Hurricane Ivan cuts US oil output to 50-year low

WASHINGTON, Oct 13 (AFP) - US crude oil production fell to a 50-year low in September as Hurricane Ivan battered operations in the Gulf of Mexico, the private American Petroleum Institute said Wednesday.
Disruptions in the Gulf of Mexico, along with temporary dips in Alaskan operations, cut output 15 percent from last year to 4.85 million barrels per day, the lowest in half a century, it said.
The Gulf of Mexico region usually produces about 1.7 million barrels of oil per day. Latest government figures showed 471,328 barrels per day were still missing.