No hurricane threat to Gulf of Mexico oil

HOUSTON, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- There's no threat to oil installations in the Gulf of Mexico from hurricanes, British oil company BP states from its storm prediction center. Hurricane Odile, a Category 3 storm, is battering southern parts of the Baja Peninsula with sustained winds of 115 miles per hour. Landfall prompted the Mexican government to issue an emergency declaration and officials from state-controlled Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, called on retail consumers to avoid panic buying.

Hurricane Edouard is a Category 2 storm in the Atlantic Ocean, but it's not forecast to make landfall.

BP had no update on threats to installations in the Gulf of Mexico at its storm prediction center.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said early this year it estimated 12 million barrels of oil and 30 billion cubic feet of natural gas could be knocked offline during the 2014 hurricane season. That would be more than three times higher than last year, if forecasts are accurate.

Tropical Storm Karen was the only 2013 storm to affect production in U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It shut down 3.1 million barrels of oil and 6.7 billion cubic feet of gas in October.