Majority of GOM Production Remains Offline

Approximately 79.96 percent of oil production and approximately 83.21 percent of gas production in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) remained shut-in on September 1 following storm Ida, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) revealed. 

The percentages correspond to 1,455,279 barrels of oil per day and 1.8 billion cubic feet of gas per day, according to the BSEE. At its peak, Ida shut in 95.65 percent of GOM oil production on August 29 and 94.47 percent of GOM gas production on August 31, BSEE figures show.

Based on data from offshore operator reports submitted as of 11:30 CDT Wednesday, personnel remained evacuated from a total of 249 production platforms, or 44.46 percent of the 560 manned platforms in the GOM, the BSEE outlined. A high of 288 platforms were evacuated as a result of the storm, according to the BSEE.

Personnel remained evacuated from nine non-dynamically positioned rigs, equivalent to 81.82 percent of the 11 rigs of this type currently operating in the Gulf, and a total of four dynamically positioned (DP) rigs remained moved off location out of the storm’s projected path, the BSEE highlighted. This number was said to represent 26.7 percent of the 15 DP rigs currently operating in the Gulf.

In a statement sent to Rigzone on Wednesday, IHS Markit highlighted that refineries that process more than 2.7 million barrels per day, or approximately 14 percent of total U.S. refining capacity, had been in the path of the hurricane. The company noted that most of those refineries, representing two million barrels per day, or more than 11 percent of total U.S. capacity, are expected to be back online within three weeks. 

The National Hurricane Center shows that the remnants of Ida have now moved up the U.S. East coast, with maximum sustained winds of 40mph.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com