US Gulf oil production remains 60% shut after Lee
Offshore oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico are re-boarding platforms and rigs following Tropical Storm Lee, with more than half of oil production still shut in.
The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE) is continuing to monitor the operators' activities.
Based on data from offshore operator reports submitted as of 11:30 a.m. Central time on Tuesday, personnel have been evacuated from a total of 131 production platforms, equivalent to 21.2% 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.
Meanwhile, personnel have been evacuated from 12 rigs, equivalent to 17.1% 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 60.5% of the current oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut-in.
It is also estimated that approximately 41.6% of the natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico 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. The shut-in production figures therefore are estimates, which BOEMRE compares to historical production reports to ensure the estimates follow a logical pattern.
Lee made landfall in Louisiana over the weekend as a minimal-strength tropical storm.
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