A week after Ida, oil production has plummeted

By Stephanie Kelly

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has fallen by more than 80% a week since Hurricane Ida devastated the region’s major infrastructure, officials told the federal government on Monday.

Oil companies are struggling to resume production due to damage to their bases and power outages that will further affect facilities on the continent.

Production is reduced by about 1.5 million barrels or 84% per day, and gas production by 50 million cubic meters or 81%, according to the Department of Defense and Environmental Enforcement.

In total, 99 oil and gas sites have not yet reclaimed their personnel; A total of 288 facilities were pre-empted before Ida arrived.

“The whole region is facing challenges in restarting supply,” said Tony Odak, deputy managing director of Stone Oil Distributors, which provides fuel for maritime facilities.

“Refineries are gradually being revitalized, but much of the infrastructure needs to be restructured and explored.”

Ida lost power to more than a million people last week; As of Monday morning, the Department of Energy said about 568,000 customers in Louisiana were without electricity.

The U.S. Coast Guard says it is investigating nearly 350 reports of an oil spill off the coast of Mexico.

(Reported by Stephanie Kelly in New York, Liz Hampton in Denver, French edition with Mark Angrand)