During an initial flyover of its assets in the afermath of Hurricane Ida, Shell Offshore Inc., a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, observed damage to its West Delta-143 (WD-143) offshore facilities. Shell did not observe any visible structural damage to the rest of its offshore assets.
When it is safe to do so, the company will send personnel offshore to provide a closer inspection of these facilities to understand the full extent of the damage and the degree to which the production in the Gulf of Mexico will likely be impacted.
The WD-143 facilities serve as the transfer station for all production from Shell’s assets in the Mars corridor in the Mississippi Canyon area of the Gulf of Mexico to onshore crude terminals.
The Perdido asset in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico was not disrupted by the hurricane, and the floating production, storage and offloading vessel, the Turritella (also known as Stones) is currently back on line.
All other offshore assets remain shut in and remain fully evacuated. At the early phase of assessment and recovery, approximately 80 per cent of Shell-operated production in the Gulf of Mexico remains off line.
“As we assess the impact of Hurricane Ida on our Upstream and Downstream businesses, our top priorities continue to be the protection and recovery of our people and assets, the community and the environment,” Shell said.
The WD-143 platform, owned by Shell Offshore Inc. (71.5%) and BP (28.5%), is operated by Shell Pipeline Company, L.P.
To find out more about hurricane preparedness, including potential impacts to Shell’s offshore assets, please visit the Shell Hurricane Center: www.shell.us/storm center.
