daily natural gas output, up from 2.165 bcf per day Monday. Those figures may rise in the coming days.
The Gulf accounts for 23 per cent of daily oil and seven per cent of daily natural gas output in the U.S.
Isaac's forecast path will send the weak hurricane to a landfall near New Orleans early today. Energy companies along the Gulf Coast refining centre braced for the storm's impacts.
Intense hurricanes such as Katrina - which took out 4.5 million barrels per day of refining capacity at one point - have flooded refineries, keeping them closed for extended periods and reducing fuel supplies.
The U.S. Department of Energy estimated 12 per cent of the Gulf Coast's refining capacity had gone offline. Experts say the disruption of production, refineries and terminals may force the government to release oil supplies from its nearly 696-million-barrel strategic reserve.
Even with disruptions, benchmark Brent crude traded down slightly to $112 a barrel on Tuesday.
