news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050831/pl_afp/usweatheroilgulfrigs_050831213716
AFP 20 oil rigs missing in Gulf of Mexico: US Coast Guard Wed Aug 31, 5:37 PM ET 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 Ka trina 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 Re ed of the Louisiana Coast Guard told AFP. All of the missing rigs were in the Gulf of Mexico, Reed said citing Coas t Guard overflights of the area and information from oil companies. He could not confirm the location of the blaze but said it would "eventua lly burn out" and no fire-fighting intervention was needed. "We are of course working on the environmental side of things but right n ow we are still concentrating on search-and-rescue missions to save as m any lives as possible on land," said Reed, whose own Coast Guard team ha s been evacuated from the flooded city of New Orleans to Alexandria, Lou isiana. According to the latest tally Wednesday from the federal Minerals Managem ent Service, a total of 561 platforms and rigs have been evacuated in th e Gulf of Mexico, which accounts for a quarter of US oil production. Over 91 percent of normal daily crude oil production in the Gulf -- 15 m illion barrels -- is now shut down, and more than 83 percent of natural gas production, the MMS said. Among the firms reporting missing rigs was Newfield Exploration Company, which said an aerial survey of its operations in the eastern Gulf showed that one of its platforms at Main Pass 138 "appears to have been lost i n the storm". "As of this morning, boats and helicopters are mobilizing to better acces s damages, identify any environmental impacts and begin the repair proce ss," Newfield said in a statement. said its semi-submersible rig Noble Jim Thompson, which was c ontracted to a unit of Anglo-Dutch giant Shell, had broken loose and was 17 miles (27 kilometers) adrift of its normal Gulf location. Shell's giant Mars platform was said by analysts to have suffered "extens ive damage". "Some of our facilities have been damaged and production is halted while we begin assessments and run checks," Shell chief executive Jeroen van d er Veer said. On shore, at least eight refineries have been shut down on the coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi since Katrina roared ashore early Monday just east of New Orleans. Many other refineries are struggling to cope with shortfalls of crude cau sed by the closure of major port terminals and pipelines from evacuated and missing rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. In response, the US government prepared Wednesday to open its emergency o il reserves for the first time in a year to keep supplies running to tho se refineries still operating. The United States keeps 700 million barrels of oil stored in four undergr ound salt caverns on the Texas and Louisiana coasts to cushion oil marke ts during supply disruptions. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which was created during the 1970s oil s hocks, was last used after Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, when five m illion barrels of crude oil were released. "It's really getting critical in some situations," PFC Energy analyst Set h Kleinman said. "Until refiners are up and running, and pipelines have power and get prod uct up here, it's looking very precarious," he said. The government said that Katrina, one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the United States, would have only a "modest" impact on the economy .
Samuel Bodman said the White House decided late Tuesday to tap the reserve following a request from the oil industry. "Last night I approved a company's request for loan from the Strategic Pe troleum Reserve. I fully expect that the details of that loan will be re leased later today," Bodman told a press conference. Industry analysts expected the oil to be shipped to refineries further we st in Texas, which escaped unscathed from Katrina but are now running lo w on crude supplies because of production interruptions in the Gulf of M exico region. At least eight refineries have been shut down on the coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi since Katrina roared ashore early Monday just east of Ne w Orleans. Many other refineries are struggling to cope with shortfalls of crude cau sed by the closure of pipelines from rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, where o il production has ground to a virtual halt, and of major ports. Two of the Louisiana tanker terminals hit by the hurricane -- Port Fourch on and the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port -- combined handle more than 20 p ercent of all the crude oil imported into the United States. While additional supplies of oil will be helpful in keeping crude prices from reaching 80 dollars a barrel, the real supply constraints are with refined products made from crude, said Wachovia economist Jason Schenker . "There is no strategic government reserve of natural gas or refined produ cts, and right now the biggest concerns in the marketplace are for produ cts," Schenker said. "At the end of the day, it may not matter for gasoline and heating oil pr ices how much crude comes out of the SPR," he said. Oil prices have soared to new record highs above 70 dollars a barrel in t he hurricane's wake. The decision to open the US petroleum reserve calmed prices Wednesday, bu t analysts said the government's move would make little difference and p rices could easily rebound. "It is unknown how extensive the damage to the refineries is," said Tony Nunan, manager for energy risk management with Mitsubishi Corp's interna tional petroleum business in Tokyo. "If you don't have enough refining capacity, it doesn't help you with the crude oil," he said. But Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Whi te House, said opening the reserves would help companies "produce more g asoline and help alleviate some of the shortages". Speaking on the CNBC network, he acknowledged that times were "tough" for US consumers and businesses as petrol pump prices shoot up even more as a result of Katrina. "My guess is though that as long as we find that the energy impact is onl y temporary, and there is no permanent damage to the infrastructure ... the effects in the overall economy will be fairly modest," he said.
Federal Reserve president Anthony Santomero said the effects of Katrina were likely to im pede but not halt the economy. "The US economy has proven to be surprisingly capable of absorbing such s hocks, and after a short period, the effects of Katrina are likely to sl ow but not stall the forward progress of the national economy," he said. Several economists, however, fretted that Katrina could hurt growth in th e third quarter to September.
A run-away oil drilling platform called Ocean Warwick is washed ashor e on the Dauphin Island shores in Alabama. High winds and waves of from Hurricane Katrina pushed it ashore.
The infor mation contained in the AFP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Agenc e France Presse.
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