MMSSCIENCEVOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 MARCH/APRIL 2005

THE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL OF THE MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE

Titans of the Deep –Thunder Horseand Atlantis

MMS Followsthe Mission

DeepwaterOperations

PreproductionInspection

The Role of MMS

District OfficesEnsure ProductionSafety

GrowingSupportIndustry

Titans of the Deep –Thunder Horseand Atlantis

MMS Followsthe Mission

DeepwaterOperations

PreproductionInspection

The Role of MMS

District OfficesEnsure ProductionSafety

GrowingSupportIndustry

2 MMS OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

THE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL OF THE MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE

MARCH/APRIL 2005 Volume 2 Issue 2

3 From Start to FinishMMS Follows the Mission

4 Deepwater OperationsPlanning Prevents Problems

4 Review and VerifyThunder Horse Preproduction Inspection

5 Exploration and DevelopmentThe Role of MMS

5 District Offices Ensure Production Safety

6 Titans of the DeepThunder Horse Races to ProductionAtlantis – City on the Rise

8 Ensuring the SafetyPeople, Environment, and Property

9 Thunder Horse DedicationSecretary Norton Participates

10 Growing Support IndustryCreating New Opportunities and Challenges

12 New WavesLate-breaking News & Information

For more information about the Minerals Management Service, check out our site on the World Wide Web:

www.mms.gov

SubscribeTo receive MMS OCEAN SCIENCE, sign up on the website

www.gomr.mms.gov, click on e-mail subscriptions on the left-handcolumn, check the box marked Environmental Studies or e-mail

mary.boatman@mms.gov or call (504) 736-2781

MMSSCIENCE

MARCH/APRIL 2005 Volume 2 Issue 2

MMS OCEAN SCIENCE is published bi-monthly by the MineralsManagement Service to communicaterecent ocean science and technologicalinformation and issues of interest relatedto offshore mineral recovery, oceanstewardship, and mineral revenues.

Please address all questions,comments, suggestions, and changesof address to:Mary BoatmanMMS OCEAN SCIENCE EditorMinerals Management Service1201 Elmwood Park BoulevardNew Orleans, LA 70123

mary.boatman@mms.gov

(504) 736-2781

ABOUT THE COVERTop:

Thunder Horse topsides being assembled in Corpus Christi.Courtesy BP Exploration & Production.

Bottom: (L to R): Perry Jennings, Jarvis Outlaw,

Phil McLean, Bryan Domangue, Stephen Dessauer, JackSchneider, and Mike O'Brien, the MMS Thunder Horse

Preproduction inspection team and their guides.

All photos courtesy of Minerals Management Serviceunless otherwise noted.

Publication services provided by Schatz Publishing Group

3MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE MARCH/APRIL 2005

Left: The MMS inspecting the safety devices on thedeparting pipeline of the new Thunder Horse semi-submersible production platform.

Below: BP’s Thunder Horse Production, Drilling andQuarters unit (PDQ) at Kiewit’s Fabrication Yard,Ingleside, Texas.

“MMS inspectors carefully watch each phase.”

MMS FOLLOWS THE

MISSIONFROM START TO FINISHE

xciting recent developments intechnology for producing oiland gas have opened newopportunities in domesticsources of oil located in the

deepwater of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM).One facility that will begin productionthis year is Thunder Horse. This amazingfacility is projected to produce over twiceas much as what is normally considereda high-volume platform!

This issue of Ocean Science touchesthe different ways the MineralsManagement Service (MMS) works withindustry operations in the GOM fromthe beginning to the end of the oil andgas project cycle.

The MMS teams with oil and gasindustry players right from the start toensure that natural resources areprotected, taxpayers get a fair price onthe lease of U.S. lands, and the industryproduces safely. The MMS also movesinto a regulator mode to promote safetyand environmental protection and canintervene to shut down the project.

Before an oil and gas company canexplore for new oil deposits on the

each phase. An installed productionfacility drawing first oil is also frequentlyinspected and regulated by MMS. Finally,an old facility that is no longer usefulwill also be regulated by MMS, whetherdismantled or approved for use as anartificial reef for sea life.

The MMS keeps up with cutting edgetechnologies in relatively new fields,such as deep, ultra-deepwater, andshallow-water deep gas production sothat workers in these fields enjoy thehighest possible safety standards bothfor themselves and the surroundingatmosphere, ocean waters, and oceanfloor.

