NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Tropical Storm Lee has cut off just under half of the normal oil production from the Gulf of Mexico's U.S. waters.

That's the word from the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.

The agency said Friday that 169 of the 617 manned production platforms in the Gulf have been evacuated, along with 16 of the 62 drilling rigs now operating in the Gulf.

The evacuations have resulted in the shut-off of 47.6 percent of the Gulf's daily normal oil production and 33 percent of the normal daily natural gas production. That translates to about 666,000 barrels of oil and 1.7 billion cubic feet of gas.

(Copyright 2011, The Associated Press)

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