據10月9日Offshore Energy消息：美國安全和環境執法局(BSEE)表示，由于颶風“德爾塔”的影響，目前墨西哥灣超過90%的石油生產已經關閉。

BSEE在其最新報告中稱，墨西哥灣643個載人平臺中的279個平臺的人員已經撤離。

人員已從7個非動態定位鉆井平臺撤離，相當于目前在墨西哥灣運行的10個此類鉆井平臺的70%。作為一項預防措施，總共有15個動態定位的鉆井平臺已經撤離了颶風的預計路徑。這一數字占17個動態定位鉆機的88.24%。

根據運營商的報告，BSEE估計，墨西哥灣大約61.82%的天然氣產量已被關閉。

在石油方面，颶風“德爾塔”已導致海灣地區石油日產量減少167萬桶，占該地區石油產量的92%，是自2005年卡特里娜颶風摧毀了100多個海上平臺并使產量停滯數月以來的最大降幅。

此次涉及關閉位于海床表面以下的水下安全閥，以防止石油或天然氣的泄露，有效關閉海灣油井的生產，以保護海洋和沿海環境。

出于安全和環保考慮，關閉油氣生產是該行業的標準程序。

從6月份的熱帶風暴克里斯托瓦爾開始，今年已經有六場風暴影響了美國近海石油和天然氣業務。而美國頁巖油產量能夠減輕颶風關閉對市場的影響。

馮娟 摘譯自 Offshore Energy

原文如下：

Hurricane Delta closes 92 pct of Gulf of Mexico oil output – largest in 15 years

Over 90 per cent of current oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut-in as a result of Hurricane Delta, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said.

The BSEE said in its latest report that personnel was evacuated from 279 of the 643 manned platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

Personnel have been evacuated from seven non-dynamically positioned rigs, equivalent to 70 per cent of the 10 rigs of this type currently operating in the Gulf. A total of 15 dynamically positioned rigs have moved off location out of the hurricane’s projected path as a precaution. This number represents 88.24 per cent of the 17 dynamically positioned rigs.

From operator reports, BSEE estimates that approximately 61.82 per cent of the natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut-in.

As for oil, Hurricane Delta has shut 1.67 million barrels per day, or 92 per cent of the Gulf’s oil output, the most since 2005 when Hurricane Katrina destroyed more than 100 offshore platforms and hobbled output for months.

This involves closing the sub-surface safety valves located 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.

Shutting-in oil and gas production is a standard procedure conducted by the industry for safety and environmental reasons.

Hurricane Delta is the 25th named storm of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane season and is sustaining wings of 225 kilometres per hour. It is a dangerous Category 4 storm which arrived from the Caribbean, went across Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, and enter the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

It is worth noting that there have been six storms starting with Tropical Storm Cristobal in June that have affected U.S. offshore oil and gas operations this year. The U.S. shale oil output was able to mitigate the market impact of hurricane shut-ins.

According to an NOAA statement from Thursday, Hurricane Delta has been characterised as a “life-threatening storm surge”.