Offshore Oil Workers Flee As Storm Zeta Heads Toward Gulf Of Mexico Platforms

Oil producers on Monday were evacuating offshore production platforms in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico as the 27th named storm of the season strengthened overnight and is expected to become a hurricane.

BP and Chevron Corp said they were withdrawing staff from U.S. Gulf of Mexico offshore facilities and monitoring Tropical Storm Zeta’s track.

The storm could reach hurricane strength before striking the Yucatan Peninsula at mid-day Monday, and approach the northern Gulf Coast on Wednesday at or near hurricane strength, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Zeta was about 175 miles (285 km) south of Cozumel, Mexico, on Monday morning and moving northwest at nine miles per hour. Mexico’s government issued a hurricane warning for parts of the Yucatan Peninsula.