With its diverse, talented team ofscientists, engineers, and professionals,MMS is a dedicated to an importantmission in the GOM: stewardship of theocean environment while securing theenergy supply and the best economicvalue for the Nation. This issue is packedwith information on how MMS workswith industry to achieve this mission.

Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), theymust share their plans with MMS. Leasesare approved through MMS and a fairprice is determined. Once a companyhas determined the site of an oil and gasdeposit and wants to begin explorationand development, they must submitseveral sets of plans in increasing detailso that MMS can examine them forcompliance with Federal regulations andsound practices that minimize anypotential harm to humans and theenvironment.

While a production platform is beingbuilt, MMS inspectors carefully watch

Atlantis floating production platform underconstruction in Korea. Photo courtesy of BPExploration & Production.

4 MMS OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

PLANNING PREVENTS PROBLEMS

DEEPWATER OPERATIONSOffice of Structural and TechnicalSupport, Technical Assessment andOperations Support, the FieldOperations Plans Section, Leasing andEnvironment office, Field OperationsPipeline Section, and the District office,review the documentation of thesephases. The DWOP is reviewed for itscompliance with the Code of FederalRegulations, and safety, equipment, newinnovations, and environmentalconcerns.

One production facility goingthrough the DWOP process is BP’sThunder Horse. Currently, thePreliminary DWOP and twoamendments to it have been approved.

MMS inspectors examine the incoming flowlinerisers of the Thunder Horse semisubmersibleproduction platform.

The Deep Water Operations Plan(DWOP) is designed to addressindustry and MMS concerns by

allowing an operator to know, well inadvance of significant spending, that hisproposed methods of dealing withsituations not specifically addressed inthe regulations are acceptable to MMS.The DWOP provides MMS withinformation specific to deepwater/subsea equipment issues to demonstratethat a deepwater project is beingdeveloped in an acceptable manner asmandated in the regulations. The MMSreviews deepwater development activitiesfrom a total system perspective,emphasizing the operational safety,

THUNDER HORSE PREPRODUCTION INSPECTION

REVIEW AND VERIFY

The Minerals Management Service(MMS) inspects oil and gasproduction facilities at every

stage, from planning to post-operations.A preproduction inspection of theThunder Horse facility was recentlyconducted by an MMS team consistingof Facility Engineers Stephen P. Dessauer,Bryan Domangue, and Jarvis Outlaw, aswell as Inspectors Perry Jennings andPhil McLean.

The normal process for the review ofoffshore production facility applicationsentails analyzing schematics of safetysystems, piping systems, fire-fightingsystems, electrical systems, etc., to beinstalled on a production facility. Oncethe review is completed, preproductioninspections are conducted in the field toverify physical installation of the safetysystems as outlined in submitteddocuments.

“For the smaller facilities, the teamusually just consists of a facility engineerand an inspector. For large deepwaterplatforms, it’s normally a total of three,

but in this case we had three facilityengineers and two inspectors,” saidDessauer, explaining that the team forthe Thunder Horse was larger than usualbecause the facility is so big.

The inspection of Thunder Horselasted five days. The team inspected thecontrol room in the Production,Drilling, and Quarters (PDQ) and madesure all the required safety devices werepresent. They also checked the livingquarters for smoke detectors, gasdetectors, and other safety devices.

Production equipment was alsoinspected during the visit. Some of thecomponents the team inspected are:

• Incoming and departing pipelinesand their safety devices

• Separators • Glycol contactor • Fuel gas system • Recovered oil system • Sump system • Chemical and water injection system • Emergency shut-down stations

The MMS inspectors and a guide on the heliport ofthe Thunder Horse platform in Ingleside, Texas. Inthe background is the derrick.

environmental protection, andconservation of natural resources.

There are three phases to the DWOPprocess: conceptual, preliminary, andfinal. Several MMS offices, including the

The operator of an oil and gas facilitybenefits from the preproductioninspection process. “The good part isthat, if changes need to be made, it’seasier and cheaper to make themonshore than offshore. Also, it’s good todo the preproduction inspection in theshipyard, because the people whodesigned the equipment are usuallyonsite to answer any equipment-relatedquestions,” states Dessauer.

The MMS inspectors work withoperators to protect the workers on theoffshore facilities and the environmentthat surrounds them.

5MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE MARCH/APRIL 2005

EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT

THE ROLE OF MMS

As with all production projectsin the Gulf of Mexico (GOM),

BP Exploration & Production,Inc.’s (BP) Thunder Horse projectbegan with exploration. Before itdrilled the first well, BP submitted anExploration Plan (EP) to the MineralsManagement Service (MMS). The firstEP for Mississippi Canyon Blocks 776,777, and 778 was approved in 1998. Aseparate EP for Block 822 wasapproved in 1999. The EP’s wererevised and eventually 12 moreexploratory wells were approved byMMS.

The purpose of an EP is to helpMMS, in accordance with the OuterContinental Shelf Lands Act, todetermine if any proposed activities willcause harm to life, national security,property, other mineral deposits (leasedor not), or the coastal, marine, or humanenvironment. In addition, MMS reviewsEP’s to check for compliance withFederal laws and regulations (such as theClean Air Act, Endangered Species Act,Coastal Zone Management Act, and theNational Environmental Policy Act).Finally, MMS ensures that the

District Offices Ensure Production Safety

Safety is a critical component of oil and gas production, especially inoffshore facilities. The Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) DistrictOffice with jurisdiction in a particular platform’s location is in charge of

reviewing and approving production safety systems. Some of the documentsreviewed in this process include Facility Mechanical Flow Diagrams, Safety FlowDiagrams, Facility Electrical Classification Diagrams, Safety Analysis andFunction Evaluation (SAFE) Charts, and Facility Safety Equipment LocationDiagrams. There are several Federal regulations and standards these documentsmust comply with, and the District Office reviews all of these documents toensure compliance.

A sampling of the various Federal regulations and industry standardsreviewed against these documents by the District Office include

The District Offices of MMS play a vital role in ensuring safe drilling,production, and living quarters by reviewing platform safety systems andsharing these findings with producers.

Title 30 CFR 250 Subpart HTitle 33 CFR Subpart ITitle 33 CFR Subpart N

API RP 14CAPI RP 14FAPI RP 14FZ

API RP 14GAPI RP 500API RP 505

How are blocks named? The name associated with a specificBlock is based on a unique geologicalfeature located within that area, suchas a basin, canal, or canyon. All namesare approved by the U.S. Board ofGeographic Names. The MMSMapping and Boundary Branchperform complex computations andprepare various maps and diagrams ofthe area in accordance with Federalregulations. The number following theindividual area block name within thearea is based on these computations;for example, Mississippi Canyon AreaBlock 776 or MC 776.

subsea wells. Conservation, safety, andenvironmental reviews are in eachDOCD. In addition to the regular safety,conservation, and environmental reviewsgiven to every plan, MMS prepared acomprehensive EnvironmentalAssessment of the activities proposed inthis DOCD, because it was the firstproduction facility in the area. Thisincluded an assessment of theenvironmental impacts of not only thisproject but also future similar projects.

Exploration for oil and gas is asexciting today as it was in the earlydays. With MMS there every step of theway, today’s oil and gas industry isoperating safer than ever for all humanand ocean life.

exploration will not unreasonablyinterfere with other uses of the area(such as fishing) or other oil and gasoperations, create hazardous or unsafeconditions, create pollution, or disturbany site, object, or structure of historicalor archaeological importance.

The Thunder Horse DevelopmentOperations Coordination Document(DOCD) to develop the reservoirsdiscovered during exploration was filedin October 2002 and approved by MMSin March 2003. This approval includedinstallation of the platform, 10development wells, and 17 remote and

An MMS inspector examines a console in thecontrol room of the Thunder Horse platform.

6 MMS OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

Thunder Horse Facts• Thunder Horse is the largest semisubmersible floating production, drilling, and

quarters (PDQ) unit in the world.• Location: Approximately 150 miles southeast of New Orleans• Processing capability: Oil - 250,000 barrels of oil per day

Gas - 200 million cubic feet per day• Size of main deck: 367 x 446 feet – bigger than a football field!

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THUNDER HORSERACES TOPRODUCTION

Ask an oil producer how mucha large production facility in

the Gulf of Mexico (GOM)would produce each day,and you’re likely to get an

answer of about 100,000 barrels of oil perday (bpd). That’s an estimate for a high-producing offshore platform. However, a new facility expected to begin produc-tion this year, Thunder Horse, is about tochange the definition of “large” in the oiland gas industry. This monster facility isprojected to produce an incredible250,000 bpd. By comparison, the entirestate of Wyoming only produced 144,000bpd in 2003!

