The US Environmental Protection Agency announced on Sunday that nearly a fifth of crude oil production and 28 % of natural gas production in US federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico are still out of service following Hurricane Francine. The agency, which regulates energy production in US offshore platforms, cited reports from producers as saying that there were still 37 oil and gas platforms without employees on Sunday, or about 10 % of the total number of platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. According to the agency's estimates, production in the Gulf waters on Sunday reached 338,690 barrels of oil and about 515 million cubic feet of natural gas, and 171 offshore platforms were evacuated of workers at the height of the hurricane last week. It is noteworthy that Hurricane Francine passed over major marine areas for oil and natural gas production and hit the state of Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane last Wednesday. The storm toppled trees, flooded coastal areas and caused power outages in four southern America n states. Source: National Iraqi News Agency