Shell said today (10 November) that industrial firefighters were able to safely land on the Enchilada platform in the US Gulf of Mexico and perform a preliminary inspection; however, there is no timeline to resume normal operations.
"Though the structure is visibly sound, crews will continue to determine the integrity of the platform and formulate a plan for damage repair," Shell said in a statement on its website.
A fire erupted from a 30in gas export pipeline associated with the Enchilada platform in the early morning hours of 8 November, injuring two workers onboard the platform at the time, Shell reported earlier this week.
Shell said that firefighters reported that the fire had been extinguished and that no hydrocarbons were detected in the area where the incident occurred. The US Coast Guard (USCG), which is investigating the incident along with the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), also confirmed that the fire was out with no leaking gas having been detected, in a press statement late on 9 November.
USCG and BSEE said on 8 November that both agencies received notice that the platform caught on fire at 1:20 am, approximately 112nm south of Vermilion Bay, Louisiana.
The two workers that were injured during the incident were flown to a hospital in Galveston, Texas, and then treated and released. USCG and BSEE reported that 46 crewmembers were onboard during the fire. They were evacuated and transferred to the nearby Salsa platform.
Production at Enchilada, Auger and Salsa platforms and nearby fields were shut-in following the fire.
Enchilada is in Garden Banks Block 128 in the US Gulf of Mexico.
Map from Shell.
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