Coming at a difficult time for the energy markets, which are seeing high, and in some cases record breaking commodity prices, Shell said Tuesday that it expects its Mars tension leg platform (TLP) in the Gulf of Mexico to be down for another two to three weeks.

Since the platform shut down on Saturday (see Daily GPI, May 25), U.S. energy markets have been losing 150,000 bbl/d of oil and 170 MMcf/d of gas. The shutdown comes at a time when natural gas futures are consistently trading in the mid-$6s, while oil futures have been charting new highs over $41.

“Temporary repairs will be taking place over the next two to three weeks,” a Shell spokesman said. “Following that, oil and natural gas will resume production at the platform. Permanent repairs will be taking place for an additional two to three weeks after that.” Once the temporary fix is completed, the company said it expects a substantial amount — if not all — of the production to be restored.

Shell’s Mars platform was shut down Saturday after a sheen of oil was observed on the water. The incident began when there was an inadvertent shutdown of the safety valves on the Mars pipeline at West Delta 143. The Mars production units on the TLP subsequently shut down.

After the sheen was noticed, a remotely operated vehicle on the TLP was used to investigate its source. Shell determined that the oil was coming from the bottom side of the departing oil pipeline flex joint, which had released an estimated 3.3 gallons of oil before the problem was discovered. The company noted that regulatory notifications were made promptly.

Under the temporary fix, the spokesperson said a coflexip pipe will be hung off the Mars structural members. The permanent repairs will be to the flex joint, which is a ball and socket connector located approximately 72 feet under water. “It’s sort of a custom made part, so that is why it will take this long to repair it,” he said.

As operator of the Mars platform, Shell holds a 71.5% stake in the asset with BP owning the additional 28.5%. The platform is located about 130 miles southeast of New Orleans in the Mississippi Canyon area of the Gulf.

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