Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM plans to cut production at its Baton Rouge, Louisiana refinery to as low as 20% of its 522,500 barrel-per-day capacity by Wednesday, as Hurricane Francine is forecasted to pass just east of the facility.
On Tuesday night, Francine intensified into a hurricane, leading Louisiana residents to evacuate inland before its expected landfall on Wednesday, reported Reuters.
As per the report, the storm is forecasted to bring life-threatening winds, heavy rains, and a storm surge of up to 10 feet (3 meters).
The Baton Rouge refinery, the sixth largest in the U.S., is scaling back operations in anticipation of the storm.
Exxon spokesperson Lauren Kight said, “We're closely monitoring and preparing for severe weather that may impact our Baton Rouge operations.”
Other major U.S. Gulf oil and gas producers are also gearing up to weather the storm.
On Tuesday, Shell said that it is closely monitoring Tropical Storm Francine and has shut in production at its Perdido, Auger, and Enchilada/Salsa assets due to downstream impacts.
The company added that drilling at the Whale asset, which is scheduled to begin operations later this year, has also been safely paused.
According to S&P Global Commodity Insights, the U.S. offshore is currently producing approximately 1.8 million barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil and 1.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas.
This week, Exxon reportedly withdrew from bidding for Galp Energia’s 40% stake in Namibia’s Mopane oil discovery. The discovery holds 10 billion barrels of oil and gas, valued at over $10 billion.
Investors can gain exposure to the XOM via Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund XLE and IShares U.S. Energy ETF IYE.
Price Action: Exxon shares are down more than 1% at $109.67 at the last check Wednesday.
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