In 2003, of the total GOM produc-tion, about 60 percent of oil and 30percent of natural gas produced werefrom GOM deepwater. Only 10 yearsago, deepwater production was relativelyrare. Several major projects in the GOMhave a projected combined productionof 580,000 barrels of oil and 510 million

cubic feet of gas each day. One of thoseprojects is the Thunder Horse field.

The Thunder Horse field, about 150miles from New Orleans, is an excitingdiscovery for those in the oil and gasindustry. Found in 1999, the field islocated 6,000 feet below the oceansurface and is the largest GOM discoveryso far. The field is actually two separatereservoirs: Thunder Horse North (Missis-sippi Canyon 775, 776, 819, and 820)and Thunder Horse South (MississippiCanyon 777, 778, 821, and 822).

BP Exploration & Production, Inc.(BP) operates the project with

ExxonMobil Inc. as partner. Over 100new and remarkable technologicalinnovations are part of the projectthrough a joint effort of BP and industrysuppliers. These new solutions weredeveloped to handle the special chal-lenges associated with deepwater work.

This astonishing facility, the result ofa successful partnership betweenindustry and the Minerals ManagementService, is an innovative project that willsignificantly increase our Nation’s supplyof domestically produced oil and gas formany years to come. Thunder Horse istruly one of the Titans of the deep.

7

Atlantis Facts• Atlantis Field is about 130 miles

south of New Orleans in the Gulf ofMexico.

• Operator is BP Exploration &Production, Inc. with BHP BillitonPetroleum Deepwater as partner.

• Atlantis field is located on the edge ofthe Sigsbee Escarpment.

• Production should begin in the thirdquarter of 2006 and should last about15 years.

shallow water in the GOM will be over 2 million barrels a day…a huge boost tothe domestic energy supply of theNation.

The MMS works with industry tomake sure new facilities such as Atlantisproduce abundant energy for the Nationfrom domestic sources while protectingthe environment and making suretaxpayers get a fair price for Federal landleases.

MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE MARCH/APRIL 2005

Record Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Production Projections

Atlantis floating production platform under construction in Korea. Photo and artist rendition courtesy of BPExploration & Production.

completed in 2006, it will be the largest, highest capacity,deepwater pipeline system in the world.

The Minerals Management Service(MMS) estimates that, by 2006, oilproduction from both deepwater and

ATLANTIS – CITY ON THE RISE

Another Titan of the deep

is Atlantis, one of the largestdeepwater gas discoveries

made to date. BP Explora-tion & Production, Inc.

(BP) is the operator of this field alongwith a partner, BHP Billiton PetroleumDeepwater. This field is projected to gointo production in late 2006, with aproduction life of approximately 15years.

The field was discovered in 1998 andis located about 130 miles from thecoastline of Louisiana in 6,500 feet ofwater. The projected production capacityfor Atlantis is enormous: 150,000 barrelsof oil per day and 180 million cubic feetof gas each day!

A new deepwater innovation solvesthe problem of how to get oil and gasfrom platforms located far from thenearest pipeline. Atlantis will be servedby a new transportation system designedto carry the oil and gas to its destination.When the system’s construction is

8 MMS OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

PEOPLE, ENVIRONMENT, AND PROPERTY

ENSURING THE SAFETY

Houston, Texas, is the most frequentlyused CVA for floating productionprojects in the GOM.

Lynnda Pekel, the ABS ProjectManager for Atlantis, emphasizes thatthe society’s primary mission is safety:“We care that things out there (in the

GOM) are safe. We are not employees ofthe government or the oil company. Westay with our own mission, which is thesafety of people, the environment, andproperty. This goes hand in hand withMMS’s own mission.”

The MMS requires that a CVA benamed for projects that use non-traditional technology. The CVA is paidfor by the company but reports to MMS.Contracted by British Petroleum, theoperator of the Thunder Horse andAtlantis fields, ABS provides MMS with astatus report at each step of the project.According to Kent Dangtran, the

Many types of industriesuse third-partycompanies to assist inachieving andmaintaining

compliance with existing industrystandards. For example, large companiesmay use outside accounting firms toaudit and verify compliance withaccounting standards. In the oil and gasindustry, outside organizations may beused to verify compliance with industryand regulatory safety standards. TheMinerals Management Service’s (MMS)structural safety program for offshore oiland gas production platforms usesCertified Verification Agents (CVA) forthis purpose.

