Posted in hurricanes, tagged hurricanes, Joe Bastardi, tropical storm on August 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I fully expect feature number 4 to be a TC by Wednesday and Hurricane by Friday as it threatens the NE Caribbean first. Eventual track toward Bahamas SE US in 10-15 day period. Feature in Africa develops, stays way out. 1,2,3 weaker right now
Joe Bastardi Twitter
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Andrew, safety valves on August 25, 2022| Leave a Comment »
After devastating South Florida during August 25, 1992, Hurricane Andrew struck Gulf of Mexico facilities the following day. Sustained winds were 140 mph with gusts to 160 mph, and significant wave heights were 35-40 feet. About 700 platforms were exposed to hurricane force winds. 241 platforms and 83 pipeline segments incurred substantial damage.
All workers had been evacuated from the offshore facilities without incident. Surface and subsurface safety systems performed as intended, and there were no uncontrolled flows from production wells. According to respondents to a JP Kenny survey for MMS, 2698 valves were closed during the storm as follows:
| valve type | activated | failed |
| subsurface safety valves | 716 | 0 |
| master surface safety valves | 729 | 5 |
| wing surface safety valves | 460 | 0 |
| pipeline shutdown valve | 415 | 0 |
| pipeline check valve | 378 | 0 |
The five MSSV failures were at facilities directly in the path of the eye in an area where the storm damage was most severe.
The valve performance reporting was associated with a research project and was thus voluntary. It’s therefore important to give credit to the companies that participated (a number of which no longer exist): Amoco, Aquila Energy, BP, Chevron, Four Star O&G, Gulfstream, Houston Expl., Kerr-McGee, Mobil, Pennzoil, Samedan, Shell, Sonat, Stone, Tennessee Gas PL, Texaco, and Unocal.
Also, in reviewing the survey responses it’s clear that there was some confusion about what to report. Most facilities were completely shut-in well ahead of the storm’s arrival and the survey requests information on valves that were shut-in (presumably automatically) during the hurricane. Reporting was therefore inconsistent, and the total number of shut-in valves was under-reported.
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, natural gas, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Gulf of Mexico, jackup rigs, LNG, New Fortress Energy on June 1, 2022| Leave a Comment »
In the past the thought was that we would be importing LNG, i.e. “Rigs-to-Regasification.” Now that we are exporting LNG, we are adding “Rigs-to-Refrigeration” to the alternative use list.
Per our previous post on this topic, New Fortress Energy is moving forward with fast-track LNG projects in the Gulf. Three converted jack-up rigs purchased from Maersk will make up the first “Fast LNG” liquefaction train.
New Fortress is planning to install its first two “Fast LNG” units in West Delta Lease Block 38, located about 16 nm off Grand Isle, Louisiana. The two independent liquefaction trains at this deepwater “port” would export about 1.4 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG each. Though small by shoreside standards, the plant design would offer a number of advantages, like low cost and speed to market – a critical factor at a time of high demand for LNG. The company says that it should be able to produce each facility on an 18-20 month timescale, from engineering through construction and commissioning.
Maritime Executive
Given the challenges posed by tropical storms, particularly for jackup units, the design criteria for these “permanent” jack-up liquefaction facilities and the role of classification societies are of particular interest.
Posted in accidents, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Coast Guard, macondo, Memorial Day on May 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Posted in accidents, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, tagged BSEE, Globetrotter II, Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Ida, Noble, Shell on May 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »
BOE was troubled by this incident and the contractor’s statements that followed.
BSEE has posted a strong safety alert.
The BSEE investigation concluded that the operator and contractor representatives failed to promptly start the Temporary Abandonment (TA) procedures.
BSEE’s investigation report provides complete details on the incident.
Posted in climate, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, Uncategorized, tagged Al Gore, AOC, climate, hurricanes, John Kerry on May 3, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Posted in accidents, decommissioning, energy policy, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, tagged 2020 offshore fatalities, Beta Unit pipeline, Globetrotter II, Hogan and Houchin, Huntington Beach, Khamsin, Lease Sale 257, offshore production, Russell Peterson on January 10, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, oil, tagged Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Ida, October, production on January 3, 2022| Leave a Comment »
October production rebounded to 1.744 million BOPD from the 2021 low of 1.064 million BOPD in September (Hurricane Ida). November and December production should exceed 1.8 million BOPD.
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, tagged EIA, Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Ida, oil production on November 30, 2021| Leave a Comment »
More than half of GoM oil production was shut-in for 13 days in September and several hundred thousand BOPD were shut-in for the rest of the month. The result was a 42% reduction in production from pre-Ida (July) levels.
All production has now been restored so the December EIA figures should give us a good read on stablized post-Ida production.
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Ida, Mars, production, Shell, Ursa on November 9, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Per Shell, production at Mars and Ursa has restarted. Olympus was restarted on 10/1. The December production figures should give us a pretty good indication of stabilized GoM production post Ida.
