Shell identifies damage from Hurricane Ida, says 80% of operated production remains off line

Royal Dutch Shell units reported damage to certain assets in the path of Hurricane Ida following an initial flyover by Shell Offshore Inc. to assess the storm’s impact.

During the initial flight, the operator observed damage to the West Delta-143 (WD-143) offshore infrastructure. When it is safe to do so, the company will send personnel offshore to provide a closer inspection to understand the full extent of the damage and the degree to which its production in the Gulf of Mexico will likely be impacted, the company said in a Sept. 2 release.

The WD-143 platform, owned by Shell Offshore Inc. (71.5%) and BP (28.5%), is operated by Shell Pipeline Co. LP. The infrastructure serves as the transfer station for all production from Shell assets in the Mars corridor in the Mississippi Canyon area to onshore crude terminals. Shell-operated tension leg platforms Mars, Olympus, and Ursa are all intact and on location, the company noted in an Aug. 31 website update. 

The company’s Perdido asset in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico was not disrupted by the hurricane, and the Turritella (also known as Stones) floating production, storage, and offloading vessel is currently back on line.

All of the operator’s other offshore assets remain shut in and fully evacuated at this time. At the early phase of assessment and recovery, about 80% of Shell-operated production in the Gulf of Mexico remains off line.

The company said it did not observe any visible structural damage to the rest of its offshore assets upon initial flyover. When it can safely deploy personnel, Shell will conduct additional inspections and work to restore production.

For the company’s onshore assets, operations and maintenance crews are assessing assets and rights-of-way as they are able to gain access to southern Louisiana. Full impact of the storm on the systems and a timeframe for a safe restart also are in assessment, Shell Midstream Partners LP and Shell Pipeline Co. LP said in a separate statement Sept. 2.

Colonial Pipeline Co.’s Lines 1 and 2 have been restored after a precautionary shut-down prior to the storm and are now operational (OGJ Online, Sept. 2, 2021). Shell owns an interest in Colonial Pipeline’s parent company, Colonial Enterprises Inc.