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Bureau Of Safety News

23 Nov 2023

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Shuts in Around 3% of Daily Output

Credit: US Coast Guard

Around 61,165 barrels of daily oil output from at least six producers, making up about 3% of crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, has been shut in by Third Coast Infrastructure's underwater pipeline leak, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday.The oil producers whose facilities are impacted include W&T Energy, Occidental Petroleum, Walter Oil and Gas, Cantium, Arena Offshore and Talos Energy Ventures, the Coast Guard said, citing the U.S. Interior Department's Bureau of…

16 Mar 2023

Multiple Failures Led to Pacific Khamsin Drillship Fatality

Multiple training and personnel safety failures led to a 2020 worker casualty on board the Pacific Khamsin drillship in the Gulf of Mexico, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said in a recent report..A rig crewmember was killed on August 23, 2020 while assisting his team in breaking out bolts and pulling riser joints to the surface as the Pacific Drilling drillship crew prepared to secure the well and evacuate the location ahead of incoming storms. The drillship was under contract with Total E&P USA, conducting well operations in Garden Banks Block 1003, approximately 174 miles offshore Louisiana at the time of the incident.A panel comprised of BSEE subject matter experts…

29 Sep 2022

Hurricane Ian Shuts 157,706 BPD of Oil Output in U.S. Gulf of Mexico

Credit: NASA

About 157,706 barrels, or 9%, of oil production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico were shut on Wednesday by Hurricane Ian, said offshore regulator Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.Hurricane Ian was lashing Florida's Gulf Coast with powerful winds and drenching rain, but the Category 5 storm steered clear of the Gulf's richest oil production areas. A total of 16 oil and gas production platforms were evacuated by Ian on Wednesday, compared to 14 the day before, the regulator said.Some 128 million cubic feet, or 6%, of gas production in the U.S.

12 Sep 2022

US Seeks to Restore Safety Rules Sparked by Gulf Oil Spill

(Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

The Biden administration on Monday proposed offshore drilling safety measures that it said would help prevent oil spills and protect workers and the environment.The proposal aims to restore safety provisions put in place by the Obama administration in 2016 following the fatal 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon spill, the worst in United States history.The Trump administration had revised the rules in 2019 to reduce what the oil and gas industry said was a financial burden.The Interior Department…

13 Jul 2022

One Million Gallons Collected from US' Longest Running Oil Spill

Research vessel at the Taylor Energy oil spill site offshore of Louisiana pre-containment. (Photo: NOAA)

Response crews have collected more than one million gallons of oil from a Gulf of Mexico spill that has been ongoing for nearly 20 years.The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and partner agencies have been working to contain oil that continues to leak from damaged wells in Mississippi Canyon Block 20 (MC-20), located 11 miles south of the Louisiana shoreline, after storm surge from Hurricane Ivan in 2004 triggered an underwater mudslide that toppled Taylor Energy's MC-20 platform. The active spill is the longest-running in U.S.

09 Jun 2022

US Oil Spill Testing, Response Facility Gets Major Upgrade

A crane replaces a bridge over the Ohmsett Oil Spill Response & Renewable Energy Test facility during refurbishment in spring 2022. (Photo: BSEE)

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s National Oil Spill Response Research and Renewable Energy Test Facility, known as Ohmsett, has now reopened after undergoing significant refurbishment over the past eight months as part of BSEE’s ongoing maintenance plan. Originally constructed and operated by the U.S. EPA in 1974, the facility was passed to the U.S. Navy and then to the Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service in 1990. Today, it is the only facility in the U.S. conducting full-scale oil spill response research, equipment testing and training using live oil.

07 Feb 2022

BSEE Inspects Murphy Oil’s New King’s Quay Platform Ahead of First Oil

(Photo: BSEE)

U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) inspectors and engineers last week carried out an offshore regulatory pre-production inspection of Murphy Oil’s King’s Quay floating production system (FPS) platform. The facility, a semi-submersible FPS, is now currently moored in Green Canyon Block 433 in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, about 175 miles south of New Orleans.“The first offshore follow-up inspection is a very crucial time in the installation of a new production platform in the Gulf,” said BSEE Houma District production supervisor Micah Charpentier.

18 Oct 2021

Despite Preparation, California Pipeline Operator May Have Taken Hours to Stop Offshore Leak

 Crude oil is shown in the Pacific Ocean offshore of Orange County, Oct. 3, 2021.  U.S. Coast Guard photo (Cropped)

The company that operates the pipeline that spilled an estimated 3,000 barrels of oil into the Pacific Ocean off California has an 800-page manual on handling an oil spill - but it is unclear whether its employees followed those procedures.Houston-based Amplify Energy Corp and several state and federal regulatory agencies have provided differing accounts of what happened on Oct. 2, when the pipeline spill that fouled beaches, killed wildlife, and closed down fishing along miles of coastline was officially reported.The U.S.

