Isaías halts 25 % of U.S. Gulf crude; Brent rises 3.36 %
The hurricane forced Shell and Chevron to shut offshore facilities, and oil closed higher on a day already pressured by attacks in the Middle East.
A quarter of the crude produced in the U.S. Gulf was shut in on Thursday, Oct. 8, because of Hurricane Isaías, and oil closed higher. Mexico Business News reported, citing the federal agency that oversees offshore activity in the United States, that at 11:47 there were 511 600 barrels a day shut in: 25.08 % of the region's crude and 16.37 % of its natural gas. The outlet does not give the time zone of that reading, and the figure may have grown later.
Anadolu Agency reported at 13:28 that Shell had shut in Mars, Olympus, Ursa, Vito and Appomattox and pulled non-essential staff from Stones. Chevron began halting four of its own facilities, while five others keep producing normally.
The storm is moving across the Gulf. In its 19:00 advisory, U.S. Central time (18:00 in Mexico City), the U.S. National Hurricane Center places it at 24.9° north and 88.8° west, with sustained winds of 100 miles per hour, about 160 km/h, moving northeast at 13 miles per hour. The page does not state the storm's category or where it will make landfall.
What happened to prices
December Brent, the international benchmark, ended Thursday at $103.57 a barrel, 3.36 % higher than a day earlier. November WTI, the U.S. benchmark, gained 2.90 % and closed at $90.84. El CEO explains the move by two factors: further attacks in the Middle East and production halted by the storm. El Financiero recorded that during the session Brent gained almost 6 % before easing.
None of the sources reviewed mentions Pemex or platforms in Mexican waters, and none documents an effect on gasoline prices in Mexico. Each week, Mexico's finance ministry sets the fiscal subsidy on the IEPS fuel tax, and the order for the week of Oct. 10 to 16 had not been located by the time of writing. The next update from the Hurricane Center will show whether Isaías strengthens before reaching the coast.
