20 oil rigs missing in Gulf of Mexico: US Coast Guard

[ECH1969]

WASHINGTON (AFP) - At least 20 oil rigs and platforms are missing in the Gulf of Mexico and a ruptured gas pipeline is on fire after Hurricane Katrina tore through the region, a US Coast Guard official said.

We have confirmed at least 20 rigs or platforms missing, either sunk or adrift, and one confirmed fire where a rig was," Petty Officer Robert Reed of the Louisiana Coast Guard told AFP.

All of the missing rigs were in the Gulf of Mexico, Reed said citing Coast Guard overflights of the area and information from oil companies.

Over 91 percent of normal daily crude oil production in the Gulf -- 1.5 million barrels -- is now shut down, and more than 83 percent of natural gas production, the MMS said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050831/pl_afp/usweatheroilgulfrigs_050831213716

[jackbourassa]

1. What's the price of crude at?

Last I checked it was $70 per barrel.

Also, will there be enough oil in Oil Reserve to cover it?

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. $68.90 down .90

[htuttle]

2. F*ck, they'd said it was only seven rigs lost earlier!

And twenty is how many are 'missing'. I wonder how many are actually 'operable'? Too soon to tell, but it sure doesn't look good.

[NYC]

30. I read 5 missing and 2 adrift.

... –Five offshore Louisiana oil rigs are reported missing and two more adrift in the Gulf of Mexico...

http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/083105cccawwldevelopments.4a2b4960.html

[FloridaPat]

3. Some oil engineer pointed out they were suppose to be built for 250 MPH

and they've been used in the North Sea that has that kind of weather all the time.

Sounds a little wierd.

[Ian David]

7. Maybe they've been stolen. Watch the flea markets for used oil platforms

[WillyT]

24. Damn... Them Looters Are Bad Ass !!!

:silly:

[complain jane]

36. LOL

[CoffeeCat]

28. I'll watch for them on Ebay! (nt)

[mom cat]

11. Does the North Sea have 200 mph winds?

[FloridaPat]

13. I know they get really bad storms up there during the winter.

[alcibiades_mystery]

16. LOL

Uh, no. The North Sea does not have 200 mph winds. :rofl:

[mom cat]

35. Precicely!

[Kagemusha]

5. It was said earlier plenty were adrift

"missing" may have an extremely broad definition here of "not being where they're supposed to be".

[kestrel91316]

10. Didn't they think to put radio "collars" on them for tracking???

[paineinthearse]

6. Petty Officer Robert Reed

Ever notice that Coast Guard spokespeople for all but the most political/top events are enlisted?

QM1 Paine :patriot:

[anotherdrew]

8. never heard of this sort of thing from previous storms... WTF?

20 rigs missing? that's not supposed to happen is it?

[ECH1969]

9. Remember the hurricane was a strong cat 5

when it hit alot of the rigs.

[silverweb]

12. Were personnel evacuated before the storm?

Don't the crews live on those rigs?

[FloridaPat]

14. They were all evacuated and shut down.

[silverweb]

33. Good!

At least they did that.

[uppityperson]

15. Looting is getting bad all right

[alcibiades_mystery]

17. I understand oil rigs aren't "necessary for survival" in a flood zone

:evilgrin:

[uppityperson]

21. They can be traded for food though.

:dilemma:

[alcibiades_mystery]

23. GAAAAAH

LOL

[rooboy]

19. I just bought an oil rig from a guy on the street.

Do you think it might be hot?

[Lerkfish]

18. funny. Notice they managed to search for and account for oil rigs...

but can't give casualty counts or find all the people or give them water or anything.

hmm...

priorities, eh?


dirty stinking rotten ratbastards.

[NinetySix]

20. FANTASTIC timing, too.

But at least Bush did his best to anticipate potential problems arising from a storm of the magnitude of Katrina making landfall in New Orleans, a major hub of Gulf oil production and refinement.

Oh, yeah, that's right. HE TOTALLY FUCKING DIDN'T. Don't worry, at least he can still jawbone OPEC.

[Scout1071]

22. Unbelievable.

I'm just stunned right now. This is going to be so hard on our economy.

[Sabriel]

25. Is there a reward? I found one in Alabama

?x=180&y=254&sig=AibpwKbnIDTosszEz_GAOg--

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

26. no one's mentioned---:WERE THERE PEOPLE ON THE RIGS?

people live out there--I used to work (as a summer job in college) on the tug boats that pulled anchors for the oil rigs-
The rigs are like little cities on the water--they're everywhere in the gulf--=

[Desertrose]

29. Thought I heard someone say earlier that no one was on any of the rigs n/t

[Auntie Bush]

31. I heard earlier that everyone...except the Captain was evacuated.

I wondered at the time if they were going to return for them or if they were going to remain on their rigs. I think someone had to keep them running. Sad thought. I hope you are right.