06 Oct 2021

California Lawmakers Look to Ban Offshore Drilling after Spill

Crude oil is shown in the Pacific Ocean offshore of Orange County, Oct. 3, 2021. / Official U.S. Coast Guard photo.

Democratic members of Congress from California seized on the oil spill off the state's coast to promote federal legislation to ban all offshore oil drilling, as investigators searched for what caused the pipeline to burst.About 3,000 barrels (126,000 gallons) of crude oil spilled into the Pacific Ocean, killing wildlife, soiling the coastline, and forcing officials to close beaches in several cities in Orange County, just south of Los Angeles. The spill follows dozens of incidents in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Ida, which slammed into the U.S.

17 Sep 2021

Some 28% of U.S. Gulf of Mexico Crude Output Offline

Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, Pumping Platform Complex - Credit: Edibobb - Wikimedia Commons

U.S. Gulf Coast crude oil exports are flowing again after recent hurricanes took out 26 million barrels of offshore production, according to sources and Refinitiv Eikon data, with local prices easing as more shipments moved out of the region.Hurricanes Ida and Nicholas damaged platforms, pipelines and processing hubs, shutting in most offshore production for weeks. Restarts continued on Thursday with about 28% of U.S. Gulf of Mexico crude output offline. Some vessels remained at sea waiting to load U.S. crude.But of more than 50 tankers set to load U.S.

15 Sep 2021

Gulf Coast Oil Firms Return to Ida Recovery as Storm Nicholas Recedes

Royal Dutch Shell halted production at its Perdido offshore oil platform due to heavy winds caused by Nicholas - Image Copyright - Stuart Conway/Shell

Energy companies worked to restore pipeline service and electricity after Tropical Storm Nicholas passed through on Tuesday, allowing them to return to repairing the significant damage caused by Hurricane Ida two weeks ago.Nicholas, downgraded to a tropical depression late Tuesday, caused rain, flooding, and power outages in Texas and Louisiana, where some refineries remained offline in the wake of Hurricane Ida. The earlier storm shuttered most U.S. Gulf offshore oil and gas production.Colonial Pipeline, the largest U.S.

13 Sep 2021

Energy Firms Face Another Storm in US Gulf

(Image: NOAA)

Royal Dutch Shell on Monday began evacuating staff from a U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil platform, and other energy companies began preparing for hurricane-force winds from a second Gulf Coast storm in as many weeks.Tropical Storm Nicholas was about 105 miles (115 km) south of Port O'Connor, Texas, and moving north with winds of 60 miles per hour (97 kph). It could become a hurricane just ahead of landfall on Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center.Waves stirred up by Nicholas neared 12 feet (3.7 m) in height were reported outside of Port Aransas…

09 Sep 2021

US Gulf of Mexico Oil Production Losses Lead to Cargo Cancellations

© momentscatcher / Adobe Stock

U.S. oil offshore losses remained at 76% on Thursday after Hurricane Ida hit the Gulf of Mexico, according to government data, which prolonged outages and caused the first oil cargo shipment cancellations to buyers in Asia.Production should be disrupted for several more days amid lasting damages to transfer stations and offshore facilities used by different companies, analysts said, with impact to oil prices."It seems to be at least more than a week away until most of the shut-in Gulf of Mexico production is restored…

07 Sep 2021

Over 80% of U.S. Gulf of Mexico Oil Output Still Offline

Credit:Scott Bufkin/AdobeStock

More than 80% of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico remains shut in after Hurricane Ida, a U.S. regulator said on Monday, more than a week after the storm made landfall and hit critical infrastructure in the region.Energy companies have been struggling to resume production after Ida damaged platforms and caused onshore power outages. About 1.5 million barrels per day of oil production, or 84%, remains shut, while another 1.8 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas output, or 81%…

06 Sep 2021

U.S. Offshore Oil Output Still Mostly Down a Week after Hurricane Ida

A U.S. Gulf of Mexico platform - Credit: Lukas Z

Damage to oil production facilities in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico kept output largely halted on Sunday, a week after Hurricane Ida made landfall, according to offshore regulator the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).Energy companies have been coping with damaged platforms and onshore power outages and logistical issues, slowing efforts to restart production. Some 88% of crude oil output and 83% of natural gas production remained suspended.About 1.6 million barrels of crude oil remained offline, with only about 100,000 barrels added since Saturday.

