Offshore staff
NEW ORLEANS — Offshore oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico are evacuating platforms and rigs in the path of Tropical Storm Alex.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement’s (BOEMRE) Continuity of Operations Plan 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 June 29, personnel have been evacuated from a total of 28 production platforms, equivalent to 4.4% of the 634 manned platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.
Personnel from three rigs have also been evacuated, equivalent to 5.9% of the 51 rigs currently operating in the Gulf.
The bureau reports that neither the drilling rigs nor the containment vessels involved in the BP oil spill response have been required to evacuate or halt operations.
From the operator reports, it is estimated that approximately 24.74% of the oil production in the Gulf has been shut-in. It is also estimated that approximately 9.38% 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 MMb/d of oil and 6.4 bcf of gas.
