MMS

SCIENCE

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 3 

MAY/JUNE 2005

THE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL OF THE MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE

New & Old 

Energy Frontiers

Potential Energy

Resource

The Heart of

Science

Natural Seeps

Sampled

LNG – The Cool

Natural Gas

Beaufort Sea

Lease Sale

The Icy Road to

Exploration

Project 

Deep Spill

Our Nation’s 

Energy Future

Petronius

Weathers 

the Storm

New & Old 

Energy Frontiers

Potential Energy

Resource

The Heart of

Science

Natural Seeps

Sampled

LNG – The Cool

Natural Gas

Beaufort Sea

Lease Sale

The Icy Road to

Exploration

Project 

Deep Spill

Our Nation’s 

Energy Future

Petronius

Weathers 

the Storm

Then...

Now
2 MMS OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

THE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL OF THE MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE

MAY/JUNE 2005 Volume 2 Issue 3

3 New & Old Energy Frontiers

4 Potential Energy Resource

Assessing Gas Hydrate Reserves

4 The Heart of Science

National Science Teachers Association

5 Natural Seeps Sampled

Fingerprinting Seeps in the 

Santa Maria Basin

6 LNG – The Cool Natural Gas

7 Beaufort Sea Lease Sale 

Brings Unexpected Success

8 The Icy Road to Exploration

North to Alaska

9 Promoting Rapid Response

Project Deep Spill

10 Our Nation’s Energy Future

Deep Gas Could Ease Natural Gas 

Price Spikes

11 MMS Checks It Out

Petronius Weathers the Storm

12 New Waves

Late-breaking News & Information

For more information about the Minerals Management Service, 

check out our site on the World Wide Web:

www.mms.gov

Subscribe

To receive MMS OCEAN SCIENCE, sign up on the website

www.gomr.mms.gov, click on e-mail subscriptions on the left-hand

column, check the box marked Environmental Studies or e-mail

mary.boatman@mms.gov or call (504) 736-2781

MMS

SCIENCE

MAY/JUNE 2005 

Volume 2 Issue 3

MMS OCEAN SCIENCE is published 

bi-monthly by the Minerals

Management Service to communicate

recent ocean science and technological

information and issues of interest related

to offshore mineral recovery, ocean

stewardship, and mineral revenues.

Please address all questions,

comments, suggestions, and changes

of address to:

Mary Boatman

MMS OCEAN SCIENCE Editor

Minerals Management Service

1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard

New Orleans, LA 70123

mary.boatman@mms.gov

(504) 736-2781

ABOUT THE COVER

Top: Crewboat approaching oil 

drilling platform and tender (1948). 

Photo courtesy of Mr. Roy Smith.

Bottom: The Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) 

Ocean America, built in 1988. 

Photo courtesy of Diamond Offshore.

All photos courtesy of Minerals Management Service

unless otherwise noted.

Publication services provided by 

Schatz Publishing Group
MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE MAY/JUNE 2005 3

W ENERGY FRONTIERS hat is now an industry

that generated $8

billion in oil and gas

royalties for the U.S. in

2004 alone had its

beginnings in 1896 off a pier in

California, when H.L. Williams built a

wharf that extended about 300 feet into

the ocean and erected a drilling rig.

Offshore drilling began over 50 years

later when Kerr-McGee completed the

first offshore well from a fixed platform

out of sight of land in the Gulf of

Mexico (GOM). Then, in 1953, the

framework of the modern offshore

drilling industry was formed when the

Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands

Act assigned leasing and regulation

responsibility for offshore energy and

mineral resources to the Department of

the Interior and ultimately to the

Minerals Management Service (MMS).

Although the first offshore discovery

wells were erected in the GOM, fields in

other offshore areas followed. The first

Pacific offshore drilling and production

platform was erected five years later, in

1958, followed by the first Alaskan

Prudhoe Bay discovery in 1967.

