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17 Gulf Oil Platforms Evacuated Under Approach of Hurricane Rafael
Based on data from offshore operator reports submitted to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) 11:30 a.m. CDT on Thursday, 17 Gulf of Mexico platforms have been evacuated, or nearly 5% of the 371 platforms in the region.
“Personnel have been evacuated from one non-dynamically positioned (DP) rig, equivalent to 16.6% of the six rigs of this type currently operating in the Gulf. Rigs can include several types of offshore drilling facilities including jackup rigs, platform rigs, all submersibles, and moored semisubmersibles,” BSEE said in a statement.
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On Thursday afternoon, Hurricane Rafael, the 17th named storm in the Atlantic this season, struck Cuba as a Category 3, though meteorologists said the United States central Gulf region would be largely spared from flooding rain and destructive winds.
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On Tuesday, oil companies started to evacuate personnel ahead of Rafael’s passing through the Gulf of Mexico.
BP evacuated personnel from its Argos, Thunder Horse, and Mad Dog platforms, while Chevron relocated personnel from Big Foot and Petronius, shutting in production at its Gulf of Mexico facilities. Shell, too, has taken precautionary measures at its Appomattox, Vito, Ursa, Mars, Auger, and Enchilada/Salsa assets, it had begun moving non-essential personnel to shore, and has safely paused some drilling operations.
The late-season hurricane could threaten about 4 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, according to modeling data by energy analytics provider Earth Science Associates.
Tuesday modeling of the hurricane’s trajectory suggested that it could pass through the Gulf of Mexico and disrupt between 3.1 million bpd and 4.9 million bpd in production.
So far this season, the U.S. energy industry has suffered the worst disruption from Hurricane Francine, which shut in about 42% of oil production and 52% of natural gas production in the Gulf. The energy analytics firm’s models suggest Rafael could become the second most disruptive storm for the year if the strength projections turn out to be right.
National average prices for a gallon of gasoline in the United States fell by three cents so far this week, compared to last week, according to AAA.
“Gas prices often freeze as a hurricane enters the gulf and oil production and refining are threatened,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. “But once Hurricane Rafael passes, pump prices should soon regain their downward momentum.”
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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