Oil companies shut output in Gulf due to hurricane

By Erwin Seba and Bruce Nichols

HOUSTON (Reuters) - U.S. oil companies were shutting production on Sunday as they evacuated workers from the Gulf of Mexico ahead of Hurricane Ida, which is forecast to roar across the offshore oil patch Monday before making landfall on Tuesday.

BP Plc, one the Gulf's largest oil producers, said on Sunday some of its production was shut and nonessential workers were evacuated from Ida's forecast path. The company does not disclose amounts of shut production.

Chevron Corp said it had also shut some production.

Marathon Oil Corp had shut its Ewing Bank production platform after evacuating workers, a spokeswoman said on Sunday. The Ewing Bank platform can produce 11,700 barrels of oil and 10.5 million cubic feet of natural gas a day.

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, or LOOP, which takes in an average of 1 million barrels of foreign crude from cargo ships daily, stopped offloading tankers shortly after noon CST Sunday (6 p.m. British time) due to deteriorating sea conditions, according to a spokeswoman.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp said workers were being evacuated from platforms in the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, but no oil production was shut in.

Exxon Mobil Corp said it preparing for possible shutdowns ahead of heavy weather at offshore and onshore Gulf of Mexico locations including its Mobile Bay, Alabama, natural gas field.

Oil companies began lifting workers off of platforms in the eastern and central Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, said a helicopter company executive.