The American oil companies began this Thursday, August 26 to evacuate by plane the personnel present on their oil platforms of the Gulf of Mexico and moved their offshore installations in anticipation of a powerful hurricane expected this weekend.
Tropical storm Ida, which hit the Caribbean coast, is expected to cross the main oil-producing region of the Gulf on Friday. Louisiana has declared a state of emergency and called on its residents to prepare for a major hurricane. Storm Ida is expected to hit the central Gulf Coast of Mexico with destructive winds and heavy rain, according to the National Hurricane Center. With winds blowing up to 178 km / h, it could reach category 3. Oil companies BP, BHP, Chevron, Equinor and Royal Dutch Shell have evacuated personnel from offshore installations, their spokespersons said.
Closely monitored weather conditions
BHP and Chevron evacuated non-essential personnel, while Equinor said it was preparing for the evacuation from its Titan platform.
BHP, BP and Shell have said they have started shutting down production on the offshore platforms. Chevron said its production remained at normal levels on Thursday, while Occidental Petroleum and Hess Corp said they were monitoring weather conditions closely.
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