Shell: Pulling workers due Fay; no output shut

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Shell Oil Co (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said it was pulling 200 workers from the eastern Gulf of Mexico ahead of Tropical Storm Fay, but no offshore production was shut as of Saturday morning.

The workers are not essential to Shell’s offshore operations, the company said in a statement.



Fay is the third storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season to menace U.S. offshore oil and natural gas production, which provides 25 percent of U.S. oil output and 15 percent of U.S. natural gas production.

This year’s Hurricane Dolly and Tropical Storm Edouard only temporarily shut fractions of offshore production and did not outweigh geopolitical factors or the U.S. economic outlook in determining crude oil and refined products prices.

Reuters