Nearly 30% of US Gulf of Mexico oil output offline after storm

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Nearly 30% of U.S. Gulf of Mexico crude oil production and 41% of its natural gas production remained offline on Saturday following Hurricane Francine, the U.S. offshore energy regulator said.

There was more than 522,000 barrels of oil production per day and 755 million cubic feet of natural gas offline due to the storm, the Bureau of Safety Engineering and Enforcement said.

There were 52 oil and gas platforms unmanned by energy workers, down from 171 evacuated platforms at its peak earlier in the week.

(Reporting by Gary McWilliams)