Oil producers shut 13% of offshore crude oil production by Saturday in the U.S.-regulated northern Gulf of Mexico as tropical storms Laura and Marco were forecast to cross the region next week, the U.S. government said. Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it began shutting down production at most of its offshore operations on Saturday, joining energy majors BP Plc and Chevron Corp , which began shutdowns on Friday. In addition to the 240,785 barrels per day (bpd) in oil production shut in as energy companies were evacuating workers, 4.39%, or 119 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd), of natural gas output from the Gulf was turned off by Saturday, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said.