A CVA is an organization that is notallied with either industry or agovernment agency. It is a third-partyorganization that helps MMS andindustry in determining that structures inthe Gulf of Mexico (GOM) meetappropriate safety standards.

A CVA organization is nominated bythe gas and oil lessee and approved bythe MMS Regional Supervisor, Office ofField Operations. The operator of aGOM production project chooses anapproved CVA to provide reports toMMS. The engineers conducting thereview must be licensed ProfessionalEngineers (PE). Once a project iscomplete and installed, the CVA’s work isfinished in that capacity. Other agencies,such as the U.S. Coast Guard, may usereports from the CVA. Though they maynot have regular involvement once aproject is complete, CVA’s may also helpMMS and operators in special situationssuch as hurricanes.

The CVA for the Atlantis and ThunderHorse projects is American Bureau ofShipping (ABS). Founded in 1862 tocertify ship masters, it is now aninternational classification societyestablishing standards for the design,construction, and operationalmaintenance of ships and offshorefacilities. Other companies also do CVAwork; however, ABS, headquartered in

Thunder Horse Project Manager for ABS,“There are three phases to each CVAprogram: design, fabrication, andinstallation. We get involved from thebeginning. We look at the piping, theelectrical system, structural stability, everyfacet of the design and construction. Wewrite a CVA report at the end of eachphase back to MMS, describing what wehave done to verify structural adequacyand conformance with the relevantstandard, and we recommend MMSaccept, reject, or accept (that phase of theproject) with noted conditions.”

Dangtran said that some phases, suchas the design and fabrication phases,may overlap.

“We bring an international teamapproach to the project to avoidduplication and smooth the overalldevelopment,” said Dangtran. Eachengineering design verification teamreviews the calculations and drawings ina specific area, such as the topsidesstructure. Once the design has beenapproved, fabrication of the hull andtopsides takes place in shipyards. BothThunder Horse and Atlantis areinternational projects, as their hullswere/are being fabricated in Korea, withtopsides constructed in Morgan City,Louisiana, and final assembly in CorpusChristi, Texas. Pekel noted that ABS hasthree separate teams of surveyorsreviewing work at the three different sitesduring the fabrication phase, but overallcoordination is maintained by theProject Manager.

The hull, the topsides, and the piles(how the structure is anchored to theseafloor) are the three separate sectionsof the project to be reviewed. “Whathappens on Atlantis is that each elementwithin the structure goes through thosethree phases (design, fabrication,installation). We’ve been working on itsince 2002 and the project won’t goonline and start producing oil and/or gasuntil 2006. It’s very spread out. To makesure we keep MMS informed, we file alot of intermediate reports with theagency.”

The Thunder Horse Project Manager for ABS, KentDangtran, discusses the project in a meeting.

…to verify compliance withindustry and regulatory

safety standards.

9MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE MARCH/APRIL 2005 9

ABS will also have teamsinspecting the installation ofThunder Horse and Atlantis. ForThunder Horse and Atlantis, theinstallation will take place in twophases, the piles and theplatform itself. Dangtran saidthat there is typically one teamfor the platform and one teamfor the piles. Each team reportsits findings to ABS, which in turnfiles a collated report to MMS,detailing progress andaccomplishments according tothe approved designs. At the endof each phase, including

Lynnda Pekel, the Project Manager forAtlantis, works in her office at ABS.

installation, the CVA reports toMMS, recommending that theagency accept, reject, or acceptthe project with conditions.

CVA companies work towardthe same goal as MMS: to protectthe environment, people, andproperty. The MMS is alsoresponsible for making sure thattaxpayers get a fair price for thelease of government land andensure that the Nation issupplied with energy in a timelyand safe fashion.

SECRETARY NORTON PARTICIPATES

THUNDER HORSE DEDICATIONincentives toenergy companiesto take thefinancial risk ofexploring indeepwater anddeep-shelf areas ofthe GOM. Theseincentives, whichtake the form ofroyalty relief,ensure taxpayers afair return whilemaking it worththe risk forcompanies to pursue hard-to-reachreserves.

