Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Apache Corp., the U.S. oil and natural-gas producer, has shut in and evacuated 23 of the oil and gas fields it operates in the Gulf of Mexico as Tropical Storm Ida travels through the region.

Production curtailed “because of the storm is 23,800 barrels of oil and 124 million cubic feet of gas a day,” Apache said in an e-mailed statement. The affected fields can produce 35,250 barrels of oil and 143 million cubic feet of gas a day, the company said.

Tropical Storm Ida had winds of 70 miles per hour as of 4 p.m. New York time and is expected to make landfall early tomorrow.

To contact the reporter on this story: Samantha Zee in San Francisco at szee@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 9, 2009 18:14 EST