[natrat]

27. hard on the economy??

i just read there may be 80k people stuck and dieing in New orleans alone. Hard on the economy? there are alot of people tonight who may not be there tomorrow. I dont think too many folks down there care about any ridiculous greedy american economy.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4539500

[jayctravis]

32. Oh thank goodness they're on top of the oil rigs!!

We know how many are missing, now just to get the boats out and search for them!!













:mad: :sarcasm:

[beetbox]

34. More from an oil insider on the missing/damaged rigs

There are MANY production platforms missing (as in not visible from the air). This means they have been totally lost. I am talking about 10's of platforms, not single digit numbers. Each platform can have from 4 to 100+ wells on it. Most larger ones have 20-30 wells in this area, with numerous caisson wells. They are on their sides, on the bottom of the gulf - they will likely be left as reef material, provided we can get permission. MMS regulations require us to plug each of the wells that were on these platforms - HUGE cost now, as the platforms are gone... Hopefully, MMS will grant `abandon in place' status for these wiped out structures.

We also set individual wells as satellites and pipe them back to existing platforms. These stand-alone wells are called caisson wells. 90% of those in the storm path are bent over, rendering them a total loss, We would have to remove the existing bent structure and drill a new well, as bent pipe is basically unusable.

We utilize platforms as gathering hubs. We pipe the raw oil/water to them and then send it on for separation, or separate it there and send finished oil on. Damage to a hub means everything going to the hub is offline indefinitely. There are +/- 15 HUBS missing. MISSING!! As in we cannot find them from the air.

<>

Thus we have to reset each of the drilling rigs, which requires getting OUT of the well, tugboats and a move, then getting back into the well. The open hole we have drilled (what is not enclosed in cemented casing) is likely to be lost, and if the wellhead or the casing is bent, then the well will have to be redrilled. This is an exploration setback of at least a month, but we don't yet know the boat situation.

Boats are usually brought into harbor to weather storms. We do not have a boat count yet, but from the initial reports, we may have lost or grounded 30% of the Gulf of Mexico fleet. This means everything will cost more, take longer - repairs, repositioning, everything.

http://www.theoildrum.com/story/2005/8/31/83553/8973

[Extend a Hand]

37. 20 oil rigs missing in Gulf of Mexico: US Coast Guard

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050831/ts_alt_afp/usweatheroilgulfrigs_050831213642

WASHINGTON (AFP) - At least 20 oil rigs and platforms are missing in the Gulf of Mexico and a ruptured gas pipeline is on fire after Hurricane Katrina tore through the region, a US Coast Guard official said.
ADVERTISEMENT

"We have confirmed at least 20 rigs or platforms missing, either sunk or adrift, and one confirmed fire where a rig was," Petty Officer Robert Reed of the Louisiana Coast Guard told AFP.

All of the missing rigs were in the Gulf of Mexico, Reed said citing Coast Guard overflights of the area and information from oil companies.

He could not confirm the location of the blaze but said it would "eventually burn out" and no fire-fighting intervention was needed.

more http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050831/ts_alt_afp/usweatheroilgulfrigs_050831213642

This does not bode well for things to come. :scared:

[roguevalley]

38. The environmental pollution is going to be deeply grim. What the

hell? How in five years did it come to this?

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

39. So THAT"S where Bush is directing the services

[Extend a Hand]

45. sadly

I bet you're right.

[VADem11]

40. How much oil did they produce?

If they produced a high amount of oil, then this is bad indeed.

[tridim]

41. Fuck oil.. What a miserable substance

Kerry or someone needs to call for a "moon landing" type effort to get off the oil economy immediately. It's going to destroy the planet one way or another if we don't.

BE PROGRESSIVE DEMS!

[Extend a Hand]

43. The human misery

that will be brought about by an abrupt and protracted severe shortage of oil where available supplies are rationed by price is unfathomable.

I am praying that supplies will hold out until we can get a government that actually cares about its citizens.

[go freedom]

42. 20 oil rigs missing in Gulf of Mexico

Now we know what W was doing while the wind blew.

:)

[CottonBear]

44. Oh god. That's why no help has come to NO & the Gulf Coast.

I knew something was wrong when I saw the oil rig under the bridge in Mobile and the one washed ahore on Dauphin Island, AL.

Now we know four things:
1. What Cheney's been doing.
2. Why NO word from any * admin officials
3. Why * has been AWOL all week while people died
4. The cause of the HUGE gas chaos/anarchy in GA today.

:scared: This is the beginning of a very dark time for the USA.

edit: How much, if any, did the Al, MS and LA Govs and Senators know about this. This is a HUGE clusterfuck on the part of *.