Shell reports structural damage to West Delta facilities from Hurricane Ida

September 20, 2021

Shell Offshore Inc., a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, has conducted a comprehensive damage assessment of its West Delta-143 (WD-143) offshore facilities from Hurricane Ida that revealed significant structural damage. Shell estimates that its WD-143 “A” platform facilities will be offline for repairs until the end of 2021, and that the facilities on the WD-143 “C” platform will be operational in Q4 2021.

The WD-143 facilities serve as the transfer station for production from Shell’s assets in the Mars corridor in the Gulf of Mexico to onshore crude and natural gas terminals.

Read more: Oil prices pare declines with key U.S. Gulf assets offline through 2021

Given the timeline for repairs to WD-143, Shell expects to resume production from our Olympus platform, which flows across the WD-143 “C” platform, in Q4 2021, and from its Mars and Ursa facilities, which flow across the WD-143 “A” platform, in Q1 2022. The Perdido asset in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico was never disrupted by Hurricane Ida, and Shell’s floating production, storage and offloading vessel, the Turritella (also known as Stones), is on line.

At this stage of the recovery, approximately 60% of Shell-operated production in the Gulf of Mexico is back on line.

“As we continue to assess and address the impact of Hurricane Ida on our businesses, our top priorities continue to be the protection and recovery of our people and assets, the community and the environment,” Shell said in a statement Monday.

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