Gulf oil production returns to near normal after Lee
By Ben DuBose
Online Editor
Offshore oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico are re-boarding platforms and rigs and restoring production following Tropical Storm Lee, with production returning to near normal after being more than 60% shut earlier in the week.
However, another storm may loom in the near future. Tropical Storm Nate formed late Wednesday near the Bay of Campeche off Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, and it strengthened early Friday to peak wind speeds of 65 miles/hour.
Its movement is nearly stationary.
Nate is projected to soon become a hurricane, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC). Computer models show the storm making landfall somewhere along the central coast of Mexico.
Considering Nate’s expected strength, production shut-ins in the southwest Gulf are likely in coming days. Moreover, inland plants and refineries along the coast of Mexico could be threatened.
The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE) Hurricane Response Team is monitoring all operator activities.
Based on data from offshore operator reports submitted as of 11:30 a.m. Central time on Thursday, personnel remained evacuated from a total of 5 production platforms, equivalent to 0.8% of the 617 manned platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.
Production platforms are the structures located offshore from which oil and natural gas are produced. Unlike drilling rigs, which typically move from location to location, production facilities remain in the same location throughout a project’s duration.
Personnel have been evacuated from 2 rigs, equivalent to 2.9% of the 70 rigs currently operating in the Gulf. Rigs can include several types of self-contained offshore drilling facilities including jackup rigs, submersibles and semisubmersibles.
From operator reports, it is estimated that approximately 14.8% of current oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut in.
It is also estimated that approximately 6.8% of natural gas production in the Gulf has been shut in.
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 the amount of oil and gas the operator expected to produce that day.
Lee made landfall in southern Louisiana over the past weekend.
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