Content:
   Michael Else

Pagemasters:
   OEMM Web Team

Hurricane Andrew, a Category-5 storm with sustained winds of 165 mph, pressure of 922 mbar, and 60-foot waves quickly became the most destructive U.S. hurricane on record as it passed through the Gulf of Mexico on August 24 and 25, 1992. Of the Gulf region’s 3,900 federal offshore oil and gas facilities, 700 structures experienced Andrew’s intense storm center before making landfall along the south-central coast of Louisiana. Andrew remained the most devastating natural disaster in U.S. history until surpassed by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005.

Twenty-two of the regions mostly older facilities were felled during Andrew with 65 others sustaining significant damage. The majority of these platforms, designed to resist 25-year storms with deck heights of 35 to 40 feet above sea level, were no match for Andrew’s powerful waves. For newer platforms built in the 20 years prior to Andrew and designed to meet 100-year storm events, deck height specifications allowed for waves as high as 72-feet to pass resulting in only minor topside damage due to Andrew’s high winds.

Following Andrew, 95 percent of the federal offshore daily production of 13 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 750,000 barrels of oil shut in during the storm was back on-line in less than four months. No casualties or injuries were reported and fewer than 500 barrels of oil were spilled. Of the amount spilled, nearly half was recovered through oil-spill response efforts. No measurable oil reached the Gulf's shores and no wildlife was reported as having been harmed by these spills. Much of this success was credited to the automated production shut-in devices and procedures initiated by oil and gas operator’s, thus demonstrating the sound technology, engineering, and safety and environmental standards being utilized by industry and government to safeguard the offshore environment.

Recognizing the new benchmark that Andrew provided, industry, regulators, and standards writing organizations realized the importance of continuing their quest to design offshore structures and systems to withstand future and possibly more destructive events. To assist, MMS funded the following research projects through our Technology Assessment and Research (TA&R) Program. Click on a project number to link with a project summary report.

 

Hurricane Andrew Projects
193	Study and Hindcast of Wind and Wave Fields for Hurricane Andrew
199	Hurricane Andrew Calibration Study
203	Performance of Safety and Pollution Control Devices in the Aftermath of Hurricane Andrew (Part of the Hurricane Andrew OCS Damage Assessment Program)
204	Post Mortem Platform Failure Evaluation Study
206	Shallow Water Wave and Current Field Study
207	API/Hurricane Foundation Study
209	Development of Acceptance Criteria for Caisson Structures Damaged During Hurricane Andrew
210	Hurricane Andrew Effects on Offshore Platforms
224	Dynamic Non-linear Loading Effects on Offshore Platforms
229	Hurricane Andrew Effects on Offshore Platforms (Phase II - JIP)

In addition to the aforementioned research, MMS funded the following research through our Environmental Studies (ES) Program. Click on the topic heading to navigate to it's summary.