Ike's toll on oil, gas rigs tallied

The following information comes courtesy of Jen DeGregorio at the New Orleans Times-Picayune:

Although Hurricane Ike appears to have gone easier on the offshore energy industry than Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the tally of damage to production facilities has mounted as government regulators further patrol federal waters.

Ike demolished at least 28 of the 3,800 oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, according to data released Tuesday afternoon by the Minerals Management Service, the federal agency that oversees offshore drilling. That is nearly three times the number of facilities thought demolished on Monday, although less than the 44 platforms destroyed by Katrina and 64 platforms totaled by Rita.

In addition, Ike destroyed three jack-up drilling rigs and severely damaged at least one other jack-up. The MMS also reported that two separate drilling rigs that were blown adrift on Sept. 13 were ultimately secured by tugboats.

Pride International Inc. reported Tuesday that one of its jack-ups went adrift in the Gulf and would likely result in a total loss for the company. It was unclear whether the MMS had included the Pride Wyoming in its rig count.

Although the MMS expects the casualty count from Ike to rise as the agency continues its inspections and gathers more information from the offshore industry, officials said last week's storm appears to have been less destructive than either of the 2005 hurricanes.

Mainly low-producing sites concentrated in shallow waters near the Louisiana shoreline, the destroyed platforms generated about 11,000 barrels of oil and 82 million cubic feet of gas per day. That is a relatively small share of the roughly 1.3 million barrels of oil and 7 billion cubic feet of gas drawn each day from the Gulf, which contributes about 25 percent of the oil and 15 percent of the natural gas produced domestically.

By comparison, Katrina and Rita tore through the deepest parts of the Gulf and mangled many of the country's highest-yielding offshore platforms.

Ike inflicted severe damage to other platforms and also battered natural gas pipelines, although the MMS could not offer details about the extent of such damage.

Meanwhile, offshore fuel production is still largely on hold more than four days after Ike pummeled the Gulf. On Tuesday, about 97 percent of oil and 84 percent of natural gas remained "shut-in," a term that describes the closure of underwater safety valves.

Production should pick up in the days ahead, as companies repopulate the 717 manned platforms in the Gulf. On Tuesday, 498 manned platforms remained vacant. Workers also remained evacuated from 71 of 121 rigs.

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Jen DeGregorio can be reached at 504.826.3495 or jdegregorio@timespicayune.com