U.S. oil and gas company Anadarko has shut down production and evacuated workers from two of its platforms in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of Tropical Storm Gordon.
In a statement on Monday, September 3 Anadarko said it had removed all personnel from its Horn Mountain and Marlin facilities in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
“We have also shut in production at both platforms to protect the environment,” the oil company said.
All other Anadarko operated and producing platforms remain on production.
“We will return personnel to Horn Mountain and Marlin when it is safe to do so,” the company concluded.
According to a Tuesday update by the National Hurricane Center (NHC), a west-northwestward to northwestward motion with some decrease in forward speed is expected over the next few days. On the forecast track, the center of Gordon will move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico today, and will approach the north-central Gulf Coast within the warning area late this afternoon or evening, and move inland over the lower Mississippi Valley on Wednesday.
The NHC also reported that maximum sustained winds have increased to near 65 mph (100 km/h) with higher gusts. Additional strengthening is expected today, and Gordon is forecast to be a hurricane when it makes landfall along the north-central Gulf Coast. Rapid weakening is expected after Gordon moves inland.
This is the second time for Anadarko to evacuate its offshore personnel from the Horn Mountain and Marlin platform in less than a year. Namely, Anadarko was also in September 2017 forced to remove the personnel from these platforms due to Hurricane Irma.
Offshore Energy Today Staff