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Suspension of US Oil Production in Gulf of Mexico Reaches 6% | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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An oil refinery is seen before the arrival of Hurricane Harvey, August 25, in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Getty Images)


Houston – About 6.1 percent of US oil production in the Gulf of Mexico is still suspended driven by the tropical storm Harvey, the Federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said on Sunday.

Production recovered last week after Harvey struck the Gulf, causing a suspension of over 25 percent of oil production in the region at a peak time.

The Bureau said about 10.5 percent of the Gulf’s natural gas production is still suspended following the storm.

The Federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said on Monday that about 19 percent of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico was interrupted by Hurricane Harvey.

That equals about 331,370 barrels of oil per day of over 1.75 million barrels pumped daily from the Gulf.

The Office added that 18.12 percent of the region’s natural gas production was also suspended, which equals 583.39 million cubic feet per day.

The Office collected data from 31 operators of oil and gas production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico region.

US gasoline prices fell as Hurricane Harvey hit the center of the US oil industry, with some refineries resuming work, while crude prices remained under pressure and closed almost stable.

US gasoline contracts hit a two-year high of over $2 a gallon on Thursday, but fell 2 percent on Friday as refineries restarted and some ports reopened.

The global Brent crude for November contracts fell 11 cents to settle at $52.75 per barrel. The October contract, whose trading ended Thursday, closed up to $1.52 at $ 52.38 per barrel.

US crude rose six cents to settle at $47.29 a barrel after trading mostly low during the day. During the week, Brent rose 0.65 percent and US crude saw a weekly loss of 1.25 percent.

The US government pulled out of the strategic petroleum reserve for the first time in five years and agreed on Friday to release an additional 3.5 million barrels over one million barrels, after it already agreed to withdraw for a refinery in Louisiana.

US reserves of crude oil fell sharply last week as refiners increased production while Harvey was approaching, according to the Energy Information Department.

The oil market outside the United States remains oversupplied by OPEC’s member states. However, a survey conducted by Reuters showed that OPEC’s oil production in August fell 170,000 barrels per day from its peak in 2017.