(WO) — The Bureau of Security and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has activated its Hurricane Response Group and is monitoring offshore oil and gasoline operators within the Gulf of Mexico as they proceed their response to Hurricane Helene.
Primarily based on knowledge from offshore operator reviews submitted as of 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sep. 29, personnel have been evacuated from a complete of three manufacturing platforms, 0.81% of the 371 manned platforms within the Gulf of Mexico.
No personnel have been evacuated from any of the 5 non-dynamically positioned (DP) rig(s), at the moment working within the Gulf. Rigs can embody a number of kinds of offshore drilling services together with jackup rigs, platform rigs, all submersibles, and moored semisubmersibles.
A complete of 1 DP rig moved off location out of the storm’s path as a precaution. This quantity represents 4.76% of the 21 DP rigs at the moment working within the Gulf. DP rigs keep their location whereas conducting nicely operations by utilizing thrusters and propellers; these rigs usually are not moored to the seafloor, to allow them to transfer out of hurt’s method in a comparatively brief timeframe. Personnel stay on board and return to the unique location as soon as the storm has handed.
As a part of the evacuation course of, personnel activate the relevant shut-in process, which might continuously be achieved from a distant location. This entails closing security valves situated under the floor of the ocean ground to stop the discharge of oil or gasoline, successfully shutting in manufacturing from wells within the Gulf and defending the marine and coastal environments. Shutting in oil and gasoline manufacturing is a normal process carried out by trade for security and environmental causes.
From operator reviews, BSEE estimates that roughly 3.35% of the present oil manufacturing and 0.91% of the present pure gasoline manufacturing within the Gulf of Mexico is shut-in.
Now that the storm has handed, services can be inspected. As soon as all commonplace checks have been accomplished, manufacturing from undamaged services can be introduced again on-line instantly. Services sustaining injury could take longer to carry again on-line.
