Shell Restarts GOM Olympus Platform After Hurricane Ida

Energy supermajor Shell has restarted production at its Olympus platform in the Mars Corridor in the Gulf of Mexico after repairs to its West Delta 143 offshore facility damaged by Hurricane Ida.

The West Delta 143 offshore facility was damaged during Hurricane Ida. Before the hurricane hit, Shell evacuated and shut down most of its Gulf of Mexico facilities. At its peak, around 80 percent of the company’s Gulf of Mexico production was shut-in.

Shell previously stated that it started the process of redeploying personnel to the Olympus platform on September 12, but the platform remained shut in until October 4.

The company said in an update that the remaining assets in that corridor – Mars and Ursa – remain shut-in, while other Gulf of Mexico assets – Appomattox, Enchilada/Salsa, Auger, Perdido, and Stones – are all producing.

Shell, which is the largest U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil producer, was the hardest-hit producer from Ida, which removed 28 million barrels of oil from the market. As for West Delta 143, it carries oil and gas from three major fields for processing at onshore terminals.

The supermajor added that the Shell Norco Manufacturing Complex, which hosts a 230,611 barrel-per-day refinery, completed damage assessments to the facility and restored utility services to the site. The company further stated that it was making 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 utilizing a 3rd party resource for air monitoring in the community.

In late September, Shell said that the WD-143 A platform facilities would be offline for repairs until the end of 2021 and that the facilities on the WD-143 C platform would be operational in the fourth quarter of 2021. Mars and Ursa will be restarted in the first quarter of 2022.

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