Reuters: Shell says Mars platform damaged after Katrina: Tuesday 30 August 2005
Tue Aug 30, 2005 10:25 AM BST
LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell said an aerial inspection of its Mars platform in the Gulf of Mexico indicated some damage to its upper deck following the passing of Hurricane Katrina.
"A fixed-wing reconnaissance flight has completed a preliminary assessment of damage to Shell's GoM assets. An early report indicates Shell's Mars platform has sustained topside damage," Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research)(RDSb.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said on its website, in a message dated August 29.
Mars, which produces around 147,000 barrels of oil and 157 million cubic feet of gas per day, is 71.5 percent owned by operator Shell with 28.5 percent held by rival BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research).
A BP spokeswoman said on Tuesday that BP staff had not observed any damage at its Mad Dog, Holstein, NaKika, Marlin, Horn Mountain and some of its near shore continental shelf platforms during an aerial assessment.
During the overflight, BP staff saw a floating rig, the ENSCO 7500.
All of BP's 350,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of Gulf of Mexico output of oil and gas production was shut on Tuesday, the spokeswoman said.
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