03 Sep 2021

Insurers Bracing for $1B Hit from Hurricane Ida Damage to Offshore Facilities

Platforms in the Gulf of Mexico - Credit: Mosto/AdobeStock

Insurers are bracing for a hit of about $1 billion from physical damage to offshore rigs and structures from Hurricane Ida, according to preliminary estimates from U.S. property data and analytics company CoreLogic.The estimate did not include losses from production disruption and could be revised over time, a spokesperson for CoreLogic said.The volume of oil shut in by the hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico rose to 1.7 million barrels per day of offshore output, up 240,000 barrels from Wednesday…

02 Sep 2021

Noble Drillship Damaged by Hurricane Ida

The U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday it is responding to a drillship that reportedly sustained damage as Hurricane Ida ripped through the Gulf of Mexico and into Louisiana as a Category 4 storm.The agency said it was notified during the storm that the ultra-deepwater drillship Noble Globetrotter II had been damaged, and that it had been in touch with both the vessel's master and owner Noble Corporation since Sunday to gauge the extent of any damage and to ensure readiness of onboard lifesaving equipment.The Liberian-flagged drillship and its 100-plus crew are currently located 80 nautical miles south, southeast of Grand Isle, La. The vessel's U.S. licensed master has maintained that the drillship was not in distress and is not actively taking on water, according to the Coast Guard.

31 Aug 2021

Floods, Outages Slow Oil Companies' Efforts to Restart after Hurricane Ida

Credit: NOAA.gov

Widespread flooding from Hurricane Ida and power outages slowed efforts on Tuesday by energy firms to assess damages at oil production facilities, ports, and refineries.Nearly all of Louisiana lost electrical power on Monday after one of the most powerful hurricanes to hit the region downed transmission lines and flooded communities. Coastal areas were swamped by a storm surge so great it reversed the flow of the Mississippi River.Analysts said it could take two to three weeks to restart producing platforms and fully resume output at Louisiana refineries.

30 Aug 2021

Hurricane Ida Makes Landfall Near Port Fourchon, Louisiana

Credit: NOAA

Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana on Sunday as an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm, forcing those who did not flee to brace themselves for the toughest test yet of the billions of dollars spent on levee upgrades following Hurricane Katrina 16 years ago.Ida came ashore near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, at 11:55 a.m. CDT (16:55 GMT), the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Hurricane-strength winds extended 50 miles (80 km) out from Ida's eye, forcing New Orleans to suspend…

29 Aug 2021

Hurricane Ida Shuts 96% of U.S. Gulf of Mexico Crude Output

Hurricane Ida - Credit: Image credit: European Space Agency via NASA

Energy firms on Sunday had suspended 1.74 million barrels per day of oil production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), as Hurricane Ida slammed into the Louisiana coast as a Category 4 storm.Ida made landfall on Sunday near Port Fourchon, the land base for the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), the largest privately-owned crude terminal in the United States.Oil companies raced to evacuate employees from offshore infrastructure in the days ahead of the storm, prompting shutdowns at their facilities in the Gulf.Almost 94% of U.S.

19 Nov 2020

US Moves to Loosen Safety Rules for Arctic Offshore Drilling

(File photo: U.S. Coast Guard courtesy of Air Station Port Angeles)

The Trump administration on Thursday proposed to loosen Obama-era safety regulations for the oil industry in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska to ease the way for petroleum extraction in the region, an effort that President-elect Joe Biden will likely throw out once in office.The proposal would revise a suite of Obama-era rules crafted to improve safety in the extreme conditions of the Arctic after a Shell drilling rig ran aground there in 2012. The company later abandoned oil exploration in the region and there are no active drilling operations there.Now, much of the U.S.

06 Oct 2020

US Gulf Platforms Shutting as Hurricane Delta Strengthens

(Photo: NOAA)

Energy companies were securing offshore production platforms and evacuating workers on Tuesday, some for the sixth time this year, as a major hurricane took aim at U.S. oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.Hurricane Delta, the 25th named storm of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane season, was churning in the Caribbean with sustained winds of 140 miles per hour (225 kph), already a dangerous Category 4 storm that is expected to scrape across Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and re-enter the…

25 Aug 2020

Storms Marco and Laura Shut 82% of Gulf of Mexico Oil Production

NASA Earth Observatory image by Joshua Stevens, using VIIRS data from NASA EOSDISLANCE and GIBSWorldview and the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS)

U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil companies shut around 82 percent of oil production on Monday and evacuated personnel bracing for the impact of two tropical storms Marco and Laura.From operator reports, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said Monday that approximately 82.4 percent of oil production and 56.92 percent of the natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico had been shut-in. Based on data from offshore operator reports submitted as of 11:30 CDT Monday, personnel has been evacuated from a total of 281 production platforms…