Isaias threat from the Gulf of Mexico looms over U.S. oil production

Hurricane Isaias is disrupting oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and threatens to affect nearly 2.4% of U.S. refining capacity, amid tight fuel supplies in international markets, CNBC reports.

According to the Mexican government, Isaias—now a Category 3 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale—is located over the northern Gulf of Mexico. Its circulation is generating showers and heavy rain across the Yucatán Peninsula, as well as wind and rough seas along the coasts of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo.

 U.S. oil companies suspended production of approximately 1.3 million barrels per day as of Thursday, about 63% of the total extracted in the area, according to the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

 Although the hurricane appeared to be moving away from the main refinery zone in southern Louisiana, near New Orleans and Baton Rouge, it could affect Chevron’s facilities in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and Vertex Energy’s in Saraland, Alabama. Both areas were under a hurricane warning.

• Tropical Storm Isaias forms in southern Gulf of Mexico rapidly strengthen as the first hurricane of the Atlantic ocean