The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is monitoring offshore oil and gas operations in the US Gulf of Mexico as Hurricane Helene moves closer to the Florida.
The storm intensified Wednesday, Sept. 25, and is expected to hit Florida’s Big Bend region on Thursday, Sept. 26, possibly as a major Category 3 hurricane.
Based on data from offshore operator reports submitted as of 11:30 a.m. CDT Sept. 25, personnel have been evacuated from 17 production platforms, 4.58% of the 371 manned platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.
Personnel have been evacuated from one non-dynamically positioned (DP) rig, 20% of the five rigs of this type currently operating in the Gulf.
A total of three DP rigs have moved off location out of the storm’s path as a precaution. This represents 14.3% of the 21 DP rigs currently operating in the Gulf.
From operator reports, BSEE estimates that about 29.18% (511,000 b/d) of the current oil production and 16.85% (313 MMcfd) of the current natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut-in.
Production, infrastructure
Oil and gas operators have prepared ahead of the storm's approach and adjusted along with the storm's track.
Late on Sept. 24, Shell plc said it had begun ramping up production at Appomattox to normal levels and had begun the process of restoring production at Stones. Certain drilling operations remain paused, the operator said.
As a precautionary measure, LLOG, operator of Who Dat assets in the Gulf of Mexico, has shut-in the Who Dat wells and evacuated the platform, partner Karoon Energy Ltd. said in a release Sept. 25. Drilling at Who Dat South has also been suspended, the company said. The assets could be shut in for 3-5 days before production is ramped back up, depending on the trajectory and severity of the hurricane, Karoon said.
Equinor said Sept. 25 that operations at the Titan platform have been shut in and personnel evacuated, Reuters reported.
