Hurricane Preparation and Operations Procedures

Learn about the phases of hurricane preparation and response that take place at Shell's offshore facilities. 

About Shell in the Gulf

Shell's Hurricane Priorities

Phase I – Ongoing preparation and planning

Phase II – Hurricane has formed and is heading toward the GOM

Phase III – Dangerous conditions are anticipated within 72 hours

Phase IV – Hurricane is imminent

Phase V – Storm is Over

• Shell is the leading deepwater producer in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM).
• Over 80 percent of Shell’s U.S. oil and gas production comes from the GOM.
• Shell has approximately 1,400 contract and full-time employees in the GOM.

• Ensuring the safety of personnel.
• Protecting the environment.
• Minimizing production and operational impact.

Hurricane preparation and response is managed by Shell’s Hurricane Incident Command Team in the following escalating phases.

• The Hurricane Response Team plans and conducts evacuation simulations in order to prepare personnel, and identify and correct any inefficiencies.
• The hurricane response plan is evaluated and updated annually, taking into consideration learning’s from the previous year’s activity.
• Generators, batteries, communications systems, and other equipment that will be used during the hurricane are tested prior to hurricane season to ensure it will be operational if needed.
• Shell’s platforms are built to American Petroleum Institute’s most stringent standards (RP 2A).
• All Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODU’s or generically referred to as offshore deepwater drilling rigs) have GPS tracking systems so that if the unit becomes unmoored, it can be found and damaged can be assessed relatively quickly.

• Weather monitoring
  o Shell contracts with a meteorological firm called Impact Weather, which provides up-to-date hurricane information from satellite images. Shell also uses the National Weather Service.
• Assessment of projects and personnel
  o From the time the storm is identified, meetings are held twice a day (or as needed) by the hurricane incident commander with designated operations managers, drilling superintendents, communications teams, and transport (marine and air logistics support) managers. This team begins the process of assessing the projects, people, and the time it will take to shut in operations and evacuate personnel. 
• Evacuating personnel
  o When the hurricane warning is issued, Shell begins evacuating non-essential personnel from offshore platforms, beginning with sites closest to the developing hurricane’s anticipated path. Non-essential personnel include construction and maintenance workers, caterers, and others not directly responsible for producing operations.
  o In determining who is evacuated at this early stage, special consideration is given to those workers (Shell or contract) whose homes are in the hurricane’s anticipated path.

• Evacuations escalate
  o Minimal crews of 16 or fewer essential personnel per platform remain offshore. This is the crew that will be responsible for final shut down if the hurricane continues to develop and move toward a particular asset in the GOM.
• If needed (based on track of the storm and potential impact), the Hurricane Response Team is relocated to an alternate site, ensuring that there is no interruption in the evacuation, assessment, and recovery processes.
• Begin shutting in production and securing installations
  o Production is shut in starting with sub-sea and long-lead wells that require special shut in procedures.
  o All equipment is secured and clamped or tied down.
• Activate remote operation systems, where possible
  o Some GOM assets can be operated remotely from One Shell Square in New Orleans or the Robert Training Facility.

• When the hurricane is imminent, with production shut in and facilities secured, Shell evacuates the skeleton crews that remain offshore. Because all non-essential to producing operations personnel have previously been evacuated, each site can be evacuated in only one flight.

• When it’s safe to fly, HSE and operations personnel will conduct an aerial assessment of the damage.
• If the platform or rig is deemed safe, crews will be re-deployed in stages to conduct a more thorough inspection of the damage.
• Once power and communications are restored and the locations are deemed safe, all personnel will return to unaffected rigs to restart production and other activities.
• With operations restored, the hurricane response team conducts a review to identify opportunities and processes for improvement.