As oil demand has increased,

production and exploration on the OCS

have gone higher and deeper. The record

for production was set in 1998 in the

Ursa field in the GOM, and in 2000 the

world record for deepwater drilling from

an anchored rig in the GOM was set at

7,790 feet. But, as with all records, these

were meant to be broken. New records

include a GOM gas flow record from

Shell’s Mensa well at 143 million cubic

feet per day and a world water depth

drilling record at 10,011 feet of water

from the drillship Discoverer Deep Seas.

Today, there are more than 4,000 oil

and gas production platforms in the

GOM and off the coasts of Alaska and

California providing 23% of the natural

gas and 30% of oil produced

domestically in the United States. The

U.S. continues to import two-thirds of its

energy needs. Research sponsored by

MMS and its academic and industry

partners is seeking to discover new and

alternative energy resources, such as gas

hydrates, to offset our Nation’s reliance

on foreign oil and gas supplies. As

history proves, new resources, methods,

and discoveries will be found and new

records broken as we explore new and

old frontiers.

& OLD NEW The first platform

installed out of sight of

land in 1947 by KerrMcGee. The platform

operated for 37 years and

produced 1.4 million

barrels of oil and 307

million cubic feet of

natural gas.

Above: White band of hydrate in the sediment. 

Inset: Model of methane molecule with a ‘cage’ of

water molecules surrounding it. Photo and diagram

courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey.

The Deepwater Pathfinder. Photo courtesy of Transocean.
4 MMS OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION

THE HEART OF SCIENCE

by proclaiming to be “Deep in the Heart

of Ocean Science” – and the teachers

loved it.

The NSTA conference has, and continues to be, an excellent venue for MMS

to educate the American people about

the MMS energy mission, our trust

responsibilities, and monies we collect

and distribute. The teachers were

impressed when they learned that MMS

oversees the safe and clean production of

over one-third of the Nation’s energy

Each year, members of the National

Science Teachers Association

(NSTA) assemble to attend workshops, discuss current research data, and

meet with colleagues to talk about classroom activities that motivate children to

learn science. This year, the NSTA met in

Dallas with the theme “Deep in the

Heart of Science.” Over 12,000 teachers

from all 50 states and some 20 countries

attended, making it the largest gathering

of science educators in the world.

Minerals Management Service (MMS)

representatives have been attending the

annual conference for 10 years, telling

the teachers about ocean science, distributing energy education material, and

encouraging teachers and students to

visit the Kids Page portion of mms.gov.

This year, MMS played on the 

NSTA theme at the MMS display booth

and has collected some $150 billion over

the past 22 years.

At the Dallas convention, MMS released “The New DOI: Our Ocean Role”

poster designed by the MMS Environmental Division. The poster was well

received as teachers were eager to learn

that MMS oversees some 300 million

acres of onshore land, but were surprised

to learn about the Federal lands located

on the Outer Continental Shelf. The fact

is that most folks think of parks and

land management and not about 1.76

billion acres that are under water.

The Gulf of Mexico Regional 

Office’s new “Shipwrecks of the Gulf of

Mexico” poster was also a big hit, as

were other MMS educational materials,

such as “Tidepool Math,” the Drilling for

Oil game, “Ocean Energy,” and a new

12-page catalog of all the MMS

educational materials.

Potential Energy Resource –

Assessing Gas Hydrate Reserves

Gas hydrates represent a vast potential energy resource

for the United States. In fact, it is estimated that the

amount of gas hydrates available worldwide is more

than the amount of conventional carbon resources known

today. Because of the probability that large-scale production

of gas hydrates will be developed within the next 10 to 20

years, the Minerals Management Service (MMS), in its role

as manager of the Nation’s offshore mineral resources, has

undertaken an assessment of the extent of the gas hydrate

resource available in the United States.