The DOI expects the incentives toboost peak oil production in the GOMby 43 percent and natural gasproduction by 13 percent over the nextdecade.

“We estimate the deepwater regionsof the Gulf may contain over 56 billionbarrels of oil equivalent,” said MineralsManagement Service Director Johnnie

Burton. “Huge deepwater projects likeBP’s Thunder Horse and others areexpected to increase our Gulf productionto more than 2 million barrels per daywithin the next two years. The ThunderHorse project is contributing not only tothe Nation’s energy security but also toits economy by providing thousands ofjobs,” she said.

Department of the Interior (DOI)Secretary Gale Norton recentlyjoined British Petroleum officials

in dedicating the Thunder Horseplatform, which will be used to tap intoa huge reserve of oil and gas deep underthe Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

The Thunder Horse platform is about50 percent larger than the next largestfloating semisubmersible rig in theworld. It includes advanced technologythat will enable it to process 250,000barrels of oil and 200 million cubic feetof natural gas per day – enough energyto provide daily energy needs for 6.5million American homes.

The energy used by the platform itselfwill be produced from natural gas fromthe field below. To maximize efficiency,the platform will capture waste heatthrough heat recovery units. This energywill then be used in the productionprocess.

Under the President’s NationalEnergy Plan, DOI has been providing

DOI Secretary Gale Norton participates in thededication of Thunder Horse, the world’s largestoffshore oil platform.

10 MMS OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

In 1933 a prototype was created forthe world’s first submersible oilplatform. This design, called

“Giliasso” after the patent holder andinventor Louis Giliasso, was based on aconcept by G.E. McBride, who wascredited with envisioning the world’sfirst submersible oil platform. The designincluded barges as floating vessels thatcarried a platform for equipment and arig or derrick. It was to be towed to thedrilling location and sunk, where itwould act as a foundation for an above-water platform.

This new platform design wasrevolutionary and the beginning ofmany new exciting advances for the oiland gas industry during that period.However, the development of new waysto drill for oil also presented newchallenges, such as how to house a crewon a marsh and how to store andtransport the oil with no pipeline nearby.

These challenges gave rise to asupport industry that still grows andchanges today, right along with the oiland gas industry companies. Twointeresting areas of such growth arefabrication yards and ports.

The largest producing offshore fixedplatform is Shell Offshore’s Bullwinkle,at 1,615 feet tall. Compare it to the SearsTower, the largest building in NorthAmerica, at 1,450 feet. As offshore rigs get larger with the exploration ofdeepwater, the fabrication yards must bebig enough to handle such massivestructures. Two of the largest yards are J. Ray McDermott’s Morgan City facilityat 287 acres, and Gulf Island Fabricationat 250 acres, both located in Louisiana.

Most fabrication yards specialize inproduction of a particular type ofplatform or component, such as livingquarters, decks, or modules. Only 12yards along the Gulf coast can makeplatforms for over 1,000 feet of water.Almost all fabrication facilities areinterdependent, as few complete entireprojects in their own yard, but insteadrely on outsourcing. Traditionally, yardshave been located onshore with wateraccess, but some are locating offshore toprovide components nearer to theplatforms they serve, becoming whatmight be viewed as a sort of industryversion of a convenience store.

While fabrication yards enjoy successwhen the industry’s production booms,they also feel the bust times. In anattempt to prevent the loss of skilled

CREATING NEW OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

GROWING SUPPORT INDUSTRY

Above: Cable used for moorings.

Fabrication yards are privatebusinesses along the coast that buildcomponents, such as jackets (the web ofmetal under the water on a fixedplatform), platforms, and special areassuch as housing for work crews who goon the platforms. As of 2001, there wereover 40 fabrication yards on the Gulf.

Taking a Look at Right-of-Way Pipelines

Before pipelines that carry petroleum products from a rig to dry land areinstalled, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) evaluates the pipelinestructure and infrastructure through a detailed set of permits.

Pipelines requiring that right-of-ways be granted are called right-of-way(ROW) pipelines. The ROW pipeline review process helps MMS ensure that thepipelines are compliant with MMS regulations, the Outer Continental ShelfLands Act, and other Federal laws and regulations.

