Sept 22 (Reuters) - Shell said on Sunday that

it would shut production at its Stones and Appomattox facilities

in the Gulf of Mexico as a precautionary measure in response to

a tropical disturbance.

"We are in the process of safely pausing some of our

drilling operations, and currently have no other impact on our

production across the Gulf of Mexico," the oil major said,

adding that it has also begun evacuating non-essential personnel

from its assets in the Mars Corridor.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said that the system

located near the Gulf of Mexico has a 50% chance of becoming a

cyclone in the next 48 hours.

"Environmental conditions appear conducive for development

of this disturbance, and a tropical depression or tropical storm

is likely to form during the next few days," the Miami-based

weather forecaster said.