Operators restaff Gulf of Mexico rigs, offline oil volume at 730k bpd

Quantum Commodity Intelligence – Offshore operators in the Gulf of Mexico have started redeploying staff to rigs following precautionary shutdowns, although the volume of oil and gas still offline was largely unchanged on Friday.

According to data submitted by operators on Friday to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), personnel were still evacuated from 144 platforms, 31.81% of the 371 manned rigs in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Francine.

This was down from the 169 production platforms where personnel had been evacuated from on Thursday, as operators including Shell, Exxon, and Chevron look to restore production quickly.

However, production rates on Friday were largely unchanged from the previous day, with 41.85%, or 732,316 bpd, of oil output in the Gulf still offline.

Additionally, 52.3% of natural gas production, or 973.2 million cubic feet per day was still shut in.

Shell said Friday it was restoring production at its Appomattox, Mars, Vito, Ursa and Olympus assets. Chevron confirmed it had returned evacuated staff to several platforms.

Differentials for medium sour crudes produced in the Gulf eased slightly with production set to ramp up next week. To date, no major damage has been reported to offshore facilities.

Flagship Mars crude bid/offered at a discount of -$1.10/b-$0.90/b versus WTI futures on Friday, having changed hands at -$0.90/b-$0.60/b earlier in the week.