Shell to restart US Gulf offshore station early

Shell Midstream will restart an offshore transfer station in the US Gulf of Mexico next month, allowing the offshore Mars pipeline to resume full operations earlier than originally expected.

The West Delta-143 (WD-143) offshore facilities, which were damaged by Hurricane Ida, will be operational in the first half of November, the company said today. Shell Midstream previously estimated that a portion of the offshore station, the WD-143 A platform, which handles crude and natural gas from the Mars and Ursa platforms, would be off line until early 2022.

The Mars crude pipeline system is expected to resume normal operations as producers ramp up output once WD-143 is back in service.

Shell Midstream also revised the estimated impact of Hurricane Ida-related outages and repairs to fourth quarter earnings because of the updated timeline on WD-143. Ida made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 4 storm on 29 August.

The impact of the storm on Shell Midstream profits and cash available for distribution is expected to be about $10mn-$15mn in the fourth quarter of 2021, down from a previous estimate of $20mn-$30mn.

The Shell-operated Amberjack, Auger, Mattox, Proteus, Endymion, Odyssey, Delta and Na Kika pipelines returned to normal operating service last month after required tests.

By Eunice Bridges