Energy firms prepare to resume US Gulf of Mexico output after storm passes

Energy firms prepare to resume US Gulf of Mexico output after storm passes

Producers had evacuated 188 offshore facilities and shut in wells producing 635,000 barrels per day of oil and 878 million cubic feet per day of natural gas at US Gulf of Mexico wells as of Sunday

HOUSTON: Energy companies on Monday began preparations to resume oil and gas production in the US Gulf of Mexico, a day after Tropical Storm Cristobal blew through with high winds and heavy rains.

Producers had evacuated 188 offshore facilities and shut in wells producing 635,000 barrels per day of oil and 878 million cubic feet per day of natural gas at US Gulf of Mexico wells as of Sunday.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Murphy Oil Corp said on Monday they were starting to return workers to offshore facilities. Murphy said it did not expect to find storm damage and Shell said there was no hit to its production.

Energy companies typically inspect platforms after a storm passes and return evacuated workers once it is safe to do so.

Cristobal has weakened to a tropical depression after making landfall in Louisiana on Sunday with 50 mile-per-hour (80 kph)winds. It led producers to shut 34 per cent of oil and 32 per cent of gas output in the Gulf of Mexico, offshore regulator Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said. The region provides about 1.93 million bpd of oil.

Exxon Mobil Corp, Shell and PBF Energy Inc kept their oil refineries in Louisiana in operation as Cristobal hit over the weekend, people familiar with operations said. PBF declined to comment. Exxon and Shell were not immediately available to comment.

Exxon’s 502,500 bpd Baton Rouge, PBF’s 190,000 bpd Chalmette and Shell’s 225,300 bpd Norco, Louisiana, refineries were operating normally on Monday, the sources said.

The storm was 15 miles (30 km) east of Monroe, Louisiana, at 10 a.m. on Monday and dropping up to 10 inches (25.4 cm) of rain on central and eastern Gulf Coast areas. It should move through Arkansas and Missouri on Monday and Tuesday, US National Hurricane Center forecasters said.

https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/oil-and-gas/energy-firms-prepare-to-resume-us-gulf-of-mexico-output-after-storm-passes/76273753

Share Button

Leave a Reply