A.D. Koen
Gulf Coast News Editor
Two more months could be needed to restore Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production shut in because of Hurricane Andrew, Minerals Management Service estimates.
MMS Director Scott Sewell said damage by Andrew to installations in offshore federal planning areas was more extensive than first believed (OGJ, Sept. 21, p. 42). However, MMS still expects Andrew's long term effect on gulf oil and gas production to be very small.
Hurricane Andrew swept west across South Florida into the gulf, then turned north and struck the Louisiana coast Aug. 25.
Operators last week continued filing with MMS district offices in the New Orleans region reports of newly discovered damage to offshore oil and gas structures. By midweek, MMS listed more than 241 platforms, well satellites, and other offshore structures and 135 pipelines damaged by the storm.
MMS Sept. 17 issued a Notice to Lessees (NTL) 92-07, requiring Outer Continental Shelf operators to conduct Level 11 surveys, as recommended by the American Petroleum Institute, of offshore oil and gas facilities to inspect for underwater damage.
Inspection is required for platforms, pipelines, risers, and other structures within an 85 mile corridor-from 50 miles northeast to 35 miles southwest of the path followed by Andrew's eye.
Operators have until Oct. 16 to submit Level II inspection plans to MMS. Offshore structures in the affected area are to be inspected and a final report filed by May 1, 1993.
Meanwhile, Shell Oil Co. announced plans to contribute $25,000 to victims in Hawaii of Hurricane Iniki, which struck the island of Kauai on Sept. 11.
PRODUCTION STATUS
Gulf OCS operators last week had restored about 1-1.5 bcfd of gas production, about half the volume shut in because of storm damage. MMS estimates 170,000-190,000 b/d of oil production has been restored, leaving 50,000-90,000 b/d shut in.
Before Andrew struck, wells on federal Gulf of Mexico acreage were producing 12.5-13 bcfd of gas and about 750,000 b/d of oil.
"As repairs are reported and approved after inspections to ensure safety and environmental standards have been met, I expect daily production figures to rise," Sewell said.
Gas Processors Report (GPR), Houston, reports that damage to gas processing plants in South Louisiana could delay Trunkline Gas Co.'s effort to restore by Nov. 1 about 450 MMcfd of gas transportation capacity through the T-21 valving platform on South Timbalier Block 72.
GPR said if Trunkline begins flowing 800 MMcfd of gas through T-21 before Shell Western E&P Inc. brings up the 1.2 bcfd Calumet gas processing plant in St. Mary Parish, La., T-21 gas will have no place to go. GPR estimates 2-4 months likely will be needed for Shell to rebuild the Calumet plant.
MMS has not revised its estimate of the cost to oil and gas companies of repairing hurricane damage. Sewell said his agency's initial estimate of $200 million to repair installations damaged by the hurricane likely will increase as offshore operators begin more detailed inspections.
The NTL 92-07 broadens the required extent and detail of damage assessments. But many gulf operators, anticipating the MMS directive or for their own purposes, already had set up Level 11 inspection programs.
LEVEL II SURVEYS
Sewell described NTL 92-07 as a "sensible yet stringent" measure to ensure the structural and environmental integrity of oil and gas installations caught in Andrew's path.
MMS estimates 700 structures will require inspections. NTL 92-07 specifies that facilities with visual evidence of structural distress on 71 federal tracts must receive Level 11 surveys. Sixty-seven of the tracts are in Ship Shoal federal planning area. Murphy Oil Corp. is identified as operator on 64 of the 71 tracts.
NTL 92-07 advises operators to begin with inspections of older structures nearest the center of the path of Andrew's eye and work outward toward the edges of the specified corridor. Only single pile caissons not leaning or showing other signs of damage need not be inspected.
Included in the NTL are producing installations, pipeline right-of-way accessory platforms, subsea pipeline tie-ins and crossings in water less than 50 ft deep, and pipeline risers. Riser inspections on platforms in water less than 50 ft deep are to include surveys of pipelines to points at least 500 ft from the platform.
Inspection plans are to include general descriptions of the work to be carried out and a proposed timetable. Within 30 days of completing each inspection, operators are required to submit reports to MMS describing details of damage detected that could threaten structural integrity.
If operators consistently fail to find damage beyond a certain distance from the path of Andrew's eye, they may request a waiver from MMS of continuing inspections to the outer limits of the designated zone.
Copyright 1992 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
