Weather Watch: 7 of 10 Missing Workers Rescued Alive in Gulf

- Weather Watch: 7 of 10 Missing Workers Rescued Alive in Gulf

Monday, September 12, 2011
Dow Jones Newswires
by Anthony Harrup

Mexican state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or PEMEX, said Sunday that seven of 10 workers missing after abandoning a vessel in the Gulf damaged by Tropical Storm Nate have been rescued alive, and that the bodies of two others who died were also recovered.

Pemex said of the seven who were rescued alive are four Mexicans, a Bangladeshi and two U.S. citizens. It said the bodies of the two dead workers had yet to be identified.

The 10 workers, three employees of U.S. seismic data company Geokinetics Inc. (GOK) and seven contract workers went missing Thursday after the vessel Trinity II was disabled by the storm off the coast of Tabasco state, and they evacuated into a life raft.

PEMEX said the workers were located off the coast of Campeche state, 51 miles from the Cayo Arcas offshore oil export terminal.

The rescued workers were being transported by helicopter to a PEMEX hospital in Cuidad del Carmen, and the search continues for the 10th worker, PEMEX added.

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Weather Watch: Tropical Depression Stalls Over GOM

- Weather Watch: Tropical Depression Stalls Over GOM

Friday, September 02, 2011
Rigzone Staff
by Karen Boman

Shell reported Friday that Tropical Depression #13, which has winds near 35 mph and is stalled over the Gulf of Mexico, is impairing its efforts to evacuate staff from its deepwater operations.

The company has evacuated 550 workers and is using all available resources to safely evacuate employees. The number of personnel evacuated Friday will depend on weather conditions, "and we will only transport personnel if safe to do so", the company said.

Shell has shut in the Auger, Enchilada, Brutus and the Europa subsea field. Shell's non-operated downstream infrastructure partners have proceeded in evacuating their facilities and their actions have resulted in some production shut-ins as well.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) reports that Tropical Depression No. 13 has maximum sustained winds near 35 mph with higher gusts. NHC forecasts the depression to strengthen during the next 48 hours, with the depression possibly becoming a tropical storm later Friday.

NHC reports winds of tropical storm force are being reported on oil rigs north and east of the storm's center at elevations of a few hundred feet. The center of the cyclone is expected to approach the coast of southern Louisiana during the weekend. A tropical storm warning is in effect from Pascagoula, Miss., to Sabine Pass, Texas.

The storm system's greatest impact will be on production, as producers have moved to shut in oil and gas supply, but the tropical disturbance will not likely cause major damage to oil and gas infrastructure, said Dan Leonard, senior meteorologist at Weather Services International (WSI). The storm is expected to bring 30-40 mph winds to the Gulf production region east of the mouth of the Mississippi River, even after it makes landfall.

The tropical disturbance in the Gulf is unusual as most systems that go into the Gulf of Mexico usually develop in the Atlantic Ocean or the Caribbean Sea, said Leonard. The tropical depression, which will strengthen over the next 24 to 36 hours, will stall along the immediate Louisiana coast Sunday and Monday before moving up through Louisiana and Alabama at mid-week next week. "The system is significant in that you'll have a long duration wind event in one area for so long."

Tropical Storm Katia, which had previously strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane, is not expected to impact the Gulf of Mexico.

Enterprise Products Partners has shut in its Poseidon and Cameron Highway pipelines due to the storm in the Gulf. The two pipelines have combined actual throughput of 250,000 b/d, with a net impact of 100,000 b/d on Enterprise.

The company also has evacuated workers from its nine operated platforms at High Island Block 85, South Marsh Island 205, Garden Banks Block 72, East Cameron Block 373, Mustang Island Block A-103, Viosca Knoll Block 817, West Delta Block 68, High Island A264 and West Cameron Block 167.

