Sam Fletcher
OGJ Senior Writer
HOUSTON, Oct. 22 -- The back-to-back impact of Hurricane Lili and Tropical Storm Isidore in the central Gulf of Mexico a week apart forced the shut in of 14.4 million bbl of oil and 88.9 bcf of natural gas production during a 26-day period, said officials of the US Minerals Management Service in its final summary of storm damage.
Isidore, which moved through the US gulf's most productive oil and gas area Sept. 25-26, caused 4.5 million bbl of oil and 27.5 bcf of gas to be shut in during Sept. 23-29. But while operators were still in the process of bringing that disrupted production back on stream, they were forced to start shutting down again by the "much more intense" Hurricane Lili, which blew through the same central gulf waters off Louisiana on Oct. 3-4. Lili disrupted production of 9.9 million bbl of oil and 61.5 bcf of gas from Sept. 30 through Oct. 18, operators reported to MMS.
Gulf production had "almost returned to pre-storm levels" as of Friday. "Only 105,000 bbl of oil and 670 MMcf of natural gas remain shut-in because of the effects of these two storms," said MMS officials.
"Although not as devastating as Hurricane Andrew, Hurricane Lili has caused significant damage to the heart of the oil patch," said Marshall Adkins, an analyst in the Houston office of Raymond James & Associates Inc.
In August 1992, Hurricane Andrew ripped through the Bahamas and south Florida before roaring across the eastern and central Gulf of Mexico to hit Louisiana. It was the most expensive natural disaster in US history, inflicting total damages of $25 billion in the US.
Andrew "created a year of work for many offshore construction companies," Adkins said. "Although too early to measure precisely (the damage from Lili), we estimate that construction-related work should last 3-5 months."
MMS assessment
"We have had a number of reports of damage to various production platforms and some drilling rigs, but in general, the extent of the damage to the infrastructure is not significant," said MMS Director Johnnie Burton (OGJ Online, Oct. 16, 2002). "Of the 800 facilities which were subjected to the full force of the hurricane, only 6 older platforms and 4 exploration rigs received substantial damage from the storm," she said. There are more than 4,000 offshore facilities operating in federal waters in the gulf. MMS officials reported 99 drilling rigs were in the path of the storm.
"There were no fatalities or injuries to offshore workers, there were no fires, and there was no major pollution caused by the hurricane," Burton added. "Considering that there were more than 25,000 workers evacuated, and that 800 structures were located in the direct path of Lili during the most intense period of the storm, it is remarkable that the impact to this important domestic energy production infrastructure was quite limited."
MMS officials said 94% of the oil and gas production that was shut in prior to the storm was back online as of Oct. 16. They said many platforms, pipelines, and onshore facilities received minor damage, and several of those require repairs that may take several months. Some production will continue to be shut in while repairs are made.
MMS reported a 350 bbl oil spill from an offshore facility on Ship Shoal Block 119, operated by Murphy Oil Corp., 18 miles off Louisiana. Murphy recovered about a third of that oil in its emergency response efforts, and the remainder was dispersed through weathering. The well involved was capped, and MMS will investigate the incident, one of nine reported instances of pollution resulting from Hurricane Lili. "The other eight were less than 3 bbl" each, MMS officials reported.
A small pipeline leak resulted from Tropical Storm Isidore, they said.
Platforms damaged
All six of the offshore platforms that were seriously damaged by Hurricane Lili were more than 20 years old, said MMS officials. A 38-year-old platform in the process of being removed from Eugene Island Block 275A, operated by TotalFinaElf SA, was toppled in place.
A 33-year-old platform on Eugene Island Block 309, operated by Forest Oil Corp., was reported "missing" and "completely submerged" after the storm, while the 24-year-old Platform A on Eugene Island Block 322, BP PLC operator, was described by MMS officials as leaning and damaged beyond repair.
Wellheads were "bent over" on a 33-year-old platform operated by Murphy Oil in Ship
Shoal 114, said MMS officials. Two platforms on Eugene Island Block 252, operated by ChevronTexaco Corp., were reported to be "leaning" after the storm. By mid-October, ChevronTexaco said it still had 58,000 b/d of oil and 360 MMcfd of natural gas production shut in as a result of Hurricane Lili (OGJ Online, Oct. 16, 2002).
In addition, Newfield Exploration Co., Houston, last week reported its Eugene Island 324 facility "was severely damaged and most likely will be removed." That unit was not among the damaged facilities listed by MMS. Newfield officials said removal of that facility and minor damage to other platforms are covered by the company's insurance policies. Newfield operates 140 production platforms in the gulf and controls 190 lease blocks.
