Several energy companies preparing to suspend production in Gulf of Mexico

BP Plc and Chevron Corp have shut-in production at offshore oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, as a powerful Hurricane Ian bore down on the top US offshore production region,Qazet.az informs referring to Reuters.

The category 2 storm was in the Caribbean and forecast to become a major hurricane within two days. It was packing 100 mile per hour (161 kph) winds and expected to rapidly intensify as it crosses the Gulf’s warm waters, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

The storm is the first this year to disrupt oil and gas production in the US Gulf of Mexico, which accounts for about 15% of the nation's crude oil and 5% of dry natural gas production.