• New Orleans, LOOP agricultural and oil export ports reopen
• A dozen liquefied natural gas tankers queue offshore
• Gulf of Mexico offshore oil output losses at 42% on Friday

HOUSTON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - U.S. Gulf of Mexico energy firms on Friday were lumbering back from hurricane disruptions as offshore oil and gas producers ramped up output, ports reopened, and onshore terminals accepted oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers.

Hurricane Francine shut in up to 42% of the region's offshore oil and 52% of its natural gas production. The storm traveled offshore along the Texas coast and slammed into Louisiana on Wednesday, causing flooding and power problems that affected onshore terminals and ports that withstood 100 mph (161 kph) winds.

The port of New Orleans, an important agricultural and metals export port, and the deepwater Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) were back in service without restrictions on Friday, the U.S. Coast Guard reported.

Refineries that account for 20% of U.S. Gulf Coast motor fuel production were returning to normal operations after some curbed output as the hurricane passed through Louisiana.

Two LNG vessels were at the Calcasieu Pass, Louisiana, anchorage waiting to load, part of a group of at least a dozen LNG tankers waiting outside Gulf Coast LNG terminals as navigation channels reopened.

Offshore oil and gas workers had returned to 25 offshore platforms since Thursday. Daily production shut-ins totaled 732,300 barrels of oil and 973 million cubic feet of natural gas, U.S. offshore regulator Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said on Friday.

SHELL RAMPING UP

Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab on Friday was ramping up oil production at five offshore platforms while four others remained offline due to pipeline disruptions. Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab returned staff to three offshore platforms on Thursday and was restarting operations.

Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab on Monday said it had shut-in its Hoover offshore oil platform, but on Friday did not have an immediate comment on the platform's status. It is part of the 153-mile (246-km) Hoover Offshore Oil Pipeline System that serves multiple oil fields closed during the storm.

Texas and Louisiana ports, including Texas City and Lake Charles, that reopened earlier this week were on Friday servicing tankers, according to vessel monitoring data by LSEG.

Post-tropical Francine has been moving northwest to the Mississippi River since Thursday night, hitting portions of the Mississippi Delta, Alabama, western Georgia and the Florida panhandle with heavy rainfall, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

The risk of flooding is expected to continue across the Tennessee Valley through Saturday.

Hong Kong-flagged fuel tanker SC Draco, Marshall Islands-flagged Owl 1 and Singapore-flagged Solar Claire and Hafnia Tiger were docked on Friday at terminals operated by Citgo Petroleum (PDVSAC.UL) and Westlake Chemical (WLKP.N) , opens new tab in Lake Charles on Friday, according to LSEG ship monitoring data.

Lake Charles, Texas City and other U.S. Gulf ports service many refiners in the area for receiving crude imports and handling fuel exports.

Meanwhile, French-flagged LNG Endeavour was arriving at the Cameron LNG terminal in Louisiana on Friday to load.

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https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/louisiana-ports-reopen-following-francine-vessels-dock-texas-terminals-2024-09-13/