July 30, 2019

Coast Guard launches investigation into deaths aboard Shell Auger in U.S. Gulf

WorkBoat Staff

Shell Auger — Shell's Auger TLP is located 214 miles south of New Orleans. Image Source: Shell website

The Coast Guard launched a formal investigation last week into the incident that occurred onboard Shell's offshore production facility Auger on June 30 that resulted in two deaths. (Read the Coast Guard Maritime Commons post on the incident published July 25.)

Crewmembers aboard the Auger were testing the facility’s lifeboat recovery system when a malfunction occurred resulting in the loss of two lives. A Shell employee and a contractor with Danos Inc, an offshore service provider, were killed during a routine test of a lifeboat launch and retrieval capabilities at the platform located 214 miles south of New Orleans in the Gulf of Mexico, Shell said in a statement.

In 1994, Auger was the world’s first tension leg platform, operating in the U.S. Gulf. It was the first to float in water, moored to the sea floor 830 meters (2,720 feet) below. In 2010, using a new breed of seismic technology, Shell’s engineers discovered a whole untapped field — called Cardamom — hidden behind a vast salt deposit, four miles (6.4 km) below the sea floor, according to Shell's website. To reach its oil, they drilled one of the world’s longest wells. In September 2014, Auger began producing energy from Cardamom – an extra 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent each day at its peak, to make it Shell’s largest net producer in the Gulf of Mexico, Shell said.

Rear Adm. John Nadeau, who recently took command of the Eighth Coast Guard District in New Orleans, convened the investigation last week.

“The Coast Guard is committed to finding the facts that led to this tragedy,” said Nadeau. “Our intent is to ensure the safety and security of the personnel who work on these facilities and to reduce the likelihood that any similar incidents could occur in the future.”

The Coast Guard’s Eighth District is responsible for ensuring that firefighting, life-saving and stability systems are operational onboard oil production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.