Ike destroys oil facilities, damages pipelines

[KoKo]

Source: MSNBC

Ike destroys oil facilities, damages pipelines
At least 10 affected after preliminary survey, damage worse than Gustav

At least 10 affected after preliminary survey, damage worse than Gustav
The Associated Press
updated 6:00 p.m. ET, Sun., Sept. 14, 2008

HOUSTON - Hurricane Ike appears to have destroyed a number of production platforms and damaged some of the pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico, federal officials said Sunday.

Fly-overs revealed that at least 10 production platforms were destroyed by the storm, said Lars Herbst, regional director for the U.S. Minerals Management Service.

“It’s too early to say if it’s close to Katrina- and Rita-type damage,” Herbst said.

There are about 3,800 production platforms in the Gulf, including 717 with full-time staffs aboard.

The MMS says Hurricane Katrina destroyed 44 platforms three years ago, and soon after Hurricane Rita destroyed 64.

Herbst stressed the assessments were preliminary, but the damage appeared far worse than that caused by Hurricane Gustav two weeks ago.

Specifics about the size and production capacity of the destroyed platforms were not immediately available.

In additional to pummeling platforms, Katrina and Rita also damaged about 150 pipelines that gather and transport oil and natural gas from offshore wells.

Herbst said the aerial inspections showed Ike damaged several large pipelines, but the extent of the damage was not known.

Since just before Gustav’s arrival two weeks ago, nearly 100 percent of Gulf Coast crude production has stopped, or about 1.3 million barrels per day. About 98 percent of all natural gas production is on hold.

There was limited production between storms, but that ended as Ike approached.

-snip-

More than half of Texas’ refineries have been shut down by Ike, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26706452/




Read more: URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26706452/

[eowyn_of_rohan]

1. in what way were the pipelines "damaged"

oozing crude into the Gulf?

[Blaze Diem]

3. ohhh..not good for the Off Shore Drilling mantra of McSame & Palin.

We need somone other than the oil company inspectors out there inspecting the situation..
Like the oil co.'s would tell us the truth if there was oil leaking into the gulf.

[Spouting Horn]

19. Did you know crude

(a natural substance) seeps from the ocean floor in massive amounts (naturally)?

[Blaze Diem]

21. Then why all the big to-do when the Valdez sprug a leak?

hmm. Guess there is no threat to off shore drilling.
we can all relax.

[billyoc]

4. The shut-in procedures are pretty good, they hate losing their precious oil.

[KoKo]

6. There was one report on MSNBC early this a.m. that oil was leaking

from one facility...(Presser with Governor said they hadn't inspected all facilities yet)and the rest of the day the Cables seemed to do little reporting on Ike...leaving it to pictures from yesterday with just a little update. One would have thought the "Day After" there would have been more info. I guess they were holding this..given that they knew the financial markets would get hit with the Lehman, Merrill-Lynch, AIG news tonight.

[happyslug]

18. The pipelines are the lines from the rigs to the shore.

Most of those pipelines were shut off BEFORE Ike left Cuba. Most such pipelines are design to operate below ground, and if now exposed are unsafe for oil (the pipe is design to use the dire to help maintain its shape, no dirt, less ability NOT to break. In simple terms if the pipe is above ground and it was NOT design NOT to be above ground the pipeline is "damaged" and must be repaired (i.e reburied).

Another set of problems are above ground pipes whose support beams have been undermined. These must also be repaired. No one is going ot send nay oil down any pipeline without first looking them over at ground level. Then looked at again with a load of water to look for any leaks. Then the oil will be shipped. This has nothing to do with environmental concerns, oil is to valuable to be lost so some sort of review will be done. Both a visual review and a water test can be done quickly and repairs almost as quick. Unless some major repair is needed (i.e. a whole piece of pipeline washed away) the pipelines can be up in about two weeks.

[Blaze Diem]

2. Predictions on the price of Oil anyone??

I hear its below $100 pr barrel.
Odds it will go up again because of this?

Or will we see it hold steady till after the elections.

[Up2Late]

11. Probably not, stock piles are way up due to lower demand caused by the $140 per...

...it's all just a big Casino game to them.

[ben_meyers]

5. Oil down 1.63, gas futures down 10.06

In early trades.

http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/commodities/energyprices.html

The fix is in people!

[truthisfreedom]

7. Which is why we need more offshore drilling, right?

(total sarcasm)

[radfringe]

13. YEAAAA.. let's build more TARGETS in the Gulf

In an energy speech this summer, McCain said that:

"As for offshore drilling, it's safe enough these days that not even Hurricanes Katrina and Rita could cause significant spillage from the battered rigs off the coasts of New Orleans and Houston."

The hurricanes totally destroyed 113 oil rigs, according to the government's Minerals Management Service, and damaged 457 pipelines. The resulting oil spills were large enough to be seen from space, according to several reports. - Washington Post

[farmboxer]

8. Big Oil just wants an excuse to raise prices.

That's it folks!

[Mz Pip]

9. So more drilling will help

how, exactly???

Seems to me that this is a perfect example as to why we should be weaning ourselves from dependancy on oil - not just foreign oil, but any oil. Ours included.

Having our own oil really doesn't do us much good in situations like this.

[Lithos]

10. I agree here...

Drilling offshore will only mean that instead of a foreign power, we are now holding our energy systems hostage to the weather. One despot for another. Neither are acceptable solutions. We need to find a way to wean ourselves form this dependency.

L-

[meowomon]

12. We've known this for decades.

Why are people so happy to keep feeding the beast? What kind of legacy are we leaving the children of the future?

[Skwmom]

14. But offshore drilling baby, offshore drilling. That's why I'm voting for the

man that actually thinks before he goes off half cocked.

Instead of jumping on the "build nuclear plants" bandwagon like McStupid, Barack Obama actually thinks we should figure out what to do with the toxic waste beforehand.

[tpsbmam]

15. Sadly, this will be used to buttress McAddled/Palin's drilling call......

if anything, they'll use it to say they were right. They'll say that we need to diversify, have this crap in other locations so we're not so affected by one storm. Now if there are massive oil spills (and we actually hear about them) that could change the argument, or not depending on the breadth and depth of the stupidity in America.

[Stuart G]

16. This headline is misleading...for explaination please link....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4003089&mesg_id=4003089

[LeftHander]

17. Drill BABY Drill!! - Throw more money to bottom of the ocean! nt

[intheflow]

20. I don't understand why I'm the first to rec this.

We're talking MAJOR environmental contamination down there. The Texas Coast--and particularly that area of the coast--is the largest concentration of oil and petrochemical facilities in the US. You think NOLA and the Mississippi Coast was bad after Katrina? I'm telling you, this is environmental damage on a near-Biblical scale. Not that we'll ever hear how bad it is in the CM. :grr: