Oil companies Friday evacuated some workers from platforms as Hurricane Katrina entered the Gulf of Mexico, with one company shutting a small amount of crude oil and natural gas production, the companies said according to Reuters. Katrina strengthened to a Category 2 -- winds of at least 96 mph -- hurricane Friday but its projected path lies east of most of the offshore production rigs, according to the National Hurricane Center. Seven oil companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico said they evacuated workers from their offshore platforms as a precaution against Katrina, but only one company, Total of France, reported any impact to production. Total said it shut 16,500 barrels per day of crude oil output, accounting for only a fraction of the region's 1.5 million bpd capacity. It also shut 259 million cubic feet per day of natural gas. Most companies said that if the storm takes a more westerly tack, more crude and natural gas production may be shut-in. Katrina is expected to become a major hurricane on Saturday, a Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, which means sustained winds of at least 111 mph. --more 2324 Local Time 2024 GMT
