Nov 8 (Reuters) - Over 23% of crude oil production and

10% of natural gas output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico was shut in

by Hurricane Rafael, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental

Enforcement said on Friday.

Energy producers have evacuated dozens of offshore

production platforms and shut in 408,830 barrels per day of oil

production and nearly 201 million cubic feet per day of natural

gas from Gulf waters, the offshore regulator said.

Packing 100 mph (161 kph) winds, Rafael was in the central

Gulf of Mexico on Friday and expected to remain in a meandering

course there for the next several days. The National Hurricane

Center predicted its winds would gradually lose strength.

The late season storm overall will reduce U.S. offshore

production by about 2 million barrels of oil and 1.1 billion

cubic feet of natural gas, estimates researcher Earth Science

Associates.

Top offshore producers, including BP, Chevron ( CVX )

, Equinor ( EQNR ) and Shell had evacuated

employees from offshore facilities and in some cases halted oil

and gas production. Occidental Petroleum ( OXY ) said it was

implementing safety procedures at its offshore facilities.

The shut-ins can take several days to reverse as

companies assess the status of their facilities and return

workers once the storm moves away.