Energy firms monitor Gulf of Mexico tropical system

09 06, 2012 by Reuters

U.S. energy companies are monitoring a low-pressure system over north-central Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, barely a week after a Category 1 Hurricane shut key oil and gas operations in the region.

The National Hurricane Center on Thursday said the system has a 40 percent chance of turning into a tropical cyclone over the next few days.

Energy firms, such as Chevron Corp and Marathon Oil Corp, said they are watching the system closely and are prepared to take action should it develop into a serious threat.

Last week, Isaac made landfall as a Category 1 Hurricane, shutting up to 1.3 million barrels-per-day of oil and 3.3 billion cubic-feet-a-day of gas production in the Gulf of Mexico.

Isaac also forced regional refiners to shut their operations or reduce rates last week.

All but the Phillips 66 -operated Alliance refinery in Belle Chasse, Louisiana have since restarted. Phillips 66 was struggling to restart the plant on Wednesday due to ongoing power cuts.

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