NEW ORLEANS, LA
— Offshore oil and gas
operators in the Gulf of Mexico are evacuating platforms and rigs in
the path of Tropical Storm Bonnie. The Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE) Hurricane Response
Team is monitoring the operators’ activities. This team will be
activated until operations return to normal and the storm is no
longer a threat to the Gulf of Mexico oil and gas activities.
Based on data from offshore operator
reports submitted as of 11:30 a.m. CST today, personnel have been
evacuated from a total of 11 production platforms, equivalent to
1.74 % of the 634 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 two rigs have also
been evacuated; this is equivalent to 5.13 % of the 39 rigs
currently operating in the Gulf. Rigs can include several types of
self-contained offshore drilling facilities including jackups,
submersibles and semisubmersibles.
Vessels and drilling rigs involved in
the BP oil spill response have been required to curtail or halt
operations and to begin evacuations. (For the latest information
regarding the impacts of severe weather on the BP oil spill
response, visit:
http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com.
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 the recent hurricane seasons, the
shut-in valves functioned 100 percent of the time, efficiently
closing in production from wells on the Outer Continental Shelf and
protecting the marine and coastal environments. Shutting-in oil and
gas production is a standard procedure conducted by industry for
safety and environmental reasons.
From the operators’ reports, it is
estimated that approximately 28.27 % of the oil production in the
Gulf has been shut-in. It is also estimated that approximately
10.42 % of the natural gas production in the Gulf has been shut-in.
Estimated energy production from the Gulf of Mexico as of March 2010
is 1.6 million barrels of oil per day and 6.4 billion cubic feet of
gas per day.
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 BOEMRE
compares to historical production reports to ensure the estimates
follow a logical pattern.