Oil Spill Leaves Ships Stranded
The AP has reported that ships have been stranded, seafood sources threatened and the nation's oil reserve tapped as the result of 47,000 gallons of oil spilling into a southwestern Louisiana shipping channel, forcing its closure. The June 19 spill at a Citgo Petroleum Corp. refinery in Lake Charles forced the closure of the Calcasieu Ship Channel, a key lane for transporting petroleum in and out of the region's four refineries. About 11 miles of the channel remained closed Thursday. The entire 40 miles to the Gulf of Mexico had been closed. About 31,000 barrels had been cleaned up by Thursday, the Coast Guard said. A Citgo spokesman said the clean up was going well partly because a lack a wind kept oil patches in place and the dry, sunny weather was evaporating much of the oil.
Future Requirements for Shuttle Tankers in the Gulf
Ultra-deepwater plays in the Gulf of Mexico offer vast potential for oil and gas production. There are now more than 1,650 active leases in the Gulf of Mexico in water depths exceeding 5,000 ft. and, with 24 drill rigs capable of drilling at this depth now working in the Gulf, activity on these leases is about to take off. In a recent study, we have identified more than 160 fields in ultra-deepwater that are likely to be explored over the next 5 to 10 years and expect at least a third of these will ultimately be developed. Until now, pipeline has been used to transport oil from fields in the Gulf of Mexico to refineries along the Gulf.
