By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Sept. 27 -- Oil and gas industry personnel began returning Thursday and Friday to production sites in the Gulf of Mexico's outer continental shelf to assess facilities preparatory to restarting operations following tropical storm Isidore's exit from the area.
As much as 4.5 million bbl of oil and 25 MMcf of natural gas had been unavailable to US consumers during the 3-day shutdown effected to protect personnel and prevent damage to facilities and to the environment. The US Minerals Management Service said Thursday that reports from operators in the gulf indicated "about 95% of crude oil and 60% of natural gas production from offshore (US) federal lands" had been shut down by Wednesday, and most facilities were expected to be down until Friday.
"The amount affected is so large because production from the Gulf of Mexico OCS currently accounts for more than 25% of (total US) oil and natural gas production," said Walter Cruickshank, MMS deputy director. "This demonstrates the extraordinary importance of federal OCS production in the Gulf of Mexico to the US economy," he added.
More than 4,000 oil and gas platforms in the gulf operate on a 24-hr basis.
"Some platforms equipped with SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems stay online and continue operations during less severe storms," MMS said, "while data such as pressure, status of safety devices, flow rates, and other essential operating conditions are monitored remotely."
Because Isidore was a tropical storm—downgraded from its earlier hurricane status by an encounter with the Mexican mainland before bouncing back into the gulf—it is expected that damage will be negligible, and many sites are already back on line Friday.
On Thursday, for example, 44 companies had reported shutting in 506 platforms and 90 rigs operating on offshore federal blocks in five areas off Louisiana, MMS said. By midday Friday, the number of sites still shut down had dropped to 241 platforms and 31 rigs.