Hurricane

Tensions eased in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Thursday, with shut-in numbers declining and workers preparing to head back to platforms, as Hermine, upgraded to hurricane status, made its long-awaited move toward the Florida coast.

Oil and natural gas companies in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) appeared to have adopted a wait and see attitude Tuesday as Tropical Depression Nine (TD9) churned to the west of Cuba, with a move toward Florida — and not into the central GOM — expected by Wednesday.

After more than two months of relative calm, the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season has become significantly more active, prompting operators in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) to shut in more than 11% of oil and more than 5% of natural gas, but — for the moment, at least — the chances of any significant disruption seem to have lessened.

London-based supermajor BP plc on Friday was taking precautions in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) as a tropical disturbance with the potential to grow into a larger storm rolled out of the Atlantic Ocean near Cuba.

Physical natural gas for weekend and Monday delivery worked lower in Friday’s trading as buyers saw little reason to commit to three-day deals.

Physical natural gas for Wednesday moved little in trading Tuesday, with some producing basins reporting no movement at all and most points moving within a few pennies of unchanged.

Despite relative calm during the first 10 weeks of the Atlantic hurricane season, forecasters still expect tropical activity this year that could threaten energy interests in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and along the eastern seaboard.

Physical gas traders for Friday delivery mostly laid low Thursday and got their deals done before the release of Energy Information Administration (EIA) storage data. Nearly all points fell a few pennies into the red, with the exception of a few locations on the East Coast, where the combination of heat and humidity sent next-day prices higher by double digits.

BP plc has been fined $20.16 million and ordered to disgorge another $207,169 by FERC after the agency found affiliates of the company had gamed the market for natural gas at the Houston Ship Channel (HSC) in 2008 after Hurricane Ike, a decision the London-based supermajor says it will continue to challenge.