When reviewing the Thunder Horse ROW pipelines, MMS evaluated thepipelines’ ability to withstand pressure; cathodic protection systems andinternal and external coating systems that are meant to protect the pipelinefrom corrosion; safety flow schematics for safety devices on the pipelines; theroutes of the pipeline; any environmental impact of pipeline activities; theapplicant’s qualifications, filing fees, rentals, and financial security; andmodification and repair requests once the pipelines are in use.

The MMS helps the oil and gas industry by ensuring that pipelines are assafe and efficient as possible, which ultimately improves the industry’s bottomline and protects the environment.

11MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE MARCH/APRIL 2005

labor when there is no oil rig work to bedone in yards, some yards are attemptingto diversify their products.

Another group immediately affectedby the industry’s ups and downs are theNation’s ports. Because almost 44percent of total waterborne commerce inthe U.S. is attributed to petroleum andpetroleum products, ports are vital to thesmooth flow of these products in andout of the country. Of the two types ofports (deep-draft seaports and inlandriver and intracoastal waterway ports),deep-draft seaports can accommodateoceangoing vessels that serve offshoreplatforms.

These ports are needed not only forships carrying petroleum products, butalso for support vessels such as deskbarges, drilling tenders, pipe carriers,salvage tugs, supply vessels, wellstimulation vessels, and anchor-handling

tugs. Once a platform is operational,continued support, such as food,personnel, and maintenance equipment,is required from the coast.

As in the fabrication industry, therapidly advancing technology andchanging needs of the oil and gasindustry are putting greater demands onthe Nation’s ports. First, as vessel sizesincrease, so does the need for deeperchannels. Second, the volume of trademoving through ports is increasing.Third, ports must consider theenvironmental impact of expandingtheir operations. Finally, funds must befound to provide capital improvementsfor these ports, most of which are run bylocal or State government.

Other ripple effects include the needfor better infrastructure on land, such asbetter and wider highways to avoid

Above: Port Fourchon, Louisiana.

bottlenecks when the product istransported inland. Even public schoolsare affected by the influx of workers toport cities, straining the capacities oflocal schools. Increased commercecauses a need for increasedinfrastructure, balanced by a need toprotect the environment from rapidexpansion.

The Minerals Management Serviceleads the way in managing the finebalance between facilitating the growthof commerce for the Nation’s economichealth and protecting the environmentalhealth of the OCS (Outer ContinentalShelf). To learn more, see the MMSreport OCS-Related Infrastructure in theGulf of Mexico Fact Book athttp://www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/whatsnew/techann/2004/2004-027.html.

MMS OCEAN SCIENCEMinerals Management ServiceMail Stop 54311201 Elmwood Park BoulevardNew Orleans, LA 70123

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PERMIT NO. 1ADDISON, IL

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Domestic EnergySupply

NEW WAVESLate-breaking News & Information

Piratic flycatcher from Mexico stops to reston an offshore platform. This is the fourthknown occurrence of this bird’s migration.

Study Offers Insight into Migratory Birds and PlatformsEvery year during the spring and

fall, hundreds of millions of birdsmigrate across the Gulf of Mexico(GOM). These migrations haveevolved despite the absence ofnatural islands that could serve as astopover site on the route ofmigration. The installation ofartificial islands in the form of oiland gas production platforms overthe past five decades has provided animportant aid for trans-Gulfmigration.

Recently, the MineralsManagement Service (MMS) fundeda project to study the spring and fallmigrations of these birds and the

influence of oil and gas platforms ontrans-Gulf migration. Over the courseof this three-year study, observerslived on 13 platforms during thespring and fall migrations. The studyaddressed a series of questions,including the following: Whichspecies are migrants? Are therespecific migration routes? When domigrants use platforms for stopoversand how does the timing of platformuse relate to seasonal and dailytiming and weather? Do migrants useplatforms in predictable ways?

The study found that platformsappear to be a suitable stopoverhabitat for most species, and most of

the migrants that stopped over on theplatforms benefited from their stay,particularly in spring. The migrantsused the platforms in nonrandomways and the structures facilitated thetrans-Gulf migration by providing“steppingstones” across the Gulf ofMexico.

Read more about this study athttp://www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/whatsnew/stories/BirdsonWing.html.MMS 2005-009, Interactions BetweenMigrating Birds and Offshore Oil andGas Platforms in the Northern Gulf ofMexico.