Oil producers have shut 13 percent of crude oil production ahead of tropical storms Laura and Marco that are forecast to reach the Gulf of Mexico in coming days.
Murphy Oil Corporation and BHP evacuated some workers and Royal Dutch Shell began shutting oil and gas production at most of its offshore operations.
Murphy Oil said it was making plans for possible production cuts, while BP Plc and Chevron Corporation began production shutdowns on Friday.
The producers halted more than 240,000 barrels per day of oil production.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices nudged higher today due to the threat of the two storms.
Brent crude oil futures added 8 cents to US$44.43 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 7 cents to US$42.41 a barrel.
Both benchmark contracts fell about 1% on Friday on economic concerns and rising crude supply.
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