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    1. General Interest

    BSEE: 95% of GoM oil production shut-in as operators begin assessment following Ida

    Aug. 30, 2021
    The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement continues to work with offshore operators and other state and federal agencies following Hurricane Ida’s passage through Louisiana.
    BSEE.
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    The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) continues to work with offshore operators and other state and federal agencies following Hurricane Ida’s passage through Louisiana. It will continue response until operations return to normal and the storm is no longer a threat to Gulf of Mexico oil and gas activities.

    Based on data from offshore operator reports submitted to BSEE as of 11:30 CDT on Aug. 30, personnel have been evacuated from 288 production platforms, 51.43% of the 560 manned platforms in the US gulf.

    BSEE estimates that 94.60% of current gulf crude oil production (about 1.7 million b/d) is still shut in and 93.75% of natural gas production remains shut in.

    Personnel have been evacuated from all 11 nondynamically positioned rigs working in the gulf. Seven of the 15 dynamically positioned rigs have moved off location out of the path of the storm.

    After the storm has passed, facilities will be inspected. Once all standard checks have been completed, production from undamaged facilities will be brought back online immediately. Facilities sustaining damage may take longer to bring back online.

    Operators will begin to assess infrastructure as conditions permit. 

    Shell, for one, said it continues to actively monitor the impact of Hurricane Ida on its operations. Following a flyover in the Gulf of Mexico for a general assessment, the United States Coast Guard reported visual confirmation that the Shell-operated Mars, Olympus, and Ursa platforms remain on location, the operator said on its US Storm Center website. The company plans its own flyover to assess these and other assets, that were in the path of the storm.

    An earlier update said the company had shut in production and evacuated all personnel from Ursa, Mars, Olympus, Auger, Enchilada/Salsa, and Appomattox. Stones, which had earlier shut in production, is working to resume partial production, according to the update, and some drilling operations have been safely paused.

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