U.S. Gulf oil output at a trickle ahead of Gustav

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HOUSTON (Reuters) – U.S. energy companies shut nearly all offshore oil production and were racing to bring down flood-prone Louisiana refineries on Sunday ahead of Hurricane Gustav’s landfall, which could rival the wrath of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina.

Gustav is expected to be a dangerous Category 4 hurricane with wind speeds up to 155 mph when it hits the Louisiana coast on Monday in the first major test of the U.S. energy industry’s preparedness since the devastating 2005 hurricane season.

Just over 96 percent of U.S. Gulf oil production was turned off and 82 percent of natural gas output had been closed as of Sunday afternoon, said the U.S. Minerals Management Service.

Reuters