NEW ORLEANS — Offshore oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico have begun evacuating platforms and rigs and have shut-in oil and natural gas production in the path of Hurricane Dean. The Minerals Management Service has activated its Continuity of Operations Plan team to monitor the operators’ activities. The team will remain activated until operations return to normal and the storm is no longer a threat to Gulf oil and gas activities.
Based
on data from offshore operator reports submitted as of 11:30 a.m. CST
on August 20, personnel have been evacuated from a total of 10
production platforms, equivalent to 1.2 percent of the 834 manned
platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Production platforms are the
structures located offshore from which oil and natural gas are
produced. These structures remain in the same location throughout a
project’s duration unlike drilling rigs, which typically move from
location to location.
Personnel from 24 rigs have also been evacuated;
this is equivalent to 24 percent of the 101 rigs currently operating in the
Gulf. Rigs can include several types of self-contained offshore drilling
facilities including jackups, submersibles and semisubmersibles.
From the operators’ reports, it is estimated
that approximately 3.2 percent of the oil production in the Gulf has been
shut-in, roughly 41,967 barrels of oil per day. Estimated oil production
from the Gulf of Mexico as of April 2007 was
1.3 million barrels of oil per day. It is also estimated that approximately 1.3
percent of the natural gas production in the Gulf has been shut-in, roughly 100
million cubic feet of gas per day. Estimated natural gas production from the Gulf of Mexico as of April 2007 was 7.7 billion cubic
feet of gas per day.
As part of the evacuation process, personnel
activate the shut-in procedure, which can also be accomplished from a remote
location. This involves closing the safety valves located below the surface of
the ocean to prevent the release of oil or gas. During Hurricanes Katrina and
Rita, the shut-in valves functioned 100 percent of the time, efficiently
closing in production from wells and resulting in no major spills from the
Outer Continental Shelf. Shutting-in oil and gas production is a standard
procedure conducted by industry for safety and environmental reasons.
The production percentages are calculated using information
submitted by offshore operators in daily reports. Shut-in production
information included in these reports is based on what the operator expected to
produce that day. The shut-in production figures therefore are estimates, which
the MMS compares to historical production reports to ensure the estimates
follow a logical pattern.
After the storm has passed, facilities will be inspected. Once all standard checks have been completed, production from undamaged facilities will be brought back on line immediately. Facilities sustaining damage may take longer to bring back on line. The MMS will continue to update the evacuation and shut-in statistics at 1:00 p.m. CST each day until these statistics are no longer significant.
For additional information, contact Eileen Angelico, MMS, at (504) 736-2595 or Caryl Fagot, MMS, at (504) 736-2590.