Gulf of Mexico Offshore Platforms Evacuated Ahead of Storm Francine

U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil and gas producers were evacuating staff and curbing drilling to prepare for Tropical Storm Francine on Monday as it churned through the energy region on a path to bring high winds and drenching rains to the U.S. mid-South.

Francine is likely to bring life-threatening storm surge to the upper Texas and Louisiana coasts and hurricane-force winds to Southern Louisiana this week. Residents of Calcasieu Parish in Louisiana on Monday were supplied with sandbags and other materials to combat the expected storm surge, officials said.

Exxon Mobil said it shut-in output and evacuated staff from its Hoover offshore production platform. Shell SHEL.L said it was pausing drilling operations at its Perdido and Whale offshore platforms on Monday.

Chevron was focused on the safety of its workforce, integrity of its facilities and protecting the environment, the company said. BP BP.Lwas unavailable for immediate comment. Occidental Petroleum said it was prepared to implement storm plans as appropriate.

The storm is moving through the U.S. Gulf of Mexico waters and predicted to become the fourth hurricane of the Atlantic season by Wednesday. The hurricane season runs to Nov. 30.

The U.S. Coast Guard has imposed restrictions for vessel navigation in some Texas ports, including the port of Corpus Christi. The ports of Freeport and Galveston, Texas, and New Orleans, were open to vessel traffic on Monday.

The storm's path would put U.S. oil and gas producing facilities and liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants at risk. U.S. Gulf of Mexico federal offshore waters account for about 15% of total U.S. crude oil and 2% of natural gas production.

Freeport LNG, which operates the nation's second-largest LNG export plant, said it had begun storm preparations without providing details. Port of Freeport, Texas, said it was open to commercial traffic, but vessels must report movements.

Texas officials called on residents to prepare for tropical storm conditions along its coast.

“A severe storm system with the potential to bring flash flooding threats and heavy rain is expected to impact the Gulf Coast this week,” Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said.

(Reuters - Reporting by Georgina McCartney, Marianna Parraga, Curtis Williams; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Marguerita Choy)