The Cameron Highway Pipeline serves multiple refineries in the Texas City and Port Arthur, Texas areas; Poseidon serves refiners in the Houma, La., area. Both pipelines also connect to other pipeline systems onshore.

The company is monitoring the storm to determine when it's safe to resume operations, said company spokesperson Rick Rainey.

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Weather Watch: Producers Evacuate Workers as Storms Threaten Gulf of Mexico

- Weather Watch: Producers Evacuate Workers as Storms Threaten Gulf of Mexico

Thursday, September 01, 2011
Rigzone Staff
by Karen Boman

Oil and gas exploration and production companies have begun evacuating workers from Gulf of Mexico operations and shutting in production due to the storm system that could turn into the 12th tropical cyclone of this year's hurricane season.

Shell reported it was moving forward with a plan to reduce the number of employees from most of its operations, but weather conditions are already impairing staff movement. "We are using all available resources to safely evacuate employees," said Shell. The number of evacuated personnel will depend on weather condition; personnel will only be moved if safe to do so.

Shell has taken steps to begin shutting in production, focusing on subsea fields that require specific treatments to ensure production can be restored after the storm passes. "The impacts are minimal at this point and we are monitoring Shell non-operated downstream infrastructure for further impacts to our production that may occur," Shell said.

ExxonMobil is evacuating approximately 140 employees and contractors from its Gulf Coast offshore platforms expected to be in the path of the storm. Gross production of approximately 11,000 b/d of liquids and 60 MMcf/d of natural gas has been shut in. "Our primary focus continues to be the safety of our workforce," ExxonMobil said.

BP has begun evacuations of all personnel from its operated assets in the Gulf of Mexico. On Wednesday, 500 non-essential workers had been evacuated. That activity will continue through Thursday and potentially into Friday.

BP operated assets included in this evacuation include Mad Dog, Holstein, Atlantis, Nakika, Pampano, and Thunder Horse. "We will continue monitoring weather conditions and will re-staff these facilities when it is deemed safe to do so," a BP spokesperson said.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. reported Thursday that it had removed approximately 100 employees from and was shutting in production at all eight of its operated Gulf facilities, including Independence Hub, Constitution, Marco Polo, Red Hawk, Nansen, Boomvang, Gunnison and Neptune. "We will continue to monitor the path of the weather in the Gulf and will return our workers and restore production only when it is safe to do so," the company said in a statement.

Apache Corp. has begun moving some non-essential employees out of the Gulf ahead of the hurricane, a company spokesperson said. Chevron is closely monitoring the tropical disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico. Non-essential personnel are being evacuated and no production has been affected.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) reported that personnel have been evacuated from nine production platforms as of 11:30 a.m. CDT Thursday, equivalent to 1.6 percent of the 617 manned platforms in the Gulf. None of the 62 rigs currently operating in the Gulf have been evacuated.

BOEMRE estimated that approximately 5.7 percent of current Gulf oil production, or 79,989 b/d, has been shut in, and approximately 2.4 percent of Gulf natural gas production, or 127 MMcf/d, has been shut in. BOEMRE's survey information is based on seven companies' reports as of 11:30 a.m. CDT Thursday.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is monitoring a broad area of low pressure in the central Gulf of Mexico 200 miles south of the Louisiana coast that is producing a large area of cloudiness, thunderstorms and gusty winds over the eastern and central Gulf. NHC forecasts upper-level winds to become more conducive for development, and the system could become a tropical depression during the next day or so.

NHC said the system has an 80 percent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone, which would be named Lee, according to the NHC website, as it moves slowly to the northwest. A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hurricane hunter aircraft is scheduled to investigate the area later this afternoon. "Interests along the entire northern Gulf of Mexico coast should monitor the storm's progress," NHC said.

NHC also is tracking Hurricane Katia, which is churning across the Atlantic Ocean towards the U.S. Currently a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds or near 75 mph, Katia is expected to strengthen over the next 48 hours, and could become a major hurricane by the weekend.

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