Operators re-board platforms in Gulf of Mexico after Harvey

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, according to the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).

The BSEE Hurricane Response Team continues to monitor the operators’ activities and will work with offshore operators and other state and federal agencies to support a safe return to normal operations.

Further, BSEE inspectors also began overflights of offshore facilities, on August 31st, to evaluate facilities and monitor for pollution. At this point, no damage reports from oil and gas operators have been received.

Based on the data from offshore operator reports, personnel remain evacuated from a total of 94 production platforms, which represents 12.75 percent of the 737 manned platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

Personnel remain evacuated from five rigs (non-dynamically positioned (DP) rig), equivalent to 50 percent of the 10 rigs of this type currently operating in the Gulf.

No DP rigs moved off location out of the storm’s path. This number represents 0 percent of the 21 DP rigs currently operating in the Gulf.

As part of their evacuation process, operators activate applicable shut-in procedures, which can often be accomplished from a remote location. This involves closing the sub-surface safety valves located below the surface of the ocean floor to prevent the release of oil or gas. During previous hurricane seasons, the shut-in valves functioned 100 percent of the time, efficiently shutting in production from wells on the Outer Continental Shelf and protecting the marine and coastal environments. Shutting-in oil and gas production is a standard procedure conducted by industry for safety and environmental reasons.

From Gulf of Mexico operator reports, BSEE estimates that

• approximately 13.49 percent of the current oil production of 1,750,000 barrels of oil per day in the Gulf remains shut-in, which equates to 236,115 barrels of oil per day
• about 17.64 percent of the natural gas production of 3,220 million cubic feet per day, or 568.09 million cubic feet per day, 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 on line immediately. Facilities sustaining any damage may take longer to bring back on line.