BP Issues Final Update on Hurricane Helene

In a statement posted on its website on Thursday, BP issued its “final update” on Hurricane Helene.

“BP is closely monitoring Hurricane Helene to protect our personnel and operations in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico,” the company said in the update.

“After determining conditions are safe to return, BP is working toward safely returning personnel to our platforms in the Gulf of Mexico,” it added.

The company revealed in the update that it has safely restarted production at its Argos, Atlantis, Na Kika, and Thunder Horse platforms, which it said are returning to normal operations.

“There were no impacts to production at Mad Dog,” BP said in the update.

In an update posted on its site on September 23, BP said it had started to shut in production at its Na Kika and Thunder Horse platforms and revealed that it was curtailing production from its Argos and Atlantis platforms.

A storm Helene update posted on Shell’s website on September 24 said the company had “begun safely ramping up production at Appomattox to normal levels”.

“We have also begun the process of restoring production at Stones. We have safely paused some of our drilling operations. Currently, there are no other impacts on our production across the Gulf of Mexico,” it added.

In an update posted on its site on September 23, Shell said it had shut in production at its Stones asset and curtailed production at Appomattox.

“We continue to evacuate non-essential personnel from our assets in the Mars Corridor, and we are in the process of safely pausing some of our drilling operations,” it added in that update.

In a statement posted on its site on Thursday, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) noted that, from operator reports, it estimates that approximately 25.25 percent of the current oil production and 19.81 percent of the current natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut in.

“Based on data from offshore operator reports submitted as of 11.30am CDT … [Thursday] personnel have been evacuated from a total of 27 production platforms, 7.28 percent of the 371 manned platforms in the Gulf of Mexico,” the BSEE said in the statement.

“Personnel have been evacuated from one non-dynamically positioned (DP) rig(s), equivalent to 20 percent of the five rigs of this type currently operating in the Gulf …  A total of three DP rigs have moved off location out of the storm’s path as a precaution. This number represents 14.3 percent of the 21 DP rigs currently operating in the Gulf,” it added.

After the storm has passed, facilities will be inspected, the BSEE said in the statement, adding that, once all standard checks have been completed, production from undamaged facilities will be brought back online immediately.

“Facilities sustaining damage may take longer to bring back online,” the BSEE warned in the statement.

In a statement posted on its website on September 25, the BSEE estimated that approximately 29.18 percent of the current oil production and 16.85 percent of the current natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico had been shut in.

“Based on data from offshore operator reports submitted as of 11.30am CDT … [Wednesday] personnel have been evacuated from a total of 17 production platforms, 4.58 percent of the 371 manned platforms in the Gulf of Mexico,” the BSEE said in that statement.

“Personnel have been evacuated from one non-dynamically positioned (DP) rig(s), equivalent to 20 percent of the five rigs of this type currently operating in the Gulf … A total of three DP rigs have moved off location out of the storm’s path as a precaution,” it added.

As of 5am EDT on September 27, Helene had maximum sustained winds of 70 miles per hour and a 30 mile per hour northern movement, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Hurricane Center (NHC) website showed.

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