Offshore staff
NEW ORLEANS– Operator Shell Offshore Inc. has provided an update stating that it is continuing its joint efforts with the US Coast Guard (USCG) in response to yesterday’s oil spill, located near the Brutus TLP in the Gulf of Mexico.
Shell said yesterday that the Glider field’s subsea infrastructure spilled an estimated 2,100 bbl of oil into the Gulf, and it consequently shut-in all wells that flow to Brutus.
“There are no drilling activities at Brutus, and this is not a well control incident. Shell is determining the exact cause of the release by inspecting the subsea equipment and flowlines in the Glider field,” the company said yesterday.
Today’s statement said that the oil was released from a segment of a subsea flowline.
Initially, a Shell helicopter observed and reported an oil sheen near Glider’s subsea tieback system at the Brutus TLP, located around 97 mi (156 km) south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana. The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said that it responded to the incident with the USCG.
BSEE noted that the sheen was 2-by-13 mi (3-by-20 km).
In the Glider development, production from four wells located in Green Canyon block 248 flows through a subsea manifold to Shell’s Brutus TLP, located in Green Canyon block 158 in 2,900 ft (884 m) water. Brutus entered production in 2001.
Shell also said that it made all appropriate regulatory notifications and mobilized response vessels, including aircraft, in the event the discharge is recoverable.
According to BSEE, a member of its personnel conducted an overflight inspection; additionally, Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile HC-144 aircrew launched to conduct an overflight assessment of the spill.
A BSEE inspector conducted an overflight of the area and is currently on location at the Brutus platform. BSEE will lead the incident investigation and the Coast Guard will lead in monitoring response efforts.
When contacted by Offshore, BSEE did not release information updated from its latest statement.
05/13/2016
