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Content:
   Michael Else

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   Hurricane Katrina and Rita Research 


 Satellite altimetry in the Gulf of Mexico on August 28, 2005 illustrating the heat stored in upper water layers in terms of the Tropical Cyclone Heat Potential (TCHP). Katrina’s track and intensity are shown as circles of different color and size. Source:  NOAA/AOML.

The heavy concentration of oil infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico,

one of the nation’s largest sources of oil and gas production, was dealt a one-two punch by category-5 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, causing destruction and substantial damage to offshore platforms within a four-week period in August and September of 2005. Based on central pressure, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were ranked as two of the ten most intense Hurricanes to ever hit the Atlantic Region and the greatest natural disasters to oil and gas development in the history of the Gulf of Mexico. 

Both hurricanes registered as category-5 storms with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph, peak wind gusts up to 235 mph and central pressure as low as 902 mbar. MMS estimates that 3,050 of the Gulf’s 4,000 platforms and 22,000 of the 33,000 miles of Gulf pipelines were in the direct path of either Hurricane Katrina or Rita resulting in the destruction of 115 platforms, damaged to 52 others, damage of 535 pipeline segments, and near total shut-down of the Gulf's offshore oil and gas production. Fortunately for all, due to the prompt evacuation and shut-in preparations made by operating and service personnel, there was no loss of life and no major oil spills attributed to either storm.

Hurricane Rita pictured here as a Category-5 hurricane on September 21, 2005.
Hurricane Rita pictured here as a Category-5 hurricane on September 21, 2005.
Another important measurement is the hurricanes' impacts longevity. Over nine months later, 22% of federal oil production and 13% of gas production remained shut-in resulting in the loss of 150 million barrels of oil and 730 billion cubic feet of gas from domestic supplies.

To aid MMS's effort to better understand these natural events and to prepare and protect our nation's energy supply against the devastating impacts that result, MMS funded the following four research projects through the Technology Assessment and Research (TA&R) Program. Click on the project number to link to a summary and status report.
 

Hurricane Katrina and Rita Projects
571 Loads Due to Extreme Wave Crests
578 Assessment of Fixed Offshore Platform Performance in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
579 Joint Industry Project to Study Risk-Based Restarts of Untreated Subsea Oil and Gas Flowlines in the GOMR
580 Hindcast Data on Winds, Waves and Currents in Northern Gulf of Mexico in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (2005)
581 Pipeline Damage Assessment from Hurricane Katrina/Rita
591 Evaluate Accuracy of Polyester Subrope Damage Detection Performed by ROVs Following Hurricanes and Other Events

592

 Connector Designs for Top and Bottom Tendon Connections

593

 Evaluate and assess the performance of jackup rigs that were subject to Hurricanes Katrina or Rita

599

 Joint Industry Project to Quantify Risks in Deepwater Production Facilities and Flowlines in the GOM
603 Stability of Tension Leg Platforms with Damaged Tendons
604 Evaluation of Fatigue Life Models and Assessment Practice for Tension Leg Platforms (Phase 1: Tendon System Fatigue)

605

 Cooperative Research on Extreme Seas and their Impact to Floating Structures

 609

 Reliability vs. Consequence of Failure for API RP2A Platforms Using RP2MET

In addition to the aforementioned projects, MMS is funding research through the Environmental Studies (ES) Program as identified below. Click on a topic heading to link to it's summary. Click on a topic heading to navigate to it's summary.
 
bullet Model Waves and Currents Produced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
 
bullet Post Hurricane Assessment of Sensitive Habitats of the Flower Garden Banks Vicinity
 
bullet Post Hurricane Assessment of OCS-Related Infrastructure and Communities in the Gulf of Mexico
 
bullet Spatial Restructuring and Fiscal Impacts in the Wake of Disaster: The Case of the Oil and Gas Industry Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
 
bullet New Study to Assess Hurricane Impact on Coral Reefs in Gulf of Mexico
 
bullet Impacts of Recent Hurricane Activity on Historic Shipwrecks in the Gulf of Mexico

For more information, please email Michael Else.

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Last Updated: 08/08/2008, 01:30 PM

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