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The structures group reviews the platform applications and makes sure that the structures that are installed on the OCS are fit for service and capable of withstanding the environmental loads that are placed upon them.  After a hurricane, we require the operators to examine all the facilities that were in the platform swath.  They do a topside inspection.  They also do an underwater inspection. The results of these inspections are reported back to us, and then we make a determination as to whether a repair or a modification is necessary.

The structural engineering side of offshore operations is very technical and very detailed.  It starts with a soil analysis and then you are required to examine all the loads that your structure is exposed to.  And that is a big part of what they are trying to do right now is to really determine the magnitude of the loads that are imposed on the offshore structures with these severe storms we’ve had.

We are starting to see with these recent hurricane seasons that the magnitude of the forces is bigger probably than we first envisioned. The waves are bigger.  The winds are stronger and longer in duration. So currently we are trying to access exactly what the maximum environmental loads are and then how that translates into the design criteria.

Well when you build an offshore structure, you have to design it to a certain criteria. And basically, you are trying to determine what are the maximum loads that it will see. So right now were trying to get a handle on what those maximum environmental conditions are and design it to meet those conditions.

One of the things we have recently started doing is looking at the reuse of facilities. Making sure that when operators add additional wells or bring pipelines on board that the older facilities are still fit for service -- that they can handle the new loads that are imposed upon them by the reuse of those facilities.

The MMS works very closely with industry. The expertise lies in industry.  We try to tap into that to see what the foremost experts are saying. We’re working together to collect data to make sure that we all have a data set that is truly representative. So it is truly a big collaborative effort between us, industry, the different trade groups, different organizations within the government--trying to make sure that we can accurately access what those environmental conditions are and then build the structures that meet those conditions.

You’re trying to build a structure that can hold and withstand huge loads imposed upon the decks.  You take that structure and then stick it in a water column that has huge forces associated with it, so trying to put those forces and categorize those forces is pretty tough. It is technologically very difficult.

I think overall, MMS has a very good safety record as far as structures go on the Outer continental shelf.  We are learning. We are very much partnering with industry to try to keep our regulations abreast of the latest technology and make sure that what we require is absolutely safe.

On the OCS you have single well caissons that stand in 18 feet of water. And that runs out into floating structures that are attached to the sea floor by tendons in 3,000 and 4,000 feet of water.  And they’re moving beyond that.  So it really does run the gamut there as far as different types of structures. They’ve come a long way since they installed the first structure in 1948.

You do visual inspection. You do diver inspection. You do X-ray analysis.  There are different techniques you use to determine what, if any thing has happened to a platform after a severe storm event.

Your ultimate goal is safe and clean production on the Outer Continental Shelf. That is our goal. That is the operator’s goal.  And I think at the end of the day, that is what everybody is looking for--safe and clean operations.  The MMS has technical expertise in house.  We have a very good reputation with the industry.  I think we have been very responsive to industry through the years, and we try to keep our regulations current and up to date as far as the latest structural standards.

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Last Updated: 08/17/2007, 09:01 AM Central Time