Remington Oil & Gas Corp., Dallas, earlier reported it had restored its offshore production to 85% of the prehurricane levels of 89 Mcfed. However, company officials said, "At our Eugene Island 302 field, production will be deferred due to damage to a nonoperated production handling facility. There was only minor damage to our platform." Repairs to the production facility or rerouting to an alternate facility were under consideration. "We expect production to resume from this field early next year," they said. Remington owns 58% interest in that field. Company officials also reported damageon Eugene Island 297 and South Marsh Island 35, but said both are expected to return to production this month after minor repairs.
Rig damage
Houston-based Rowan Cos. Inc. reported its Rowan-Houston jack up rig, built by Marathon LeTourneau Co. in 1969, capsized and sank in 105 ft of water in Ship Shoal Block 207 during the hurricane (OGJ Online, Oct. 7, 2002). That rig had been under contract to Anadarko Petroleum Corp., also of Houston. A Rowan official later reported that the rig was severed from its legs, with the hull resting on the ocean bottom (OGJ, Oct. 14, 2002, p. 9). He said the port side of the hull near the bow was severely damaged, "indicating a collision had occurred." Rowan is developing a plan for removal of the wreckage.
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. of Houston said its semisubmersible rig, Ocean Lexington, broke its moorings and drifted 45 miles before grounding in 35 ft of water off Louisiana. Prior to Lili's approach, the rig had detached from its subsea well control equipment, the riser, and the blowout preventer, all of which were reported undamaged.
A company spokesman said damage assessment was under way along with efforts to refloat the rig so that it could be moved to a shipyard for inspection.
Noble Corp., Sugar Land, Tex., said its Noble John Sandifer cantilever jack up rig on Eugene Island Block 305 sustained leg and hull damage. The company planned to have that rig in dry dock by the end of this month for evaluation of its damage.
MMS officials also reported Transocean Inc.'s jack up rig RBF 204 in Main Pass Block 207 was "leaning," following the storm. Meanwhile, Transocean reported its Discoverer Spirit drillship resumed drilling, after a 15-day storm delay, the second appraisal well at the Trident ultradeepwater discovery for operator Unocal Corp. and partners in Alaminos Canyon 947, about 2 miles southwest of the original Block 903 find.
Damage prevention
Burton declared, "The minimal effects of the hurricane to oil and gas facilities were in part attributable to the design standards MMS established through its regulations. MMS has strengthened its platform design standards several times since the 1960s. Current design standards require industry to design facilities to withstand 100 year storm criteria. The technology available to build these platforms to the new tougher standards allows the companies a measure of safety and durability that is not present in the older facilities. Operators in the Gulf demonstrated a superb level of preparedness in advancing technology to prevent damage and in responding to this catastrophic event".
In 1988, the MMS established requirements for annual above-water structural inspections of all platforms on the US outer continental shelf and periodic underwater structural surveys to minimize the potential for storm damage. MMS also requires a structural survey for facilities that are directly exposed to such storms. MMS officials said they would be contacting operators for their survey results and reports of storm-related structural damage.
Repairs needed
Meanwhile, Adkins reported, "One major trunk line...has been seriously damaged, several other pipelines (need) repair, and roughly 15-20 platforms (sustained) either serious damage or secondary damage."
He predicted, "At least 5-10 derrick-barge jobs will emerge, depending on platform damage."
Lift-boats—self-propelled, self-elevating work platforms that assist in offshore construction and well servicing—also are being contracted to inspect and repair the damaged platforms. "Channel checks indicate lift-boat operators are receiving 5-6 calls per day for each boat, and this could translate into roughly 3-5 months of sustainable work," said Adkins. That could push up fourth quarter utilization of those vessels to 80-90%, from typical ranges of 60-70%, he said.
"Diving companies are experiencing high levels of demand for platform inspection and both shallow and deepwater pipeline work," Adkins reported. "During the fourth quarter, utilization (among diving companies) usually starts at 70% and trails off to the 55-60% level. However, with several platforms and pipelines being inspected, we predict utilization to be in the 80% rage consistently throughout the fourth quarter and into first quarter 2003."
Hurricane Lili reached maximum strength as a Category 4 hurricane, with sustained winds of 145 mph over the Gulf of Mexico. As it moved closer to shore, however, it reduced in intensity.
One of the offshore meteorological buoys funded by MMS through an interagency agreement was in the direct path of the hurricane and provided critical data to weather forecasters, officials reported. Buoy 42041 was installed last May in 1,436 m of water 150 miles off New Orleans, which put it in the strongest quadrant of Lili and about 15 miles from the eye of the hurricane as it reached maximum strength.
The unit measures wind speed and direction, air and sea surface temperature, atmospheric pressure, wave height and period, and humidity. It also is equipped with an acoustic Doppler current profiler current meter to measure currents in the upper 500 m of the water column. So far, officials said, this buoy has collected data for two tropical storms and one hurricane.
Contact Sam Fletcher at [email protected]
