Houston (Reuters)-A two-week decline in U.S. offshore energy production continued on Thursday as a prolonged shutdown caused by Hurricane Ida led to the cancellation of oil contracts around the world.
3/4 of U.S. oil production in the Gulf of Mexico remains suspended due to delays in restoration work, according to government data. Power outages in onshore processing and pipeline facilities have prevented some oil production from reaching shore, a factor that has supported oil prices since last week.
Nishant Bhushan, an oil market analyst at Rystad Energy Consulting, said it would take "at least more than a week" to restart.
The storm reduced U. S. oil production in the Gulf of Mexico by more than 20 million barrels. About 1.39 million barrels of crude oil and 1.72 billion cubic feet of natural gas were shut down on Thursday, according to maritime regulator Safety and Environmental Law Enforcement (BSEE).
Of the 288 platforms evacuated before the storm in August, 71 have not yet recovered.
After the shutdown caused by the storm, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) cut its 2022 US oil production forecast by 100000 b / d to 11.7 million b / d. (end)
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(compiled by Li Shuang; revised by Dai Suping)
((shuang.li@thomsonreuters.com; 86-10-56692085; Reuters Messaging: shuang.li.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))