2008 Hurricane Season Preparations

For the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, America’s oil and natural gas industry continues to build upon critical lessons learned from 2005’s record-breaking storms, and from Hurricane Ivan in 2004.  

API plays two primary roles for the industry:  first, to help gain a better understanding of the environmental conditions in and around the Gulf of Mexico during hurricane activity and then apply that knowledge to make offshore and onshore facilities more resilient; and second, to facilitate industry reliability by fostering collaboration among member companies and with federal, state and local governments and with other industries. 

Our recommended practices for industry operations in the Gulf are frequently incorporated by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) into its NTLs (notices to leasees).

API member companies in all segments also continue to independently further improve preparedness.  They have, for example, reviewed and updated emergency response plans, established redundant communication paths and made pre-arrangements with suppliers to help insure they have adequate resources during an emergency.  Many companies have added sophisticated equipment to remotely monitor operations during storms and immediately afterward.

The Committee on Hurricane Response, formed by API, the International Association of Drilling Contractors, and the Offshore Operators Committee, promotes communication and sharing lessons learned, coordinates industry review of critical design standards, and serves as a conduit to regulatory agencies.

The nation’s oil and natural gas industry also invests heavily in advanced technology to produce the energy our nation needs while protecting the environment.  The industry is committed to safety and environmental protection performance during hurricanes -- in fact, from 1996 to 2005 the industry has invested $91 billion in environmental protection, or nearly $307 for every person living in the U.S.  And we continually strive to improve our record for this year’s hurricane season and beyond.

These combined efforts are critical since the Gulf of Mexico provides almost 30 percent of the oil and about 20 percent of the natural gas produced in the United States (approximately 70 percent of the oil supply comes from deepwater facilities), and is home to 46 percent of U.S. refining capacity. 

Upstream (exploration and production)

For 2008, the upstream segment focus continues to be analyzing and applying updated environmental data on how powerful storms affect conditions in the Gulf of Mexico. 

During the major 2004 and 2005 hurricanes, waves were higher and winds were stronger than anticipated in deeper parts of the Gulf, so the industry has moved away from viewing it as a uniform body of water.  A central portion is now seen as more hurricane-prone because it can be a gathering spot for warm currents that can strengthen the storms.   

 New Metocean Information (click here to enlarge)

The revised wind, wave and current measurements (“metocean” data) prompted API to reassess its recommended practices (RPs) for industry operations in the region.  The initiative is being coordinated by a special Hurricane Evaluation and Assessment Team (HEAT) formed by API’s Subcommittee on Offshore Structures.  

API published three interim documents for the 2006 hurricane season covering the operation and construction of both mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs), and fixed and floating production platforms:

• RP 95F, Interim Guidance for Gulf of Mexico MODU Mooring Practice, recommends stronger anchoring to improve stationkeeping, a risk assessment to minimize impacts to other facilities (such as pipelines) should mooring fail, and that each MODU have a GPS radio beacon to expedite recovery should stationkeeping be lost.
  
• RP 95J, Gulf of Mexico Jack-up Operations for Hurricane Season – Interim Recommendations, recommends locating jack-up rigs on more stable areas of the sea floor, and positioning platform decks higher above the sea surface.
  
  
• Bulletin 2TD, Guidelines for Tie-downs on Offshore Production Facilities for Hurricane Season, is aimed at better-securing separate platform equipment.    
  

For 2007, HEAT continues to analyze and apply updated metocean data to further fine-tune API’s RPs.  A second edition of RP 95F has recently been issued incorporating the updated data analysis.  HEAT has also published four new interim documents for the 2007 season, with final RPs expected next year:

• Bulletin 2INT-MET, Interim Guidance on Hurricane Conditions in the Gulf of Mexico, provides updated metocean data for four regions of the Gulf, including wind velocities, deepwater wave conditions, current information, and surge and tidal data
  
  
• Bulletin 2INT-DG, Interim Guidance for Design of Offshore Structures for Hurricane Conditions, covers how to apply the updated metocean data during design
  
  
• Bulletin 2INT-EX, Interim Guidance for Assessment of Existing Offshore Structures for Hurricane Conditions, assists owners/operators and engineers with existing facilities   
  
• RP 2SM addendum (guidance on maintaining synthetic mooring lines)
  

API hosted workshops on these bulletins and RP 95F (2nd ed.) in New Orleans and Houston in July 2007.   

Refineries and Pipelines

The industry is now producing record levels of fuels after recovering from damages sustained during the 2005 hurricane season.

The liquids pipelines operating on or near the Gulf of Mexico have done extensive reviews of their assets and operations since the Katrina and Rita.  While there were some outages, none lasted more than a few days despite some dramatic damage to supporting infrastructure such as electric power generation and distribution.  Some pipeline companies have established more interconnections among offshore lines to increase their routing options in the event of storm disruptions.  

• Participated in industry conferences to share best practices and improvement opportunities
  
  
• Worked with utilities to clarify priorities for electric power restoration critical to restarting operations and to help minimize significant disruptions to fuel distribution and delivery
  
  
• Expanded on-site backup electric power generation capability and/or identified and located/leased backup generation equipment that may be positioned as needed
  
  
• Established redundant communications systems to support continuity of operations and locate employees
  
• Worked with vendors to pre-position food, water and transportation, and plan for other emergency supplies and services
  
  
• Worked with the states to provide documentation to employees who need access to disaster sites past state and local law enforcement roadblocks
  
  
• Reexamined and improved emergency response and business continuity plans
  
  
• Provided additional training for employees, who have participated in various exercises and drills
• Strengthened onshore buildings and elevated equipment where appropriate to minimize potential flood damage
  
  

Background

2006:  None of last year’s 10 storms, including 5 hurricanes, made landfall in the U.S.  The industry took advantage of the respite to make significant improvements to its operations and procedures.   Industry and government shared information at a two-day API hurricane conference on what worked well, and where improvements could be made in hurricane preparation and response.  API also participated in a similar conference hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy.

2005:  The 2005 hurricane season was the most active in recorded history, repeatedly shattering previous records.  According to the Department of Energy, refineries in the path of hurricanes Katrina and Rita accounting for about 29 percent of U.S. refining capacity were shut down at the peak of disruptions.  Offshore, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) estimated 22,000 of the 33,000 miles of pipelines and 3,050 of the 4,000 platforms in the Gulf were in the direct paths of the two Category 5 storms.  Together they destroyed 115 platforms and damaged 52 others. 

Even so, there was no loss of life, and an MMS report found “no accounts of spills from facilities on the federal Outer Continental Shelf that reached the shoreline; oiled birds or mammals; or involved any discoveries of oil to be collected or cleaned up.”

The industry responded quickly and minimized supply disruptions from the Gulf.  Refineries used emergency response plans and reacted quickly without a single safety incident.  For exploration and production operations, repairs to existing infrastructure progressed in cooperation with MMS and the U.S. Coast Guard.   

2004: Hurricane Ivan was the strongest hurricane of the 2004 season and the ninth most intense Atlantic hurricane on record.  It moved across the Gulf of Mexico to make landfall in Alabama.  Ivan then looped across Florida and back into the Gulf, regenerating into a new tropical system which moved into Louisiana and Texas.  

The MMS estimated approximately 150 offshore facilities and 10,000 miles of pipelines were in the direct path of Ivan.  Seven platforms were destroyed and 24 others damaged.  The oil and gas industry submitted numerous damage reports to MMS, including for mobile drilling rigs, offshore platforms, producing wells, topside systems including wellheads and production and processing equipment, risers, and pipeline systems that transport oil and gas ashore from offshore facilities.