LOOP shuts all operations due to Hurricane Gustav

HOUSTON (Reuters) - The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port said it was stopping all operations Sunday morning, including supplying refineries from onshore storage caverns, in order to evacuate employees Sunday afternoon ahead of Hurricane Gustav, a spokeswoman said.

"It's coming right at us," said LOOP spokeswoman Barb Hestermann of the forecast path for Gustav toward the Louisiana coast. "It looks like we're ground zero."

Gustav was forecast to slam into the Gulf Coast just west of the LOOP's onshore operations center at Galliano, Louisiana, on Monday.

The LOOP, the nation's only deepwater oil port, stopped offloading oil tankers on Saturday morning.

(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Derek Caney)