Chevron, Shell, Equinor shut-in seven US Gulf rigs after port leak

Quantum Commodity Intelligence - Energy majors Chevron, Shell and Equinor have shut in seven crude oil platforms in the US Gulf of Mexico following a leak at Port Fourchon, with the fix at the port expected to last a single day, the companies told Quantum.

Shell was forced to close its Mars and Amberjack pipelines, which can pump a combined 500,000 bpd, following a leak at the Fourchon Booster Station that creates the pressure to pump crude to onshore facilities in Louisiana.

The leak at the port was "about two barrels," a spokesperson for Fourchon Port told Quantum, which was quickly contaminated and is expected to be fixed by Friday.

"The reason for the spill was a flange that failed, which is now being fixed with the estimated timeline for repairs being about one day," Greater Lafourche Port Commission Executive Director Chett Chiasson said in a statement.

"The situation is under control."

With the flows through Mars and Amberjack currently halted, Shell was forced to shut in its Mars, Ursa and Olympus platforms, the company said.

"The Mars and Amberjack pipelines remain shut-in due to a flange leak at the Fourchon booster station," a Shell spokesperson told Quantum.

"Shell personnel are repairing the issue, while we work with producers to bring both pipelines back online. We expect to return both pipelines to service on August 12."

Chevron's Jack/St. Malo, Tahiti, and Big Foot facilities all hook up to the Amberjack pipeline and have also been shut in, a spokesperson for the company confirmed to Quantum.

Equinor also shuttered its Titan facilities which also interconnects with the pipelines, although production at the platform was "very limited," a spokesperson said.