More than a quarter of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico offshore oil and gas production remained shut on Wednesday by Hurricane Sally, which moved inland dumping heavy rains and cutting fuel demand in the U.S. Southeast. The storm made landfall early on Wednesday morning near Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a powerful Category 2 hurricane, swamping the region with up to 20 inches (50 cm) of rain and boosting U.S. crude oil and gasoline prices. Some 508,000 barrels per day of oil production and 805 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of natural gas output were shut in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, according to the U.S. Interior Department. That is roughly a third of the shut-ins caused by Hurricane Laura, which landed further west in August. The storm toppled trees, flooded streets and left 500,000 homes and businesses without electricity. The outages could reduce fuel sales […]