Oil Industry Faces First Post-Katrina Test
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Oil Industry Faces First Post-Katrina Test
The petroleum industry invested vast amounts of time and money since 2005 preparing for the next big blow, and it may be on the way.
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(August 29, 2008)--The petroleum industry spent vast amounts of time and money since the catastrophic hurricanes of 2005 trying to make sure it's better prepared for the next big blow and it may be on the way in the form of Hurricane Gustav.

Since 2005, the industry has put in stronger moorings for offshore production platforms, deeper pipelines, increased supplies of backup electricity, water and other supplies.

Gustav. appears to be headed for the northern Gulf of Mexico, home to a complex web of platforms, pipelines and refineries in a region that produces roughly 25 percent of the nation's oil and 15 percent of its natural gas.

Projections show Gustav arriving early next week as a Category 3 storm, striking anywhere from the Florida Panhandle to Southeast Texas.

After Katrina and Rita in 2005, the industry realized simply repairing damaged rigs wasn’t enough, so the companies that own the platforms, drill the wells and manage the pipelines spent hundreds of millions of dollars to improve and strengthen their operations.

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National Hurricane Center Web Site

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Latest Comments

Posted by: Chris D Location: Chaulk Bluff on Aug 30, 2008 at 03:39 AM

Well, that's great they spent all that money safeguarding their platforms. They are just gonna pass the maintenance costs on to the consumer anyway. I wonder how much those repairs are cost us per gallon?
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