Personnel returning, some production resuming in the Gulf of Mexico

Offshore staff

HOUSTON and NEW ORLEANS– Offshore oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico are re-boarding platforms and rigs to assess their ability to resume normal operations following Tropical Storm Harvey. 

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement reports that based on the data from offshore operator reports submitted as of 11:30 CDT today, personnel remain evacuated from 94 production platforms, which represents 12.75% of the 737 manned platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

Personnel remain evacuated from five non-dynamically positioned (DP) rigs. No DP rigs moved off location.

From operator reports, BSEE estimates that about 236,115 b/d or 13.49% of the oil production of 1,750,000 b/d in the Gulf remains shut-in. It also estimates that about 568.09 MMcf/d or 17.64% of the natural gas production remains shut-in.

Since the storm has passed, operators have begun inspecting facilities. Once all standard checks have been completed, production from undamaged facilities will be brought back online immediately.

BSEE added that its inspectors also began overflights of offshore facilities today to evaluate facilities and monitor for pollution. At this point, no damage reports from oil and gas operators have been received.

According to a report from analyst firm ESAI Energy, efforts to fully resume production levels in the western Gulf of Mexico will be hampered by the closure of the CHOPS pipeline system. This carries offshore crude from the outer continental shelf in the Gulf to the Houston area, with connector lines to Texas City and Beaumont.

In addition, TechnipFMC is the latest industry company to contribute to theHarvey relief efforts. The company says that it donated $1 million to the United Way of Greater Houston to support the work being carried out across Houston and Gulf Coast communities.

08/31/2017