Shell Reports `Light' Damage at Some U.S. Gulf Fields

By Angela Macdonald-Smith

Sept. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the largest oil producer in the Gulf of Mexico, reported ``light to moderate'' damage at equipment at three fields due to Hurricane Gustav.

Repairs to the grating, tubing and control cables at the Mars, West Delta 143 and Cognac fields are under way and production will not start up at these ventures before next week, Shell said in a statement on its Web site. There was ``no significant damage'' to any facilities, it said.

Shell had evacuated drilling and production systems because of the hurricane, which passed through the region this week, shutting down all the Gulf's oil production. The company returned 220 workers today to its petroleum production and drilling platforms in the Gulf.

``Due to downstream pipeline and processing infrastructure damage, restart and production ramp-up procedures will commence at most other locations late this weekend,'' Shell said in the statement. The Fairway field resumed output today and the timing of production ramp-up at each site will vary, it said.

The company continues to monitor the progress of Hurricane Ike, Shell said. The Category Four storm is packing 135 miles per hour winds over the western Atlantic, the U.S. weather center said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Angela Macdonald-Smith in Sydney at amacdonaldsm@bloomberg.net