Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc, Europe's largest oil company, evacuated some non-essential personnel from its platforms in the Gulf of Mexico as Hurricane Ernesto, the first Atlantic hurricane, approached the company's rigs.

Ernesto's maximum sustained winds have increased to 75 miles an hour (120 kilometers an hour), making it a category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said at 5:04 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The hurricane was centered about 120 miles south- southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

``As of yesterday production operations were normal,'' BP spokesman David Nicholas said today by phone. ``We are continuing to monitor the hurricane and will take further action as required.''

BP evacuated 800 workers, including drillers, leaving 1,600 offshore, Nicholas said. Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe's largest oil company, also evacuated non-essential personnel from its rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, the producer said yesterday.

Hurricanes Katrina in late August and Rita in September last year tore through the Gulf of Mexico's offshore oil and gas fields with winds of 170 miles per hour, toppling production platforms, setting rigs adrift and rupturing pipelines.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eduard Gismatullin in London at egismatullin@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 27, 2006 07:23 EDT