Gom Oil

GOM Oil Industry Starts Comeback

Following a nearly complete shutdown of the oil and gas business in the Gulf of Mexico in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, signs indicate a comeback is starting, slow but steady. According to a Reuters report, oil and gas operations recovered slowly on Wednesday, with oil companies struggling to contact all of their workers and assess damage to rigs. Refinery progress was slow but steady. Three of eight refineries that Katrina completely shut have returned either full or partially, including Marathon Petroleum Co. LLC's large 245,000 barrels per day (bpd) plant in Garyville, Louisiana. Offshore, oil and gas production has also been on the rise after Katrina shut nearly all output. Government figures as of Tuesday showed 58 percent of the Gulf's crude production and 41 percent of its gas production remained shut down. The U.S. Coast Guard has said a total of 56 Gulf offshore platforms have been lost or damaged. Reuters reported that natural gas production this year will drop by about 1.5 percent, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

ABS Supports Shell's Olympus TLP Acting as CVA

ABS has been named the design certified verification agent (CVA) for the Shell Olympus TLP, intended for installation on the Mars B field in the Gulf of Mexico's (GOM's) deepwater. The tension leg platform (TLP) will be built at Samsung Heavy Industries, Co. Ltd. in Korea. ABS was also selected as the fabrication CVA for the hull and topsides and the installation CVA for the hull, topsides, piles and tendons. Renamed Olympus (originally Mars B)

Plan to Stop Leaking GOM Oil Well

According to a report from Reuters, U.S. agencies on April 25 approved a plan to use remote-controlled underwater vehicles to seal a leaking oil well beneath a drilling rig that exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico last week. The well, 5,000 feet under the ocean surface off Louisiana's coast, is leaking about 1,000 barrels of oil a day. (Source: Reuters)

GOM Oil Spill, Multiple Companies Implicated

According to a May 8 report from the New York Times, Congress is preparing to hold hearings on the April 20 explosion that sank the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. Implicated are BP, the British company that leased the deepwater rig, Transocean, the rig’s owner and operator, Halliburton, which handled a critical procedure about a day before the accident, and Cameron International, which made the blowout preventer that failed to engage

Latest BSEE Update on GOM Oil Sheen

Statement from BSEE, April 16, 2012 as of 2:30 p.m. CDT   The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has confirmed that a modest amount of oil is being released from a natural seafloor seep previously suspected as the source of an oil sheen reported last week in the Gulf of Mexico. BSEE, along with natural seeps experts from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, viewed videotape from a remote operated vehicle survey deployed by Shell to make the final determination

Helix Hit Deepwater Oil in Gulf of Mexico

Helix Energy Solutions Group discover high quality pay oil in deep water 145 miles offshore from Galveston, Texas The Danny II exploration well was drilled to a total depth of approximately 14,750 feet, in water depths of approximately 2,800 feet. The well is currently being completed and most likely will be developed via a subsea tie back system to the company's 70% owned and operated East Cameron Block 381 platform located approximately 31 miles to the north in 370 feet of water

GOM Offshore Ops Returning to Normal

Oil and natural gas production levels and the number of workers on offshore rigs and production facilities were close to or at normal levels today as offshore operations resumed after the threat of Tropical Depression No. 10 passed late last week. Workers remained evacuated from three production platforms, or 0.4 percent of the 834 manned platforms in the U.S. Gulf. All personnel evacuated from rigs have been redeployed to the 89 rigs operating in the Gulf. Approximately 19.3 percent of U.S

Helix Announces Another GOM Find

Helix Energy Solutions announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Energy Resource Technology GOM (ERT) has made a second discovery in Garden Banks Block 506, approximately 145 miles offshore from Galveston, Texas, in 2,700 feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico. The 100% owned and operated "Danny" exploratory well has been drilled and wireline logs and repeat formation tests confirm the presence of high quality oil in a single sand body

Oceaneering Announces Vessel Charter

Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE:OII) has announced that it has entered into a five-year charter for use of the Cade Candies, a multi-service subsea support vessel owned by Otto Candies LLC.  The charter is expected to commence during the second quarter of 2013.   This state-of-the-art, U.S. flagged vessel was built in 2010.  It has an overall length of approximately 309 feet (94 meters), a Class 2 dynamic positioning system, accommodations for 69 personnel

GOM Production to Resume Soon

While U.S. officials expect 90 percent of the Gulf oil and gas production facilities damaged by Hurricane Katrina to be back on line in less than a month, gas prices will most likely remain elevated for some time as the supply rebuilds, according to a UPI report. The story quotes Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Rebecca Watson as saying 'Although Hurricane Katrina moved through a core area of offshore operations and damaged many production and exploration facilities