The Marine Minerals Administration says offshore operators in the Gulf of America have evacuated 113 production platforms, 30.46% of the Gulf's 371 manned platforms, as they respond to a storm. The agency estimates the evacuations have shut in 68.76% of the Gulf's daily oil production and 57.44% of its daily natural gas production.
Production platforms are the structures that produce oil and gas and carry it to shore. Unlike drilling rigs, they stay in one location for the life of a project. Personnel have also left 8 of the Gulf's 11 non-dynamically positioned rigs, a category that includes jack-up rigs, platform rigs, submersibles and moored semisubmersibles, equal to 72.73% of that rig type. One of the Gulf's 17 dynamically positioned rigs has moved off location as a precaution. Those rigs hold position with thrusters and propellers instead of mooring to the seafloor, which lets them move out of a storm's path quickly; crews stay aboard and the rig returns once the storm passes.
| Category | Count | Share of Gulf total |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms evacuated | 113 | 30.46% |
| Rigs evacuated | 8 | 72.73% |
| DP rigs moved off | 1 | 5.88% |
| Oil shut in (BOPD) | 1,402,692 | 68.76% |
| Gas shut in (MMCFD) | 1,229.2 | 57.44% |
How the shut-ins work
Evacuating crews shut in wells before leaving, often from a remote location, by closing safety valves below the ocean floor to stop oil or gas from escaping. The Marine Minerals Administration calls this a standard safety and environmental procedure. The shut-in figures are estimates drawn from 31 operator reports submitted by 11 a.m. CDT, which the agency checks against historical production data to confirm they follow a logical pattern.
What happens after the storm
Once the storm passes, the agency will inspect facilities before undamaged ones return to production immediately. Facilities with damage may take longer. The Marine Minerals Administration plans to update the evacuation and shut-in numbers at 1 p.m. CDT each day.
The agency was created on July 10, 2026, when the Department of the Interior merged the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement into the Marine Minerals Administration, which oversees development of the nation's offshore energy and marine mineral resources.
