Shell pauses Gulf of Mexico drilling, transfers personnel to shore due to hurricane forecast

UK-headquartered energy giant Shell has paused certain drilling operations and began transferring non-essential personnel to shore from its Gulf of Mexico assets amid disturbance likely to become a hurricane.

Shell reported on Monday, November 4, that it had started transferring non-essential personnel at its Appomattox, Vito, Ursa, Mars, Auger, and Enchilada/Salsa assets to shore as a precautionary measure amid disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico.

In the announcement, the UK oil and gas firm noted there was no impact on production across the region and that it would continue assessing the situation.

“Shell continues to actively monitor Disturbance 50 in the Gulf of Mexico,” the company reported. “We currently have no other impacts on our production across the Gulf of Mexico. We will continue to monitor weather reports and respond accordingly. As always, the safety of our people, the environment and our assets is Shell’s top priority.”

According to the National Hurricane Center, forecasters are predicting that Rafael, which strengthened into a tropical storm yesterday afternoon and continued towards Jamaica, will intensify into a hurricane by tonight as it approaches the southeast Gulf of Mexico.