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FACTBOX: Hurricane Gustav cuts U.S. oil, gas, threatens commods
Mon Sep 1, 2008 3:45am BST

http://uk.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUKN3047239520080901

(Reuters) - Hurricane Gustav is first big storm threat to U.S. Gulf of Mexico energy and port infrastructure since Katrina and Rita in 2005.

The Gulf accounts for 25 percent of U.S. oil output and 15 percent of its natural gas production. More than a third of U.S. refining capacity is on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Gustav is expected to make landfall on Monday near New Orleans, a big port handling raw material and foodstuffs. The Port of South Louisiana is the largest U.S. port in tonnes handled.

Katrina and Rita were Category 5 storms, the top of the hurricane intensity scale. Katrina hit New Orleans in August 2005. Rita hit near the Texas-Louisiana line that September.

Gustav was expected to come ashore as early as Monday on the Gulf Coast as at least a Category 3, though it was weaker on Sunday than when it crossed Cuba on Saturday.

---- IMPACT OF GUSTAV ON ENERGY SECTOR SO FAR ----

- The U.S. Minerals Management Service said on Sunday 1.25 million of 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil production (96.3 percent) and 6.1 billion of 7.4 billion cubic feet per day of gas (Bcfd) production (82.3 percent) had been shut in anticipation of Gustav. The figures were up from 76.8 percent of oil and 37.2 percent of gas on Saturday.

- MMS said personnel had been evacuated from 518 of 717 manned production platforms (72.3 percent), up from 223, and 86 of 121 drilling rigs (71.1 percent) in the Gulf, up from 45.

- NYMEX crude oil surged more than $2 a barrel to more than $117 a barrel in early electronic trading on Sunday, before paring its gains. Petroleum product prices also rose.

- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency waived summer blend requirements in Louisiana to ease gasoline supply.

- Louisiana Offshore Oil Port stopped unloading ships Saturday and shut flows from storage Sunday.

- Oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve will be tapped, if necessary, the U.S. Department of Energy said.

---- OFFSHORE PRODUCTION IMPACTS ----

- Apache Corp said it shut 52,550 bpd of oil and 276 mmcfd of gas and evacuated 938 personnel.

- Shell Oil Co, largest Gulf producer, shut all 510,000 bpd oil equivalent and withdrew all 1,300 workers.

- Exxon Mobil shuts 28,000 bpd oil and 180 mmcfd gas and evacuated.

- Anadarko shut 150,000 bpoe and removed workers.

- Major firms BP Plc and Chevron shut production and evacuated personnel.



- Others including Petrobras and Marathon cut output and evacuated.

---- REFINERIES SHUT ----

- Exxon Mobil's 193,000 bpd joint-venture Chalmette, Louisiana.

- Murphy's 120,000 bpd Meraux, Louisiana.

- ConocoPhillips' Lake Charles and Alliance, Louisiana, total 485,000 bpd.

- Motiva's 236,000 bpd Norco, Louisiana.

- Marathon's 250,000 bpd Garyville, Louisiana.

- Calcasieu 80,000 bpd Lake Charles



- Valero 250,000 bpd St. Charles

---- REFINERY PRODUCTION CUTS ----

- Motiva's 235,000 bpd Convent plant not producing, but on standby for quick restart. Its 285,000 bpd Port Arthur plant at minimum rates.

- Valero Energy Corp 295,000 bpd Port Arthur, Texas; 130,000 bpd Houston and 245,000 bpd Texas City, Texas, refineries on reduced runs.

- Citgo's 430,000 bpd Lake Charles at half capacity

- Exxon Baton Rouge 503,000 bpd at half capacity.

- Exxon Baytown 567,000 bpd and 349,000 bpd Beaumont at reduced rates.

- Kinder Morgan said its Plantation products pipeline would keep operating long as possible, restart as soon as possible.

- Operator of Henry Hub, the major south Louisiana pipeline junction for natural gas, shut down Sunday.

- Gas pipeline operator Enbridge stopped taking production Saturday on systems with 6.7 Bcfd capacity.

- El Paso Corp said its Tennessee and Southern Natural gas pipelines saw throughput cuts totaling 637 mmcfd.

---- SHIPPING IMPACTS OF GUSTAV ---

- Houston Ship Channel closed to inbound traffic at midnight Sunday (1:00 a.m. Monday EDT).

- River pilots said Mississippi River traffic at New Orleans halted inbound at noon (1:00 EDT) Saturday, outbound as of 6 p.m. central U.S. time (7:00 p.m. EDT).

- Pilots halt traffic at Lake Charles Sunday.

- Beaumont and Port Arthur, Texas, halted Sunday

There was near total shutdown of Gulf oil and gas output at that time, 1.5 million bpd of oil and 10 Bcfd of gas.

- Twenty-nine percent of U.S. refining capacity was shut at peak.

- Winds and waves destroyed 124 platforms and damaged about 50 others, damaged or wrecked 535 pipeline segments and sank or set adrift 28 drilling rigs, MMS said.

(Reporting by Bruce Nichols, Erwin Seba, Chris Kelly and Marcy Nicholson; Editing by Anthony Boadle)