As expected given the magnitude and track of Ida, the necessary inspections, and the onshore damage, most GoM production remains shut-in. (BSEE data)
Posts Tagged ‘Hurricane Ida’
About 80% of GoM oil production is still shut-in
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, oil, tagged Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Ida, oil production on September 7, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Globetrotter II Statements
Posted in accidents, Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, tagged Globetrotter II, Hurricane Ida, Noble, safety culture on September 7, 2021| Leave a Comment »
| Noble’s Aug. 29 statement | Noble’s Sept. 2 statement |
| “Each rig successfully secured its respective well in progress and took evasive actions to avoid the storm’s path.” (No mention of the delay in relocating the Globetrotter II or the rig, riser, and LMRP damage already reported on social media.) | “several riser joints and the lower marine riser package separated from the rig during the storm and sank to the seabed.” (Confirms social media reports.) |
| “All personnel are safe and accounted for.” (No mention of the injuries alluded to in social media reports.) | “A small number of crew members were treated for minor injuries.” (The actual number was 9, i.e. not a small number, 4 of whom had to be transported to shore for further evaluation.) |
| “One of the ship’s cofferdams in the moonpool area sustained damage.” (Update: The storm broke part of the hull, which allowed water into some compartments. Per the ship’s master, the vessel was not in distress and not actively taking on water.) | |
In a proper safety culture, you don’t downplay serious incidents and you never declare victory. Spin control is for politicians, not safety leaders. The Globetrotter II, with 140 workers aboard, was slammed by a major hurricane, perhaps unnecessarily. After the frightening social media reports, Noble released an “all is well” statement that minimized the significance and potential consequences of the delayed rig relocation. Noble continued to downplay the incident when they update their statement 5 days later.
The Coast Guard and BSEE will be investigating the Globetrotter II relocation, and their findings will be of great interest. Noble has historically been a very good drilling contractor with a strong commitment to safe operations. Hopefully, they and others will learn and apply lessons from this and similar events that have occurred in the Gulf and elsewhere. Companies may also want to assess the compatibility of their messaging practices with their commitment to a robust safety culture and continuous improvement.
Bay Marchand Pipeline Leak
Posted in accidents, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, oil, tagged Bay Marchand, Hurricane Ida, pipeline spill, Talos on September 6, 2021| Leave a Comment »
- 12″ pipeline displaced by Ida
- Approximately 2 miles south of Port Fourchon which took a direct hit from Ida. (Appears that the pipeline is in Louisiana State waters).
- Water depth = 34′
- Talos funding spill response, although the company said it was not their pipeline
- Leak has slowed significantly; apparently production is not entering the line and the spill is limited to pipeline inventory
- This type of incident is not surprising given the magnitude and track of Ida and the pipeline infrastructure that was exposed to major hurricane conditions
Small reduction in shut-in volumes
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, oil, tagged Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Ida, offshore oil, shut-in production on September 3, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Shell reports damage to WD 143 Hub
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, oil, tagged Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Ida, Mars, Olympus, Shell, Ursa, WD 143 on September 3, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Shell Offshore Inc. (Shell), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, conducted an initial flyover of our assets in the path of Hurricane Ida. During this initial flight, we observed damage to our West Delta-143 (WD-143) offshore facilities. When it is safe to do so, we will send personnel offshore to provide a closer inspection of these facilities to understand the full extent of the damage and the degree to which our production in the Gulf of Mexico will likely be impacted.
Shell news release
This is a very significant report given the importance of the WD 143 platform in transferring all production from Shell facilities in the “Mars corridor.” These facilities include the Mars, Olympus, and Ursa platforms.
Shut-in Volumes Increase
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, oil, tagged Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Ida, oil production, shut-in on September 2, 2021| Leave a Comment »
In a bit of a surprise, the volume of shut-in GoM oil production rebounded to more than 1.7 million BOPD (see BSEE’s 9/2 update). Because several deepwater platforms had reportedly resumed production, the sharp increase in shut-in volumes could have something to do with downstream facility damage or bottlenecks. The daily Ida shut-in volumes are plotted below.
About 20% of GoM oil production has been restored. EIA reports June production.
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, oil, tagged BSEE, EIA, Hurricane Ida on September 1, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Presumably, most of the restored GoM production is from platforms like Exxon Hoover that were not subjected to hurricane conditions. Per BSEE, the total oil production shut-in as of 9/1 is 1,455,279.
The latest EIA production report for June 2021 has just been released and GoM oil production averaged 1.825 million BOPD.
Essentially all GoM oil production remains shut-in
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Exxon Hoover, Hurricane Ida on August 31, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Consistent with expectations, more than 1.7 million BOPD remains shut-in. Exxon announced that crews are resuming operations at their deepwater Hoover platform. Hoover is west of the Ida storm track and incurred no damage.
BSEE: 1,721,809 BOPD Shut-in
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Globetrotter II, Hurricane Ida, production on August 30, 2021| Leave a Comment »
As expected, BSEE’s 8/30 update indicates that the shut-in production volumes remain about the same. The process of inspecting facilities, returning workers (some of whom may be dealing with damage and other challenges at home), and restoring production will take some time.
Other than the sketchy reports about the Globetrotter II, there is no information on Ida-related offshore incidents at this time. .
Port Fourchon Video
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Hurricane Ida, Port Fourchon on August 30, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Port Fourchon, the service hub for the deepwater Gulf, took a direct hit from Ida. This is why you evacuate (including offshore platforms).
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 