Offshore oil producers battling virus as they prepare for Cristobal
Oil companies are seeking to minimize the spread of the coronavirus as they evacuate thousands of workers from 1,800 offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico as Tropical Storm Cristobal strengthens and advances toward the Louisiana coast.
Cristobal, which was just north of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Friday afternoon, is expected to head north across the warm waters of the Gulf, where it could develop winds up to 73 mph.
Cristobal’s path will take the storm through U.S. offshore oil fields where BP, Shell, Murphy Oil, Occidental Petroleum and other producers spent Thursday and Friday evacuating workers and preparing to ramp down or temporarily halt production.
Hurricane evacuations are routine aboard Gulf platforms, but Cristobal will arrive during the coronavirus pandemic, said University of Houston petroleum engineering professor and offshore industry expert Ramanan Krishnamoorti. Companies are taking extra precautions to prevent the spread of the deadly respiratory disease among workers who have already faced outbreaks, he said.
“In a way, you’re fighting two battles here — the storm and the coronavirus,” Krishnamoorti said.
At peak employment, 16,000 workers could be aboard the platforms, Krishnamoorti said. But the oil price crash and COVID-19 outbreaks on some platforms have forced offshore producers to scale back operations and reduce the number of workers well before Cristobal developed, he said.
BP, a British oil major, and Shell, a Dutch oil major, had dealt with outbreaks of the virus at their Gulf platforms this year and responded with new procedures that include segregating crews,
limiting contact between shifts and implementing stricter sanitation protocols.
With thousands of workers being evacuated by boat and helicopter in fewer than three days, Krishnamoorti said, the companies are using “enhanced sanitation” techniques that include spraying disinfectant on seats and wiping them down and requiring evacuees to wear face masks during the flight or boat ride.
“They’re doing the prudent thing,” Krishnamoorti said. “They’re being responsible to their employees and to everybody else by preventing this pandemic from spreading.”
Houston oil company Occidental Petroleum said Friday afternoon that all workers had been evacuated from its central and eastern Gulf platforms while production had been temporarily halted.
Arkansas oil company Murphy Oil said the company is evacuating workers. Even before Cristobal, the company had developed strict procedures for workers to return to offshore platforms, ranging from answering health and travel questionnaires to undergoing mandatory testing.
BP said it started evacuating offshore workers Wednesday and has been ramping down production at three of its four platforms. Production at the fourth platform has not been affected, but nonessential personnel are being evacuated.
Shell started removing nonessential personnel from its platforms Thursday. Evacuated workers, the company said, will adhere to coronavirus precautions including using face masks aboard helicopter flights and socially distancing themselves at heliports and aboard shuttle services. Workers also were advised to practice selfquarantine procedures at home.
“All personnel will be required to pass our COVID-19 screening process prior to returning to work offshore,” Shell spokeswoman Cindy Babski said.
Nonessential personnel are typically evacuated from offshore platforms three days ahead of a storm, with operations grinding to a halt two days before, Krishnamoorti said. A small crew that can be evacuated in a single helicopter flight remains aboard until about six to 12 hours before impact, he said.
California oil major Chevron and Irving oil major Exxon Mobil said Friday that their Gulf operations have not been affected by Cristobal.
“Not all platforms are shut in, but depending on strength of the storm and the anticipated path, in some rare cases, they might not be fully shut in — just choked back for minimizing the flow,” Krishnamoorti said.