By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Sept. 1 -- The day before Hurricane Gustav made landfall as a Category 2 storm west of New Orleans, the US Minerals Management Service updated its estimates of evacuations and production cuts in the Gulf of Mexico (OGJ Online, Aug. 31, 2008).
At midday Aug. 31, MMS said 518 of 717 production platforms in the gulf had been evacuated along with 86 of 121 drilling rigs.
MMS estimated that 96.3% of the 1.3 million b/d of oil production in the gulf had been shut in. It said 82.3% of an estimated 7.4 bcfd of gas output was shut in.
Most refineries in the path of the storm had been reported as closed or operating at reduced rates. A complete list wasn't available.
The center of Hurricane Gustav made landfall Sept. 1 near Morgan City, La., with maximum sustained winds of nearly 105 mph, gusting occasionally to 170 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Hurricane-force winds extended as far as 70 miles from the center of the storm, tropical storm-force winds as far as 200 miles.
Storm surge of 10-14 ft above normal tidal levels was expected near where the center of the storm made landfall and to the east.
