Hurricane Lili Research

In October 2002, Hurricane Lili moved through the U.S. Gulf of Mexico with sustained winds reaching 145 miles per hour and waves exceeding or matching the 100-year design criteria of the oil and gas facilities in her path. With intensity reaching a full category four storm over the warm gulf waters, Lili made landfall on Louisiana shores as a category one.

A majority of the 4,000 oil and gas facilities in Federal waters were shut-down forcing evacuation of more than 25,000 workers. Of the 800 facilities lying in the direct path of Hurricane Lili, only six platforms (all age 20 years or greater) experienced substantial damage, two of which were submerged in place. Of the ninety-nine active drilling rigs, four experienced substantial damage. No fatalities, injuries or major pollution events were reported. A medium sized oil spill of 350-barrels was reported some 18 miles offshore Louisiana. The lease operator conducted emergency response to the spill and recovered an estimated one-third of the oil while the remainder dispersed due to weathering. In total, there were nine reported instances of pollution with the remaining eight being less than 3 barrels each.

The MMS Technology Assessment and Research (TA&R) Program initiated a program of research assessment and analysis of the damage to offshore facilities as a result of Hurricane Lili. Combining research from Lili with the knowledge gained from a similar 1992 MMS Hurricane Andrew Research Program has helped measure and evaluate the ability of current industry standards and MMS regulations to mitigate future hurricane impacts to facilities and environment. Click on a project number below to link to it's summary report.