Aug 30 (Reuters) - Forecasters say Hurricane Gustav could be the first major threat to the U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil fields and ports since hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. [ID:nN30468468] The Gulf is the source of 25 percent of domestic oil and 15 percent of the natural gas. More than a third of U.S. refining capacity is on the U.S. Gulf Coast. In the "cone of uncertainty" is New Orleans, a big port handling raw material and foodstuff. The Port of South Louisiana is the largest U.S. port in tonnes handled. {ID:nN30496391] On the western edge of the "cone" is Houston, a major port, oil refining and crude oil and natural gas hub. Katrina and Rita were Category 5 storms, the top of the hurricane intensity scale. Katrina hit New Orleans in August 2005. Rita hit near the Texas-Louisiana line that September. Gustav is expected to come ashore by Tuesday on the Gulf Coast as a Category 3, a major hurricane. But it strengthened to near Cat 5, as it approached Cuba on Saturday. [nN30485217] ---- IMPACTS OF GUSTAV ---- - The U.S. Minerals Management Service said Saturday 998,000 of 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil production (76.8 percent) and 2.75 billion of 7.4 billion cubic feet per day of gas (Bcfd) production (37.2 percent) had been shut in anticipation of Gustav. [ID:nN30476638] Up from 6.62 percent of oil and 1.84 percent of gas Friday. [ID:nN29452397] - MMS said personnel evacuated from 223 of 717 manned production platforms (31.1 percent) and 45 of 121 drilling rigs (37.2 percent) currently operating in the Gulf. - NYMEX crude oil shot up $3 before settling down 13 cents at $115.46 a barrel Friday. [ID:nN29464406] Products also rallied [ID:nN29470713] [ID:nN29429863] Electronic trading starts Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Eastern U.S. time (1930 GMT). [ID:nN30459428] - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it was waiving the summer blend requirements to ease gasoline supply in coastal Louisiana. [ID:nN29483551] - Louisiana Offshore Oil Port stopped unloading ships Saturday but kept flowing oil from storage. [ID:nN30445960] - Oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve will be tapped, if necessary, the U.S. Department of Energy said. [nWBT009629] - Operator of Henry Hub, the south Louisiana pipeline junction that is a major pricing point for natural gas on NYMEX, said it may shut down on Sunday. [ID:nN29424493] - Natural gas pipeline operator Enbridge <ENB.N><EEP.N> stopped taking gas from producers Saturday on systems with 6.72 Bcfd of capacity. [ID: nN30445960] - Apache Corp <APA.N> said it shut 52,550 bpd of oil and 276 mmcfd of gas and evacuated 938 personnel. - El Paso Corp <EP.N> said its Tennessee and Southern Natural gas pipeline systems saw throughput cuts totaling 637 mmcfd. - Shell Oil Co <RDSa.L>, largest Gulf producer, said it was shutting down all 510,000 bpd oil equivalent and withdrawing 1,300 workers. [ID:nN29410821] - Majors BP Plc <BP.L> and Chevron <CVX.N> said they shut some output in path of Gustav. [ID:nN29432781] [ID:nN29438616] - Others including Exxon Mobil <XOM.N>, [ID:nN29435273], Hess <HES.N>, Petrobras <PETR4.SA>, Marathon <MRO.N>, Anadarko <APC.N> cut output and evacuated. ---- REFINERY IMPACTS OF GUSTAV ---- - Exxon Mobil said Saturday its 193,000 bpd Chalmette, Louisiana, refinery was shutting down. - Murphy Oil <MUR.N> Saturday said it was shutting its 120,000 bpd refinery near New Orleans, some offshore output. - Four Valero Energy Corp <VLO.N> refineries, with a total capacity of about 920,000 bpd, reduced runs. - ConocoPhillips <COP.N> said it was shutting refineries, near Lake Charles and New Orleans, capacity about 485,000 bpd. - Motiva Saturday said it cut staff and trimmed output at some locations. Operates three refineries, two near New Orleans and one at Port Arthur, total capacity 751,000 bpd. - Marathon <MRO.N> said shutting its 250,000 bpd Garyville, Louisiana, refinery. ---- SHIPPING IMPACTS OF GUSTAV --- - River pilots said Mississippi River traffic at New Orleans halted inbound at noon (1700 GMT) Saturday, outbound as of 6 p.m. central U.S. time (2300 GMT). - Calcasieu River pilots at Lake Charles said all traffic to halt at midnight (2400 GMT). - Sabine Pass entry to Beaumont and Port Arthur, Texas, shut inbound as of 3:30 p.m. central U.S. time (2030 GMT) and to halt outbound Sunday afternoon. - Bracing for risk of storm winds at ports of Houston; Gulfport-Biloxi, Pascagoula, Mississippi; Mobile, Alabama. ---- KATRINA AND RITA IN 2005 ---- - Katrina flooded 80 percent of New Orleans, killed 1,500 people along the Gulf coast and caused $80 billion in damage. - There was near total shutdown of Gulf oil and gas output at that time, 1.5 million bpd of oil and 10 Bcfd of gas. - Twenty-nine percent of U.S. refining was shut at peak. - Winds and waves destroyed 124 platforms and damaged about 50 others, damaged or wrecked 535 pipeline segments and sank or set adrift 28 drilling rigs, MMS said. ---- IMPROVEMENTS AFTER KATRINA AND RITA ---- - Strengthened existing platforms and design standards for new ones, raised worst-case wave-height criteria from 70.5 feet (21.5 metres) to as much as 91.9 feet (28 metres). - Tightened mooring, raised jackup heights for drill rigs. (Reporting by Bruce Nichols, Chris Kelly and Marcy Nicholson; Editing by Anthony Boadle)
Lower Ninth Ward resident Rev. Willie Calhoun removes belongings from his Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer before evacuating New Orleans, Louisiana from Hurricane Gustav August 30, 2008. Calhoun is near completing ...
Hurricanes and cyclones
