U.S. energy operations begin recovering after Tropical Storm Gordon

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Energy companies and port operators along the U.S. Gulf Coast took steps on Wednesday to resume operations after Tropical Storm Gordon shut 9 percent of the region’s oil and gas output.

Coast Guard inspectors flew over ports in Mississippi and Alabama to inspect the facilities, which remained closed Wednesday morning to most traffic, Petty Officer 3rd Class Alexandria Preston said. In New Orleans, pilots began moving cargo ships through the mouth of the Mississippi River after the storm, said Matt Gresham, a spokesman for the Port of New Orleans.

U.S. crude prices slipped more than 1 percent on Wednesday as production constraints appeared temporary and trade disputes came into the forefront. U.S. crude futures were off $1 at $68.85 in morning trade.

Anadarko Petroleum on Wednesday plans to begin moving workers back to two offshore production platforms and will restart production as quickly as possible, it said in a statement. The workers were evacuated and production at the two platforms halted ahead of the storm.

Gordon never became a hurricane, and made landfall near the Alabama-Mississippi border, helping to keep production and refining operations running unimpeded at most energy operations in the Gulf and along the Louisiana coast.

“We had no impacts from the storm and operations resumed as normal this morning,” said the Port of New Orleans’s Gresham. The lock connecting the Mississippi River to the intracoastal waterway that stretches to Texas and Florida was opened and pilots began escorting ships out of the area, he said.

Several energy companies were in the process of inspecting offshore facilities ahead of returning workers.

Companies including Exxon Mobil Corp, Chevron Corp, Talos Energy Inc and Anadarko had evacuated 54 offshore platforms ahead of the storm.

In all, they halted 156,907 barrels per day of oil production and 232 million cubic feet per day of natural gas output, according to estimates Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

Offshore oil production accounts for 17 percent of total U.S. oil production and 5 percent of the nation’s natural gas production.