Tropical Storm Don shuts in 12% of Gulf oil output
(updated with new statistics as of Friday afternoon)
By Ben DuBose
Online Editor
Nearly 12% of offshore Gulf of Mexico oil production has been shut in as Tropical Storm Don churns toward the Texas coast, with an expected landfall late Friday near Corpus Christi.
In total, 166,554 bpd in oil production has been shut in, or 11.9% of overall Gulf output, according to the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE).
Meanwhile, 327 million cubic feet/day of natural gas capacity is shut in, representing 6.2% of Gulf production.
Fifty-six platforms were evacuated, equivalent to 9.1% of total Gulf of Mexico platforms. Four of the 62 rigs in the Gulf have been evacuated, making up 6.5%, the agency said.
Companies that shut in production and evacuated personnel include Shell, Anadarko Petroleum, ExxonMobil and BP.
As part of the evacuation process, personnel activate the applicable shut-in procedure, which can frequently be accomplished from a remote location, BOEMRE explained.
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 recent hurricane seasons, the shut-in valves functioned 100% of the time, efficiently shutting in production from wells on the Outer Continental Shelf and protecting the marine and coastal environments.
As of the 10:00 a.m. Central time update from the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), Don packed winds of 50 miles/hour while moving west-northwest in the general direction of Corpus Christi.
Don is likely to strengthen to around 60 miles/hour, but reaching hurricane strength (74 miles/hour or higher) is considered unlikely, forecasters said.
Moreover, flooding concerns are considered minimal since the storm is projected to move rapidly through the region. As such, inland refineries are not expected to be significantly impacted.
Three major refineries are located in Corpus Christi, including the 290,078 bpd Flint Hills Resources facility, a 163,000 bpd unit from Citgo and a 142,000 bpd refinery from Valero.
No refinery production cuts had been reported as of midday Friday.
Stay tuned to HydrocarbonProcessing.com and follow us on Twitter for further industry storm updates.
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