Rita Causes Record Damage To Oil Rigs (New Estimates...Damage Not Bad Huh?)

Financial Times ^ | 9-27-05 | Carola Hoyos

[My Favorite Headache]

Rita causes record damage to oil rigs By Carola Hoyos in London, Sheila McNulty in Houston and Thomas Catan in Johannesburg Published: September 27 2005 20:14 | Last updated: September 27 2005 20:14

Hurricane Rita has caused more damage to oil rigs than any other storm in history and will force companies to delay drilling for oil in the US and as far away as the Middle East, initial damage assessments show.

ODS-Petrodata, which provides market intelligence to the offshore oil and natural gas industry, said it expected a shortage of rigs in the US Gulf this year.

“Based on what we have right now, it appears that drilling contractors and rig owners took a big hit from Rita,” said Tom Marsh of ODS-Petrodata. “The path Katrina took was through the mature areas of the US Gulf where there are mainly oil [production] platforms. Rita came to the west where there is a lot of [exploratory] rig activity.”

Ken Sill of Credit Suisse First Boston said: “Early reports indicate numerous rigs are missing, destroyed or have suffered serious damage and several companies have yet to report. Rita may set an all-time record.”

The US Coast Guard said nine semisubmersible rigs had broken free from their moorings and were adrift.

This damage could not have come at a worse time for oil companies and consumers. US crude futures on Monday fell 37 cents to $65.45 a barrel in midday trading in New York as refineries that were evacuated before the onset of Rita returned to operation.

Earlier in the day, Ali Naimi, Saudi Arabia's oil minister, said the market had not taken up the 2m barrels a day of spare capacity the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries offered last week. Speaking in Johannesburg, he blamed high oil prices on a lack of industry infrastructure, including rigs and refineries, rather than oil reserves. Rigs, which are movable and are used for exploration and development, were in short supply before hurricanes Katrina and Rita blew through the US Gulf in late August and September.

High oil prices and the desperate search for new oil supplies needed to meet rampant demand from the US and China have made rigs difficult to find and expensive to hire. Rigs cost $90m-$550m to construct, depending on how sophisticated the structure and how deep the water in which it will drill. A rig ordered today is unlikely to be ready before 2008 or 2009, analysts said.

As a sign of just how precious rigs are becoming to the market, Anadarko, the biggest US independent oil company, this week set a record by committing to a rig six years in advance; commitments in the past were made months ahead of time rather than years.

Initial reports from companies are ominous. Global Santa Fe reported it could not find two of its rigs. Rowan Companies reported four rigs damaged, with two having moved, one losing its “legs” and the fourth presumed sunk. Noble has four rigs adrift, with two run aground one into a ChevronTexaco platform.

[ordinaryguy]

That is exactly what I was wondering about you.

What was the point of your suggestion, otherwise?

[WKB]

What was the point of your suggestion, otherwise?



IT WAS A JOKE
Are you a lawyer or an engineer?

[ordinaryguy]

No, and apparently you aren't a comedian. See, the thing about jokes is that they are supposed to be funny.

Thanks for your time.

[WKB]

Thanks for your time.



I wish I could say the same.

[dixiechick2000]

I thought it was very funny. ;o)

G'nite to you both.

[meyer]

Through June, less gas was used in 2005 than 2004.

The heating season wasn't the problem - it was the cooling season. We shattered our previous peak electric load this summer, two days in a row. We set weekend generation records, and week-long records. Many utilities had the same kind of results. We ran gas turbines more days this year than ever before. This was a very hot summer. You can see that the June consumption in 2005 already surpassed the same month in 2004 and the difference grew with the heat. July and August should show a marked increase. September probably would as well, though the effects of the hurricane on not only gas production but also electrical consumption likely weakened demand a bit.

[staytrue]

You won't need the drum.

In Ohio, my estimate is that passenger miles are down 30%.

The high prices are curtailing demand more than Rita curtailed production.

[lonewacko_dot_com]

Just yesterday came this:

"there was little sign of damage to the offshore infrastructure, according to the United States Coast Guard, whose initial survey found only two damaged drilling platforms and no traces of oil spills."

[Southack]

"Hurricane Rita has caused more damage to oil rigs than any other storm in history..."

...and yet, no oil spills from those offshore drilling platforms due to our modern safety technology, something the news media is reluctant to report (i.e. that drilling offshore is now safe)...

[snowsislander]

Do you think any of these people are missing?

http://gulfcoastnews.com/GCNKatrinaMissingList.htm

I thought that this link http://wx.gulfcoastnews.com/katrina/status.aspx on that page was even more interesting, having over 73,000 entries (of which it appears that quite a few are "missing" or "unknown" status), although I wonder how up-to-date it is.

There is also a similiar database maintained by the Red Cross; however, it appears to have migrated to http://www.katrinasafe.org/ which I don't see a listing capability on (the previous incarnation had a listing capability.)

