Posted on 07/22/2008 5:39:54 AM PDT by thackney
Oil companies and offshore drillers continued evacuating workers from facilities in the western Gulf of Mexico Monday as Tropical Storm Dolly tested the companies' storm procedures for the first time in the 2008 hurricane season.
Shell removed 60 workers from production platforms Monday after evacuating 125 the day before. Drillers including Rowan Companies, Diamond Offshore, Noble Corp. and Pride International pulled employees off drilling rigs.
Oil refiners with facilities on the Gulf Coast, including Valero Energy, Citgo Petroleum and Flint Hills Resources, said they also were monitoring the storm closely but had not halted fuel production or removed workers.
The moves came after Dolly entered the Gulf and government forecasters predicted the storm could strengthen into a hurricane by today, making landfall near Brownsville. A hurricane watch was issued for Texas' southern coast.
On that path, the storm would miss the heart of the Gulf's oil and gas infrastructure, which is concentrated in the central Gulf. But operators said they were watching the storm closely for unexpected turns.
"The first storm in always gets the adrenaline pumping, and it helps bring everybody into the mind set for hurricane season," said Tom Mueller, a spokesman for BP, which has not evacuated workers nor halted production in the Gulf.
After two quiet hurricane seasons that followed devastating storms in 2004 and 2005, the U.S. offshore oil and gas industry said it has improved safeguards and response measures and is better equipped to deal with major storms than it was in the past.
For example, new industry guidelines call for shallow-water drilling rigs to be raised higher out of the water than before to avoid being toppled by hurricane waves. The guidelines also require more anchors to keep deep-water floating rigs in place during a storm.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
Up goes the price of oil.
I hate when Bush turns on the Rove Hurricane Maker Machine to boost the oil prices!
EEEVIL OIL THREATEND BY GLOBAL WARMING SPAWND DOLLY..... NEWS AT 11:00
You can bet that the RATS and their environmentalist weenies are praying for a massive oil spill.
Not likely at all.
Green Ink: Goodbye, Dolly
http://blogs.wsj.com/environmentalcapital/2008/07/22/green-ink-goodbye-dolly/
Tropical storm Dolly should miss oil installations in the Gulf of Mexico and make landfall near the Texas-Mexico border, keeping crude futures holding steady early Tuesday, Bloomberg reports. But the Gulf still has plenty of turbulence: Mexico’s oil production fell 11% in June, and Pemex wants laws changed to be able to work with foreign companies to boost output, also in Bloomberg. Output has plenty of people nervous—the L.A. Times looks at peak oil and the challenge of boosting production to meet Asian demand, while Britain’s plan to guarantee security in Nigeria could lead to even more violence, in the WSJ (sub reqd.).
Pemex has offshore platforms in the Gulf too in Mexican waters.
And Dolly should keep a close eye on those drillers...
(Pigeon Forge or cloned variety, take your pick.)
See post #5 for Map. Nearly all of the storm should miss most of Pemex platforms.
Dolly will need to get quite a bit stronger before a modern rig will be abandoned. The newest rigs can maintain position in winds over 80mph and stay viable in even stronger winds.
In any case, S TX needs the rain ...
Actually falling at this time, we will see what the day will bring.
Of course Dolly is only one of many things affecting oil prices today.
Unforturnately rains right now will interefere with harvesting the meager maize crop that was reduced by the drought and subsequent earlier than optimal maturing. Rains might benefit the cotton crops. They will definitely help lawns planted with St. Augustine grass for about a week.
Dolly entered the Gulf and government forecasters predicted the storm could strengthen into a hurricane by today, making landfall near Brownsville. A hurricane watch was issued for Texas' southern coast.
"Woo-Hoo! Another Hurricane."
"Free Beer For My Cousins!"
Up it goes, except it is actually down $5 today.
Yep, Dolly now not expected to be a severe storm.
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