US offshore oil, gas production remains offline due to Ida
The US government estimated that, as of August 30, nearly all of the offshore oil and gas production in the territorial waters of the Gulf of Mexico remains offline due to Ida.
Ida is now a tropical depression, but continues to bring heavy rains and flooding to states along Gulf Coast. As much as 10cm of rain are expected later this week as Ida continues its northeast trajectory.
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As of August 30, the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) estimated that 94.6% of the total oil production and 93.6% of total natural gas production remained offline because of the storm.
Ida made landfall in Louisiana on Sunday as a category 4 hurricane. Its approach late last week prompted energy majors from BP to Chevron to evacuate staff from their offshore platforms. And while few installations were in the direct path of the storm, some of the companies operating the various LNG export facilities along the Gulf Coast took precautionary measures as well.
“Shutting in oil and gas production is a standard procedure conducted by industry for safety and environmental reasons,” BSEE explained.
Last year’s Atlantic hurricane season was amongst the busiest and most costly on record. BSEE reported that five named hurricanes – Marco, Laura, Sally, Delta and Zeta – and Tropical Storm Cristobal, impacted oil and gas production last year. Of the 30 named storms in the 2020 season, 13 developed into hurricanes.
Tropical Storm Kate is active in the mid-Atlantic, but is expected to remain at sea. Another tropical depression is expected to form soon off the coast of West Africa and move west.