Sept 27 (Reuters) - About 24% of crude oil production and 18% of natural gas output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico was shut in response to Hurricane Helene, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said on Friday.

Oil and natural gas production losses fell for the second consecutive day after reaching a peak of 511,000 barrels on Wednesday.

Energy producers had shut in 427,000 barrels per day of oil production and nearly 343 million cubic feet of natural gas from Gulf waters, the bureau said.

Nine oil and gas platforms had been evacuated as of Friday, about 2.4% of the Gulf of Mexico total, the offshore regulator said, citing reports from producers.

The hurricane caused U.S. offshore oil and gas producers to lose 1.66 million barrels of oil and 1.23 billion cubic feet of gas due to shut-ins that began on Tuesday, according to a Reuters tally of BSEE daily estimates.

Oil and gas producers began shutting in offshore production on Tuesday, as Helene moved through the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab said on Friday it had begun to redeploy personnel and restore production at company-operated platforms in the aftermath of the hurricane.

The U.S. Gulf of Mexico accounts for about 15% of all domestic oil production and 2% of natural gas output, federal data showed.

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https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/about-24-oil-production-shut-us-gulf-mexico-due-hurricane-helene-2024-09-27/