Having shut down in a cautionary move ahead of then-Tropical Storm Gordon, 54 platforms in the Gulf of Mexico are now preparing to ramp back up as the storm passes. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI |
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Sept. 5 (UPI) -- As Tropical Depression Gordon moves north of the U.S. Gulf Coast, the system leaves behind more than 50 offshore platforms evacuated ahead of the storm.
Personnel were evacuated from 54 production platforms, representing 7.86 percent of the Gulf of Mexico's 687 staffed platforms, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said Tuesday, citing offshore operator reports filed by 12:30 p.m. The bureau added that workers were evacuated from one offshore rig and another dynamically positioned rig was moved earlier in the week.
On Tuesday, the bureau said about 9.23 percent of the Gulf's oil production was shut-in.
The price for West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark for the price of oil, dropped 1.11 percent to $68.76 as of 10:10 a.m. Wednesday and Brent crude oil was down 1.23 percent to $77.21 by 10:20 a.m.
Oil prices could rise this fall depending on whether Iran retaliates against President Donald Trump's planned reimposition of sanctions against the Persian Gulf nation, expected in November.
Writing in a note obtained by CNBC, oil market expert Helima Croft and other analysts said Iranian retaliation "will play an important role in determining the potential upward trajectory of prices."
The note said an "unintended military escalation through miscalculation" on the part of Iran is "one of the most underappreciated risks" to global markets.
Although U.S. motorist organization AAA cautioned that the reimposition of Iran sanctions could affect consumer gas prices, it said Tuesday that it expects prices to dip over the rest of 2018.
"With summer in the rearview mirror, demand is expected to significantly drop off in the coming weeks which means motorists can expect to see gas prices steadily decline," AAA spokesperson Jeanette Casselano said in a news release. "AAA expects the national average to hit $2.70 or less this fall."
