After a small leak that knocked a pair of pipelines offline, Shell and Chevron said on Thursday that they stopped production at several platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.
Shell shuttered three deepwater platforms. Shell is coordinating with local authorities and mobilizing personnel and equipment to assess the situation, according to a statement provided to CNN. A Shell spokeswoman said late Thursday that repairs were underway and that the company expects both pipelines to be back in service Friday. The leak, which was said to have involved approximately two barrels of oil, was contained.
The company said that its Mars and Amberjack Pipelines were shut down because of a leak at the Fourchon booster station. Shell shut its Mars, Ursa and Olympus platforms because of the outage.
In 2021, the three platforms produced an average of 202,000 barrels per day, according to Shell. The United States produces nearly 12 million barrels of oil per day.
Shell is looking at alternative flow paths. The Shell said in its statement that the company's top priorities are the protection of people, the community, the environment, and our assets. Three of its platforms have been closed, according to Chevron, the Jack St. Malo, Tahiti, and Big Foot facilities. The three platforms are connected to the Amberjack Pipeline, the company said.