[kittymyrib]

Since it is apparent that our oil industry is too vulnerable, being located in Hurricane Alley, the government needs to launch a new Manhattan Project to develop alternate fuel for our economy. While that is being developed, drilling needs to begin immediately in federal waters on our Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi have provided oil for the country for 60 years, and it's time the energy parasites on both coasts either kick in now or do without gasoline for their states. That Houston should have been WITHOUT GAS for its fleeing populace is a national disgrace after all the energy our state has provided for the nation. The people of CA, FL, and the entire eastern seaboard should be riding bicycles before that happens again.

[Dog Gone]

Yes, and I am also looking at photos of the Chevron Typhoon TLP production facility that is floating up-side-down

I don't think it's upside down. I think the superstructure has been knocked completely off and is somewhere in the location, but under 2000 feet of water.

This is not an insignificant loss. It had been producing 44,000 bbls of oil daily, and it will obviously be months before it can be returned to production.

[Tenega]

I don't think it's upside down. I think the superstructure has been knocked completely off and is somewhere in the location, but under 2000 feet of water.

Wrong. It's Typhoon and it has turned turtle. Chevron finally fessed up late Wednesday. Dow Jones and Platts have carried stories. "Mini" TLP designed for 40,000 b/d of oil and 60,000 Mcf/d of gas. Half-owned by BHP Billiton (Chevron operator). Bottoms-up Typhoon now secured 70 miles away from original location and leaking oil, from photos. I'd post pix if I could just figger out how @#$%.

[Dog Gone]

I was just going by the photos I've seen. Being capsized is marginally better than having the superstructure knocked off.

It still doesn't look upside down to me because I can't see any evidence of the subsea structure floating at the surface. But maybe it was a clean break.

[Tenega]

My hunch is Noble's floater that got loose and came with abt 2 miles of Typhoon may have been dragging anchors or cables that sheered off enough of Typhoon's six tie-down cables to let it bust free. From that posture, it would have been a sure bet to capsize, being top-heavy. Noble's rig was thought by some reports to have actually collided with Typhoon, but Noble got a retraction on that from Rigzone. Whatever, prolly sumbody go'n get sued. Here are URLs on some other nifty rig wrecks from Rita:

http://www.rigzone.com/news/image_detail.asp?img_id=2583&a_id=25600

http://www.rigzone.com/news/image_detail.asp?img_id=2582&a_id=25600

[Mr. Jeeves]

You can see the crane underwater in this shot:

And here's what Typhoon used to look like:

[FreedomCalls]

We had an oil platform wash in and got stuck under the Cockran-Africatown high-rise bridge here in Mobile Bay

[Tenega]

Here's an uncorroborated list of Rita rig casualties from an industry source. Grim. GSF=GlobalSantaFe. Keep in mind the replacement cost on a typical Gulf jackupnow is about $150-mil and on a semi, about $350-mil and rising.

Subject: FW: Hurricane Rita

Rig Updates

Jack-ups

GSF HIGH ISLAND 3 - Beached in West Cameron

GSF ADRIATIC 7 - Beached in Eugene Island

GSF ADRIATIC 4 - Sunk on location

ROWAN LOUISIANA - Beached in West Cameron

ROWAN FORT WORTH - Beached in West Cameron

ROWAN MIDDLETOWN - Missing

NOBLE JOE ALFORD - Beached in West Cameron

ROWAN HALIFAX - Beached in East Cameron

ROWAN ODESSA - Missing

Semis

NOBLE AMOS RUNNER - Aground in Vermilion

NOBLE MAX SMITH - Aground in Eugene Island

NOBLE PAUL ROMANO - Aground in Vermilion

NOBLE LORRIS BOUZIGARD - Adrift 240 miles out

NOBLE THERALD MARTIN - Adrfit 250 miles out

FALCON 100 - Aground

OCEAN SARATOGA - Aground

OCEAN STAR - Aground

TRANSOCEAN DEEPWATER NAUTILUS - Aground in South Timbalier

TRANSOCEAN MARIANAS - Aground in Eugene Island

Spars/TLPs CHEVRONTEXACO / BHP BILLITON - TYPHOON - Upside down in Eugene Island

[blam]

Hey, you found it, thanks for posting.

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

I never made the slope, we lived down on the Kenai for seven years, I worked offshore in Cook Inlet. Got transfered to Wyoming in 76, then to several other points from there.

A resume of our zip codes would led one to believe I could not hold a job in one place. Was lucky though, company transferred me a lot, but that also gave me many opportunities for new challenges.

When the patch fell apart in the late 80's debacle, (odd, John Q. Public with cheap gasoline and energy, cared not a damn for those hundreds of companies and tens of thousands workers that lost it all then) the writing was on the wall. Company was downsizing severely and offered me an enhanced early retirement, so I pulled the pin in 91 and lump summed out.

Always good to run into a fellow oil patch worker. May you keep her turning to the right with few wet strings to trip out.