Houma District News

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.

This week a team of BSEE engineers and inspectors conducted a safety inspection of the first FPSO (floating production storage and offloading) vessel designed and built for containment use in the Gulf of Mexico. The pre-production inspection is one of the necessary steps to clear the Eagle Texas vessel for containment use in standard production operations or in emergency situations that require containment. The eight-member inspection group, led by Ronald Washington of the Houma District…

BSEE confirm that Energy Resource Technology, LLC (ERT) has sealed Well #2 on the outer continental shelf of the Gulf of Mexico through the use of a temporarily set bridge plug. A bridge plug is a tool that can be used to isolate the lower part of a well. More work is needed to permanently plug and abandon the well. BSEE has been overseeing ERT’s work since the loss of well control on Ship Shoal Block 225 Platform B Well#2 beginning July 9; the well which was flowing natural gas is located approximately 74 miles southwest of Port Fourchon, LA. A BSEE overflight on July 13 confirmed that no sheen was present. The well had been flowing natural gas which was stopped July 11 by pumping drilling fluids into the well.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is continuing to oversee Energy Resource Technology, LLC’s (ERT) source control efforts to stop the flow of gas and kill the well. The well is situated at Ship Shoal Block 225 Platform B, located approximately 74 miles offshore Louisiana, southwest of Port Fourchon, in about 146 feet of water. BSEE and Coast Guard remain on scene at a nearby platform. Following a site safety assessment, BSEE approved the movement of pumping equipment onto Platform E, adjacent to Platform B and connected by a bridge. BSEE engineers completed final reviews and approved the source control procedures which involve pumping drilling mud into the well to stop the flow of natural gas.

The Coast Guard and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement are responding to a loss of well control event at Ship Shoal Block 225 Platform B, a natural gas and crude oil platform located approximately 74 miles southwest of Port Fourchon, Tuesday. The Coast Guard and BSEE received a report from Energy Resources Technology Gulf of Mexico LLC that an oil and natural gas production platform, owned by ERT, lost well control. Work to temporarily plug Well #B2 was ongoing when workers became aware of the well control event. Two other wells on Platform B were producing at the time and were subsequently shut-in. All platform personnel were safely evacuated. BSEE inspectors and Coast Guard pollution responders conducted overflights earlier today.

Danos & Curole has been awarded the 2008 Houma District Production Contractor SAFE Award by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS). In addition, the company was also named as a finalist for the 2008 MMS National Production Contractor SAFE Award. Since the inception of the program in 1983, Danos & Curole was the recipient of the National SAFE Award three years and has received numerous district awards. On an individual level, Hank Danos (CEO), Michael…