Shell Ends Emergency Work Following Enchilada Platform Fire
Royal Dutch Shell said November 12 it has ended emergency response activities on its Enchilada platform in the Gulf of Mexico in the wake of a November 8 fire that sent two workers to hospital and forced the evacuation of 46 others.
Shell said production from the Enchilada and Augur platforms remains shut in, while Hess Corporation, a partner at Enchilada, said about 180mn ft3/day of production from its Baldpate, Conger and Penn State fields is also shut in, as is production from the Shell-operated Llano field, in which Hess has a 50% interest.
The Garden Banks pipeline, a 1bn ft3/day export pipeline serving the fields in the area, also remains shut, according to statements from both Shell and Hess. Garden Banks is operated by Canadian pipeline company Enbridge.
Shell, the US Coast Guard and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement are investigating the cause of the fire, which Shell said appeared to be associated with a 30-inch gas export pipeline.
Dale Lunan