Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) — Oil companies in the Gulf of Mexico are evacuating workers and halting some output as Hurricane Ida strengthened after entering the area, which accounts for more than a quarter of U.S. crude production.

BP Plc evacuated non-essential staff and shut some of its Gulf output. “Some precautionary curtailment of production has taken place,” BP said in a recorded statement on its hotline. Ida is the first storm to disrupt output in the Gulf this hurricane season, which runs from June to November.

Chevron Corp., the second-largest U.S. oil company, has also halted “some production” at its Gulf of Mexico platforms, according to its Web site. The company moved some non-essential workers out of the area, spokesman Mickey Driver said yesterday.

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