2008 Hurricane Season Preparations

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 less vulnerable; and second, to facilitate industry reliability by fostering collaboration among member companies and with federal, state and local governments and with other industries.

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.

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 liaison 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 protecting the environment during hurricanes – in fact, from 1996 to 2006 the industry invested $95 billion in environmental protection, or nearly $319 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 the Gulf Coast region is home to 46 percent of U.S. refining capacity.

Upstream (exploration and production)

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.                                                                    

The revised wind, wave and water current measurements (“metocean” data) prompted API to reassess its recommended practices (RPs) for industry operations in the region.  

• The upstream segment continues to integrate the updated environmental (metocean) data on how powerful storms affect conditions in the Gulf of Mexico into our offshore structure design standards.  This effort led to the publication in 2008 of a final update to RP 2SK, Design and Analysis of Stationkeeping Systems for Floating Structures, that provides guidance for design and operation of Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) mooring systems in the Gulf of Mexico during the hurricane season.  This update replaces API RP 95F, Interim Guidance for Gulf of Mexico MODU Mooring Practice. API RP 95J, Gulf of Mexico Jack-up Operations for Hurricane Season, was also updated and is no longer considered an interim standard. This standard recommends locating jack-up rigs on more stable areas of the sea floor, and positioning platform decks higher above the sea surface.

API publications are available at our  IHS/Global E-Store

API in the past two years also has issued a number of bulletins to help better prepare for Gulf hurricanes:

• Bulletin 2TD, Guidelines for Tie-downs on Offshore Production Facilities for Hurricane Season, is aimed at better-securing separate platform equipment.  
• 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, ocean 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.

Production and Hurricanes (steps industry takes to prepare for and return after a storm)

• Days in advance of a tropical storm or hurricane moving toward or near their drilling and production operations, companies will evacuate all non-essential personnel and begin the process of shutting down production.
• As the storm gets closer, all personnel will be removed from the drilling rigs and platforms, and production will be shut down. Drillships may relocate to a safe location. Operations in areas not forecast to take a direct hit from the storm often are shut down as well because storms can veer at the last minute.
• After a storm has passed and it has been determined to be safe to fly, operators will initiate “flyovers” of onshore and offshore facilities to evaluate damage from the air. For onshore facilities, these “flyovers” can identify flooding, facility damage, road or other infrastructure problems, and spills. Offshore “flyovers” can look for damaged drilling rigs, platform damage, spills, and possible pipeline damage.
• Once safety concerns are addressed, operators will send assessment crews to offshore facilities to physically assess the facilities for damage.
• If facilities are undamaged, and ancillary facilities, like pipelines that carry the oil and natural gas, are undamaged and ready to accept shipments, operators will begin restarting production. Drilling rigs will commence operations.

Refineries and Pipelines

Despite sustaining significant damage and supply outages during the 2005 hurricanes, the industry produced record amounts of fuels in 2007. The liquids pipelines operating on or near the Gulf of Mexico have done extensive reviews of their assets and operations since the 2005 hurricane. While there were some outages, supply disruptions were temporary despite extensive damage to supporting infrastructure such as electric power generation and distribution.

To prepare for future severe storms, refiners and pipeline companies have:

• 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.
• Secured backup generation equipment that may be positioned as needed and worked with federal, state and local governments to ensure that pipelines and refineries are considered “critical” infrastructure for back-up power purposes.
• 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.
• Provided additional training for employees, who have participated in various exercises and drills.
• Reexamined and improved emergency response and business continuity plans.
• Strengthened onshore buildings and elevated equipment where appropriate to minimize potential flood damage.
• Worked with the states to provide documentation to employees who need access to disaster sites where access is restricted by state and local law enforcement.

Refineries and hurricanes (steps industry takes to prepare for and return after a storm)

• Refiners and sometimes pipeline operators, in the hours before a large storm make landfall, will evacuate all non-essential personnel and begin the process of shutting down or reducing operations.
• Operations in areas not forecast to take a direct hit from the storm often are shut down or curtailed as well because storms can veer at the last minute.
• Once safe, teams come in to assess damage. If damage or flooding has occurred, it must be repaired and dealt with before the refinery can be brought back on-line.
• Other factors that can cause delays in restarting refineries include the availability of crude oil, electricity to run the plant and water used for cooling the process units.
• While some refiners have cogeneration plants that allow them to make their own electricity, it is often not enough to fully operate the facility. Other refiners rely solely on the power grid and have to wait until power is restored or they can get backup generators onsite. (Backup generators are generally stored away from the refinery so that they are not damaged by winds, rains or flooding.)
• Refineries are complex. It takes more than a flip of a switch to get a refinery back up and running. Once a decision has been made that it is safe to restart, it can take a day or two before the facility is back to full operating levels. This is because the process units and associated equipment must be returned to operation in a staged manner to ensure a safe and successful startup.
• If facilities are undamaged or necessary repairs made, and ancillary facilities—like pipelines that carry the oil and natural gas—are undamaged and ready to accept shipments, operators will begin restarting production.

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.