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- Byron Energy (BYE) has been forced to evacuate personnel from its SM58 oil and gas project, as two life-threatening cyclones tear through the Gulf of Mexico
- Tropical storms Marco and Laura have already caused severe damage and 11 deaths after hitting the Dominican Republic and Haiti over the weekend
- Due to the severity of the storms, the company has evacuated personnel from its offshore drilling rig and ceased operations at the nearby SM71 F platform until conditions improve
- Despite the work interruption, the company is still on track to start up production from the project’s G1 well early in September, barring any further delays
- Byron Energy closed 4.17 per cent in the green for 25 cents per share
Byron Energy (BYE) has been forced to evacuate personnel from its SM58 oil and gas project, as two life-threatening cyclones tear through the Gulf of Mexico.
The two tropical storms, named Marco and Laura, are currently making their way, back-to-back, through the region and have already caused substantial damage and 11 deaths after hitting the Dominican Republic and Haiti over the weekend.
Consequently, the company was forced to prepare its offshore drilling rig for evacuation and has managed to return all personnel to shore until the tropical storms pass.
Workers at the site were in the process of drilling SM58’s G1 well and had reached 4,020 feet of depth. The well was successfully spud last month and is currently being extended to just over 11,500 feet to test the site’s Lower O Sand section.
Operations and production from Byron energy’s nearby SM71 F platform have also been suspended until conditions improve.
Byron’s CEO Maynard V. Smith said it was unfortunate that the company has been forced to evacuate the rig.
“We will do everything we can to minimize this interruption, but safety is always our number one priority,” he said.
“It is very unusual to potentially have two hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico at the same time and our drilling and production teams have done an excellent job reacting to this unique situation,” he added.
Despite the work interruption, the company is still on track to start up production from the project’s G1 well early in September, barring any further severe weather delays.
Byron Energy closed 4.17 pe cent in the green for 25 cents per share.
