Shell reopens Olympus after Hurricane Ida

Oil major Shell has restarted production from the Olympus platform located in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico following damage repairs to its West Delta 143 facility caused by Hurricane Ida.

The West Delta 143 (WD-143) offshore facility was damaged as a result of Hurricane Ida in late August and early September 2021. Ahead of the hurricane, Shell, as well as other operators, were forced to evacuate and shut down most of its Gulf of Mexico assets. At its peak, about 80 per cent of Shell’s Gulf of Mexico output was shut in.

Shell began the process of redeploying personnel to the Olympus asset on 12 September but the platform remained shut in until October 4.

In an update on Monday, Shell said that, following repairs to portions of WD-143, the company had restarted production at the Olympus platform in the Mars Corridor. The remaining assets in that corridor, Mars and Ursa, remain shut-in. The WD-143 facility serves as a transfer station for production from Shell’s assets in the corridor.

Shell’s other Gulf of Mexico assets – Appomattox, Enchilada/Salsa, Auger, Perdido, and Stones – are all producing.

The Shell Norco Manufacturing Complex has completed damage assessments to the facility and has restored utility services to the site. The company continues to make progress on maintenance and repair activities in preparation for start-up units beginning mid-October through mid-November.

The site continues to flare residual light hydrocarbon material. Air monitoring is being conducted on the fence line and Shell is utilising a 3rd party resource for air monitoring in the community.