"HOUSTON - Major U.S. oil producers on Tuesday began evacuating and shutting in production at their deepwater Gulf of Mexico platforms in advance of a tropical disturbance expected to become a storm this week.

A tropical depression is expected to form late on Wednesday or Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center, and move westward across the northern Gulf of Mexico, home to dozens of oil- and gas-producing facilities.

Chevron Corp, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, BP Plc and BHP Group Ltd are removing staff from 15 offshore energy platforms, according to company statements. Exxon Mobil Corp is “closely monitoring” the disturbance to determine if its facilities may be affected, a spokeswoman said."

Collin Eaton reports for Reuters July 9, 2019. [2]