2006 Hurricane Season Question of the Week

1. How did the operators perform in evacuating personnel from the GOM during last year's storm season?

With no serious injuries or fatalities, industry did an exceptional job in evacuating personnel during the 2005 hurricane season. Over the 2005 hurricane season, the ~30,000 offshore workers in the gulf were either fully or partially evacuated multiple times. Additionally, the 4,000 structures and over 130 drilling rigs in the Gulf were prepared for hurricanes multiple times.

2. What damage was caused during the 2005 Hurricane season to Federal OCS oil and gas facilities?

Hurricane Katrina, a category 5 hurricane when it entered the Federal OCS, destroyed 44 platforms, damaged 21 others, and damaged 255 pipelines on the Federal OCS. Approximately 3,000 barrels of petroleum has been estimated to have been lost in these structures, almost all of which was crude oil or condensate.

Hurricane Rita, a category 4 hurricane when it entered the OCS, destroyed 69 platforms, damaged 32 others, and damaged 206 pipelines on the OCS. Approximately 16,000 barrels of petroleum has been estimated to be lost in these structures. The 16,000 barrels were distributed roughly 12,500 to 3,500 barrels between crude and condensate vs. refined petroleum lost.

3. How much oil was spilled from offshore oil and gas facilities during last years storm season?

The USCG identified approximately100 spills from Hurricane Katrina and 160 spills from Hurricane Rita in State and Federal offshore waters. The USCG classified almost all of these spills in Federal and State offshore waters as “Minor” by the USCG. The USCG defines “Minor” as less than 10,000 gallons (238 barrels), but most of these spills were estimated to be less than 1 barrel. There were no accounts of Federal OCS spills that reached the shoreline or oiled birds or mammals. In addition, there were no large volumes of oil discovered offshore to be collected or cleaned up.

MMS currently estimates approximately 19,000 bbl of crude oil and refined petroleum products were spilled from platforms and pipelines in Federal OCS waters as a consequence of the 2005 storms, all as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

4. How is MMS working with other federal agencies in preparing for this years storm season?

The MMS has met with both the USCG and the DOE during the off-season to ensure proper communication channels are in place to facilitate timely and accurate release of information pertaining to the 2006 hurricane season. The MMS has also invited a USCG representative to participate in the MMS COOP team this year to enhance information sharing between agencies and reduce the reporting burden on industry.

5. Has last year’s storms deterred industry from drilling in the GOM?

No, industry has not been deterred. Yet, they have been proactive in developing new recommended practices to protect their investments and our assets in the GOM. Over the course of the last eight months, over 150 different participants including operators, drilling contractors, drilling suppliers, certification companies, offshore organizations, and Federal agencies have worked together to better prepare the GOM MODU fleet for this hurricane season.

6. How strong a hurricane can OCS facilities withstand?

MMS regulations mandate that all newly built facilities on the OCS be able to withstand a Category 5 hurricane (150 mph sustained winds). On land winds of this size are capable of causing complete roof failure on many residences and industrial buildings with some complete building failures and complete destruction of mobile homes.

7. What happens if a spill occurs?

MMS requires every offshore operator to have an Oil Spill Contingency Plan. If an operator returns to a facility and upon inspection sees that an oil spill has occurred, they immediately put the OSCP into action to prevent more spillage and also notify MMS and the US Coast Guard. The USCG will then take charge of the spill response effort in cooperation with the operator.

8. How long will production be delayed by the hurricane?

This is hard to predict because it depends not only on the extent of damage to offshore infrastructure (pipelines and platforms), but it also is affected by the extent and type of damage to onshore support facilities and local communities. In the past for events that were similar to a Category 4 storm, most production was restored within about 3 weeks.

9. What is the process for production coming back on line?

We know that operators will be eager to re-board their facilities and restart production as soon as possible. However operators will initially conduct aerial over-flights to get an initial assessment of damage that occurred from the storm. The next step will be to re-board the facilities and check for the integrity of the structure, the production equipment, and associated pipelines. Only after these checks have been done will operators start to bring production back on line. In addition to all of the above checks, MMS will also issue a Notice to Lessees that requires additional inspections of facilities and pipelines which were subject to hurricane force conditions including possible damage below the water line.

In those cases where a facility has sustained significant damage and the extent of damage has been determined as noted in the NTL, decisions will be made whether to repair or replace damaged components and systems, or abandon the facility. Repairs, replacement and abandonment must be done in accordance with industry standards and MMS regulations.

10. How many workers are stationed on offshore facilities?

MMS estimates that the offshore industry employs about 40,000 workers offshore. However, because of the nature of the work done (around the clock, 24/7) there are only about 25,000 to 30,000 offshore at any time. Also important to note is that the number of workers varies according to the size of the production facility. So there is not a one to one correspondence between number of facilities shut in and workers evacuated.

Last Updated: 01/14/2009, 08:10 AM Central Time