Editor's note: This is a developing story. Check back for updates. (This article was updated Aug. 31 at 1:55 p.m CDT)

Major offshore oil and gas producers on Aug. 30 were evacuating non-essential staff from production platforms in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico due to the threat from Hurricane Dorian.

BP said Chevron Corp. said they had or were in the process of removing non-essential workers from their facilities as a precautionary measure. Each said oil and gas production at the offshore facilities was unaffected, according to a Reuters report.

BHP announced its offshore staff was staying put at Shenzi and Neptune Oil production facilities as the storm changed course, according to a report by CNBC.  A BHP spokeswoman had said it would evacuate non-essential workers from its Neptune and Shenzi production facilities on Saturday.

Dorian is forecast to strike the Atlantic coast of Florida by early next week as a major hurricane. The evacuations took place as some earlier computer models projected Dorian may cross the Florida peninsula and enter the Gulf of Mexico. The most likely scenario is a track near the Southeast coast, but that forecast may change, according to Weather.com.

Oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico account for 16% of U.S. crude oil output and about 4% of U.S. natural gas.

Planned evacuations were complete at BP's Atlantis, Mad Dog, Na Kika and Thunderhorse, and at Chevron's Petronius and Blind Faith platforms, the companies said.

Exxon Mobil Corp. and Occidental Petroleum said they are closely monitoring Dorian, and their Gulf of Mexico operations were operating normally.

Other oil companies with operations in the U.S.-regulated north Gulf of Mexico did not reply to requests for comment about offshore operations.

Chevron said its Pascagoula, Mississippi, refinery continues to monitor the storm.

Shell Oil Co., the U.S. arm of Royal Dutch Shell Plc , has not modified operations at its Norco and Convent, Louisiana, refineries, according to spokesman Ray Fisher. Shell spokeswoman Cynthia Babski said offshore operations were not affected by the storm's threat.

Offshore