Storm Erin causes few problems for energy firms

By Erwin Seba

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Erin caused few problems for oil and gas companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico, the companies and the U.S. Minerals Management Service said on Thursday.

Thirteen oil and natural gas platforms and five drilling rigs were evacuated due to Erin, which was downgraded to a tropical depression after making landfall northeast of Corpus Christi, Texas, on Wednesday morning, according to the MMS.

About 2,563 barrels, or 0.2 percent, of the Gulf's daily oil production of 1.3 million barrels and about 10.5 million cubic feet, or 0.14 percent, of the daily 7.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas output were shut on Thursday, according to the MMS.

Corpus Christi's refineries were unaffected by the storm, officials for Valero Energy Corp., Citgo Petroleum Corp. and Flint Hills Resources said.

All of the plants had uninterrupted electricity as heavy rains moved into Corpus Christi Wednesday overnight and were seen running normally on Thursday morning.

Further north along the Texas coast, refineries in Houston, Sweeny and Texas City, Texas, continued running through electrical storms and heavy rains pushed ashore by Erin.

The impact of the storm appeared to be limited to the temporary closure of the Corpus Christi shipping channel serving the refineries.

The channel reopened Thursday morning after being shut for about eight hours as a precautionary measure, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman said.

Energy traders had worried the storm could affect operations at the Corpus Christi refineries, which together account for 5.75 percent of U.S. refining capacity.

Several companies also have oil and gas production operations in the area.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc said on Tuesday it was shutting down a small production facility in the Gulf of Mexico that produces 5 million cubic feet per day of gas.

Chevron said on Wednesday a small number of people were evacuated from the Gulf.

Apache Energy Corp. and El Paso both reported Thursday morning that their operations were unaffected by the storm.

BP Plc., and Anadarko said their operations were unaffected by Erin.

(Additional reporting by Matthew Robinson, Robert Campbell, Haitham Haddadin and Janet McGurty in New York)