 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Energy, Oil & Gas
- I’ve heard there are oil spills in the parishes to the east and southeast of New Orleans. Is this true?
- What is the overall status of Louisiana’s oil and gas industry after Hurricane Katrina?
- Are there other areas of coastal Louisiana that are highly vulnerable to hurricanes?
- What impact did Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have on the country’s energy markets?
I’ve heard there are oil spills in the parishes to the east and southeast of New Orleans. Is this true?
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina there have been at least 10 major to medium oil spills reported (see table below), with the total volume spilled at 8 million gallons. These incidents resulted in the discharge of oil along the Mississippi River from Chalmette to Venice and west to Port Fourchon. Additionally, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) estimates that approximately 134 minor spills of less than 10,000 gallons have occurred and are being coordinated at this time. The Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office (LOSCO) reported that 3.1 million gallons have been recovered, and 3.7 million gallons have evaporated. By comparison, in America's largest oil spill, the Exxon Valdez dumped 11 million gallons into Alaska's Prince William Sound.
Facility, Location
(gallons)
(barrels)Murphy Oil, Meraux, La. Chevron Empire Terminal, Buras, La. Bass Enterprises, Cox Bay, La. Shell, Pilottown, La. Dynegy, Venice, La. Sundown Energy West, Potash, La. Sundown Energy East, Potash, La. Bass Enterprises, Point a la Hache, La. Shell Pipeline Oil LP, Nairn, La. Chevron, Port Fourchon, La. TOTAL On Nov. 5, 2005, the USCG announced that cleanup efforts had finished at the Shell-Pilottown tank farm. The Pilottown site, where approximately 1.07 million gallons escaped from damaged tanks and pipelines, is the first to complete clean-up. Approximately 950,000 gallons were held in secondary containment and recovered, with the remaining oil either evaporating or dispersing naturally. Clean-up continues at the following sites: Chevron Empire Terminal in Buras; Sundown East and Sundown West, both in Potash; Bass Enterprises Production Co. Cox Bay facility at mile marker 35 on the Mississippi River; Bass Enterprises Production Co. in Pointe a la Hache; Dynegy Venice in Venice.; Murphy Oil in Meraux; and Shell Nairn in Port Sulphur.
The 420,000-gallon spill in Meraux has attracted the most attention, but the largest spill was in the coastal marshes near Empire from a Bass enterprises facility, where two partially-filled storage tanks, both 16 feet high and 290 feet across, were smashed by 28 feet of Katrina flood water and moved 300 feet.
The storm surge from Hurricane Rita damaged containment booms and re-oriented oil spilt during Katrina but resulted in no additional major spills. As of Nov. 15, 2005, no additional major pollution incidents resulted from Hurricane Rita were reported. A few low lying areas remain flooded and assessments were still pending as of Sept. 28, 2005. The USCG reported one medium spill where a 130,000 gallon capacity diesel tank was moved three miles from its original position by Hurricane Rita, resulting in a leak of less than 30,000 gallons.
Additional Sources:
NOAA Office of Response and Restoration’s Incident News
Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office (LOSCO)(Don Davis, Louisiana Applied Oil Spill Research And Development Program and Justin Farrell, Louisiana Sea Grant College Program)) 4-6-06
What is the overall status of Louisiana’s oil and gas industry after Hurricane Katrina?
The largest portion of U.S. domestic oil and gas exploration, production, processing and distribution is located in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Much of this offshore and onshore infrastructure was damaged or disrupted by Hurricane Katrina, and additional damages will accrue from Hurricane Rita.
The ongoing status of this sector is tracked daily in a report provided by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), a division of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This report contains information on the effects of these storms on U.S. oil and natural gas energy markets. Specific information included in these reports include: 1) regional energy facts; 2) current percentage of shut-in oil and gas wells; 3) daily prices changes for crude oil, gasoline, heating oil and natural gas; 4) estimates of refinery capacity; and 5) status and outlook reports for energy resources.
The Minerals Management Service (MMS) also provides a current report of the oil and gas shut-in statistics related to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and a current estimate of the number of rigs currently evacuated due these storms. Information on specific rigs or individual companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico can be obtained by visiting the industry website “RigZone.” This site contains offshore rig damage reports, photos and general industry information.
http://www.electricity.doe.gov/about/about.cfm?section=about&level2=home
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/special/eia1_katrina.html
http://www.mms.gov
http://www.mms.gov/ooc/press/2005/press0921.htm
http://www.rigzone.com/(Rex Caffey, Louisiana Sea Grant College Program/LSU AgCenter) 9-22-05
Are there other areas of coastal Louisiana that are highly vulnerable to hurricanes?
As seen recently, the entire Louisiana coastline - from New Orleans to Cameron - is highly susceptible to hurricanes. Although Louisiana’s coastal marshes and barrier islands provide a front line of defense against storm surge, 90 percent of these wetlands are at or below sea level elevation. Furthermore, Louisiana is historically prone to major storm events. According to the LSU Hurricane Center, the central Louisiana coast has experienced landfall of more major hurricanes (Category 3 and above) than anywhere in the continental U.S. over the past century.
One area that escaped major damage from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita was Port Fourchon in lower Lafourche Parish. The national significance of this commercial port has grown rapidly in recent years. With the advent of Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) drilling technology, Port Fourchon has grown from two to 160 companies in the past two decades. Most of that growth has occurred since 1995 when the port was less than a third of its current size.
A direct hit on Port Fourchon by a major hurricane could have serious consequences to the U.S. domestic energy sector. Port Fourchon serves as the inter-modal support hub for 75 percent of Gulf of Mexico drilling, 16 percent of U.S. domestic oil and gas production and is the nation’s only offshore oil terminal, the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP). The vulnerability of Port Fourchon has been widely documented and was recently the focus of the Hollywood docudrama – “Oil Storm.”
The most hurricane-vulnerable aspect of Port Fourchon is LA Highway 1. This substandard, easily-flooded road serves the port and provides the only evacuation route for a population of 35,000 residents and 6,000 offshore workers. The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) recently initiated construction of a long-awaited overhaul of LA 1. The DOTD project replaces the current road with an elevated highway that will begin at Port Fourchon and stretch 17 miles northward to higher ground. For additional information about the LA 1 Project or Port Fourchon, check out these links:
http://www.la1project.com/index.cfm
http://www.la1coalition.org/home.html
http://www.portfourchonla.com/home.asp
http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/oilstorm/main.html(Rex Caffey, Louisiana Sea Grant College Program/LSU AgCenter) 10-8-05
What impact did Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have on the country’s energy markets?
Before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, energy markets were already on edge. Detailed information on the effects the hurricanes had on the entire range of energy production, processing and transportation facilities in the Gulf of Mexico can be found at the Louisiana State University Center for Energy Studies. A presentation titled The Impacts of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on Louisiana’s Energy Infrastructure and National Energy Markets by the center’s associate director, David Dismukes, shows the current status as well as the cumulative impact on supplies.
(Roy Kron, Louisiana Sea Grant) 10-10-05
For questions, comments or suggestions, please contact the Web Coordinator.