Oklahoma companies evacuate gulf as hurricane approaches

UNDATED (AP) -- Oklahoma energy companies are boarding up their operations in the Gulf of Mexico as Hurricane Katrina approaches.<br/><br/>Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy Corporation has evacuated 60

Sunday, August 28th 2005, 7:58 am

By: News On 6

UNDATED (AP) -- Oklahoma energy companies are boarding up their operations in the Gulf of Mexico as Hurricane Katrina approaches.

Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy Corporation has evacuated 60 nonessential personnel from four facilities off the southeast coast of Louisiana.

Kerr-McGee Corporation says it's evacuated about 50 non-essential personnel from the Neptune production spar about 90 miles south of Mobile, Alabama.

Tulsa-based Williams Companies has evacuated eight workers and shut down its Canyon Station piepline facility south of Mobile Bay, Alabama. The facility can transport about 500-million cubic feet of natural gas per day.

The center of Hurricane Katrina is located southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. Its maximum sustained winds are near 160 miles-an-hour.