Chevron has now shut production at five Gulf facilities, up from four where it had begun shutdown procedures. Shell is evacuating all personnel and halting production at Mars, Olympus, Ursa, Vito and Appomattox. Across the Gulf, oil shutdowns total 1.28 million BPD, or 62.89% of output, while 57.35% of natural gas production has been halted, the Marine Minerals Administration estimated.
Nearly 500,000 BPD of refining capacity remains in the storm’s projected path, despite an eastward shift that reduced the threat to Louisiana plants. Oil analyst Tom Kloza warned that any refining losses could prove “just intolerable” particularly for diesel. US gasoline prices averaged $4.36 a gallon on Wednesday, while diesel was about $6.28 after reaching a record in September.