As the tropical depression Nine is meandering over the south-central Gulf of Mexico, oil and gas operators are evacuating their platforms and rigs, and are winding down oil and gas production.
According to the latest report by the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), workers have been evacuated from a total of nine production platforms, and one rig.
A total of seven dynamically positioned (DP) rigs have moved off location out of the storm’s path as a precaution. This number represents 37.00 percent of the 19 DP rigs currently operating in the Gulf. Such rigs maintain their location while conducting well operations by using thrusters and propellers, and are not moored to the seafloor, so they can move off location in a relatively short time-frame. Personnel remain on-board.
From operator reports, it is estimated that approximately 22.06 percent of the current oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut-in. It is also estimated that approximately 10.18 percent of the natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut-in.
Offshore Energy Today on Tuesday reported that BP evacuated all non-essential personnel from its four operated platforms in the Gulf and had begun shutting-in production at the Thunder Horse, Na Kika and Atlantis platforms; and Shell, shut in production at the Coulomb field following the shut in of associated downstream oil and gas gathering systems and receipt points.
Offshore Energy Today staff