Gulf of Mexico’s oil & gas platforms getting check-up post-tropical cyclone while offshore facilities in China ride out super typhoon

As the post-tropical cyclone Francine has passed, the offshore oil and gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico are set to undergo inspection to determine if they are in a fit condition to return online or if repairs will be in order. On the other hand, China’s state-owned oil and gas giant China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), which has confirmed that its offshore facilities overall withstood the test of the super typhoon Yagi, is preparing to resume production in the South China Sea.

After weathering the storm, offshore oil and gas operators continue to be under the watchful eye of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Hurricane Response Team, as they get ready to check their facilities for damage. Upon completion of all standard checks, production from undamaged facilities will be brought back online, however, if any damage has been sustained, the restart of operations may take longer.

The BSEE team will work with offshore operators and other state and federal agencies until operations return to normal and the storm is no longer a threat to Gulf of Mexico oil and gas activities. Based on data from offshore operator reports submitted on September 15, personnel remain evacuated from 37 production platforms, which stands for 9.9% of the 371 manned platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

Furthermore, the U.S. offshore safety watchdog’s latest update shows that there are zero personnel evacuations from non-dynamically positioned (DP) rigs but a total of 2 DP rigs have moved off location out of the storm’s path as a precaution, representing 10% of the 20 DP rigs currently operating in the Gulf.

Personnel are said to remain on board and the rig will return to the original location once the storm is out of the way. One of the rigs currently on assignment in the Gulf of Mexico is Transocean’s Deepwater Atlas ultra-deepwater drillship, which recently also won a deal with BP for more work in the area. 

The evacuation process requires personnel to activate the applicable shut-in procedure, which can frequently be accomplished from a remote location and entails closing safety valves below the surface of the ocean floor to prevent the release of oil or gas, effectively shutting in production from wells in the Gulf and protecting the marine and coastal environments. As noted by the BSEE, shutting in oil and gas production is a standard procedure conducted by the industry for safety and environmental reasons. 

The operator reports have enabled BSEE to estimate that the figures for shut-in production in the Gulf of Mexico include approximately 19.35% of the current oil production and 27.64% of the current natural gas production, according to the amount of oil and gas the operator expected to produce that day. As these shut-in production figures are estimates, BSEE compares them to historical production reports to ascertain the estimates follow a logical pattern. 

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) outlined on September 13 that after Hurricane Francine made landfall on the Louisiana coast before being downgraded to a tropical storm, it took some energy infrastructure offline along the U.S. Gulf Coast from Louisiana through Alabama. With about 42% of crude oil production and 53% of natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico offline as of September 12, operators of 169 offshore oil and natural gas production platforms evacuated their staff.

Moreover, the path of the hurricane did not affect liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals equally, as operations continued at terminals in South Texas, and ports were open with restrictions. A different picture was pained in South Louisiana, with natural gas deliveries to Cameron LNG, which declined ahead of the hurricane’s landfall, being down by 60% or 1.3 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) on September 12, from 2.2 bcf/d on September 8. The Ports of Cameron and Lake Charles were closed but are being assessed for reopening.

The production halt caused by the storm comes after the Gulf of Mexico operators braved the threat posed by Hurricane Beryl’s approach, which also led to an interruption in oil and gas production in July 2024. This hurricane affected the western part of the Gulf of Mexico, an area with fewer offshore production platforms; at Beryl’s peak, less than 10% of the crude oil and natural gas production was shut in.

While natural gas deliveries to LNG terminals in South Texas declined at the time of Hurricane Beryl primarily because Freeport LNG, located south of Houston, shut down operations as a precaution ahead of the hurricane’s landfall, all three liquefaction trains at the project were returned to service on July 28. U.S. LNG exports in July averaged 11.1 bcf/d, 7% less than exports in June.

On the other hand, CNOOC has underlined that the super typhoon Yagi, which affected the eastern and western areas of the South China Sea, did not cause any casualty or oil spill. Before the typhoon’s arrival, the Chinese player had activated its typhoon emergency plan, thus, staff working on offshore platforms were promptly evacuated.

The evacuation of over 8,600 offshore workers was accomplished in advance by mobilizing 289 helicopters and 51 vessels while the firm activated the typhoon mode at the offshore platforms, where applicable, so that, the operations could be remotely controlled during typhoons, to maintain the production of the oilfields and reduce production losses.

Upon Yagi’s landing, a strong wind of level 17 and above was observed in certain operating areas, but CNOOC reports that its offshore facilities overall managed to hold out, with no casualties or significant property damage left in the typhoon’s wake.

Zhou Xinhuai, CNOOC’s CEO and President, highlighted: “CNOOC Limited adheres to the core values of ‘Safety First, Environmental Paramount, People-oriented, and Equipment Intact’. The safety of our staff has always been our top priority. We have successfully withstood the super typhoon ‘Yagi’.

“Currently, the staff are returning to work in an orderly manner and restarting the production of oil and gas fields. We will resume normal production as soon as possible, and optimize our production plans, so that we can meet our annual production target.”

The Chinese giant has been busy with multiple hydrocarbon exploration and production activities since the start of the year. Last month, the firm disclosed the approval of the proved gas in place of over 100 billion cubic meters at a hydrocarbon discovery, described as the first large-size ultra-shallow gas field in ultra-deepwater in the world.

This is said to add the final touch to the trillion-cubic-meter gas region in the South China Sea.