Hurricane Harvey Has Knocked Out 2. Percent of Gulf Gas Production. Hurricane Harvey, the Category 4 storm that barreled into southeastern Texas on Friday evening, has shut down approximately a quarter of US gas production in the Gulf of Mexico. According to Reuters, storm related shutdowns have knocked approximately 4. US roughly 1. 7. Gulf, per the estimate of the Interior Departments Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. Thats up from a Friday estimate of 2. Harveys homecoming. Per the Associated Press, before the hurricane made landfall on Friday night, Dozens of oil and gas platforms had been evacuated, at least three refineries had closed and at least two petrochemical plants had suspended operations. If the storm continues dumping tens of inches of water across large swathes of Texas, as is expected, flooding in the Houston and Beaumont areas could continue to affect oil production. The AP reported the Interior Department said personnel evacuated 8. Gulf before the storm hit, contributing to the contraction. But analysts who spoke with the AP mostly predicted the shutdowns would have a minor and temporary effect on US gas guzzling, with rises of five to 1. One fear going into Harvey was that the regions heavy concentration of coastal oil and gas facilities put it at risk of a major disaster like the 2. Deepwater Horizon blowout. A 2. 01. 6 investigation by Pro. Publica and the Texas Tribune warned major storm damage to Houston petrochemical facilities could risk skyrocketing gas prices and flood shipping lanes with deadly toxins, wreaking ecological and economic havoc. While reports have not yet indicated those warnings have come to fruition, officials are still assessing storm damage. Youre currently subscribed to some eWEEK features and just need to create a username and password. Tabtight professional, free when you need it, VPN service. Days of potentially catastrophic flooding ahead mean the region is not out of the danger zone yet, either. Reuters. Watch breaking news videos, viral videos and original video clips on CNN. com. InformationWeek. com News, analysis and research for business technology professionals, plus peertopeer knowledge sharing. Engage with our community. Comptia Security Training Choose universally recognized Comptia security Certification course by Koenig and enhance your skills knowledge in IT security.