Gas hydrates look and act like ice, but they are crystalline

solids that consist of gas molecules, usually methane,

surrounded by water molecules. Because the molecules are

so densely packed, they can store large quantities of

methane. Much less is known about the birth of hydrates

than is known about conventional gas origins, making any

method of assessment a challenge.

“The formation of gas hydrate accumulations,” says

Pulak K. Ray, Chief Geologist with MMS, “is geologically

much different than that of conventional oil and gas

deposits and perhaps more akin to the formation of

sedimentary ore deposits or hydrothermal deposits.”

Because of this difference, MMS has “adopted a

methodology (currently being refined) that is a

simplification of the size/number model at the core of the

‘prospect-counting’ play analysis approach, with a change in

the emphasis on volumetrics,” says Ray.

The identification of the amount of gas hydrate reserves

in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as in Alaska, represents a step

toward the large-scale development of this potentially

important energy source. With more knowledge about the

scope of those reserves, MMS will be better able to

determine fair market value for the resources, ensuring that

the development of our natural resources will be profitable

for all.

Ocean 983

(includes dissolved

organics, and biota)

Land 2,790

(includes 

soil, biota,

peat, and

detritus)

Fossil fuels

5,000

Gas hydrates

10,000

Atmosphere 3.6

Distribution of methane gas on the earth’s surface. 

Numbers are in gigatons (1015 tons) of carbon.

Dr. Fred Pilz, MMS Pacific Regional Office, explains

the MMS posters to teachers attending the Dallas

conference.
adequately distinguish between the

closely related Monterey Formation oils. 

The Monterey Formation rock is

known as a “glassy” chert, known for its

tendency to

shatter like glass.

Geological

processes cause it

to shatter, forming

cracks that may

lead to the surface.

Oil changes as it

travels up these

cracks from deep

oil reservoirs to

the surface; it is these changes that allow

chemists to differentiate between

naturally seeping oil and produced oil.

One product of the study will be a joint

fingerprinting library, which will be used

by scientists to determine the origin of

an oil spill, whether from a natural seep

or a man-made source.

Hundreds of oil samples and tarballs

are chemically analyzed and grouped on

the basis of biomarker ratio similarities.

Values of the ratios are represented by

degree of color on a blue to red scale

and statistically grouped into one of

eight groups.

On the October 2004 offshore field

survey, seeps in three parts of the

Channel were sampled and found to be

surprisingly different. Numerous natural

seeps were discovered on the ocean floor

near Point Conception; these seeps are

characterized by heavy tar and no gas.

Tar seeps in this area form hardened

“cones,” which are colonized at the base

by anemones and other invertebrates.

These cones are often associated with

long ribbons of “fresh” tar 10-15 feet

long, which break off and float to the

ocean surface.

MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE MAY/JUNE 2005 5

FINGERPRINTING SEEPS IN THE SANTA MARIA BASIN

NATURAL SEEPS SAMPLED

Geologists estimate that 

over a hundred barrels of

oil seeps out of natural

cracks in the seafloor 

every day offshore

California as it has for thousands of

years. These seeps are common along the

coast of California, notably in the Santa

Barbara Channel near Coal Oil Point. As

part of the Minerals Management

Service’s (MMS) Environmental Studies

Program, MMS has partnered with U.S.

Geological Survey (USGS) and the

County of Santa Barbara to locate and

fingerprint seeps found in the western

Santa Barbara Channel and southern

Santa Maria Basin. 

Active tar seeps have been located

using “sniffer” surveys (surveys that

detect the presence of oil or gas in the

water column) so that scientists can

collect samples of tar directly from seeps

on the ocean floor. Tarballs are also

being collected systematically on nearby

beaches, and oil samples are being taken

from offshore production platforms as a

part of the study. 

These samples are being fingerprinted using a new biomarker procedure

developed by USGS. The procedure

allows chemists to group oil samples

and predict more accurately the origin of

a sample of oil from this region.

Previous chemical techniques could not

Left: Rainbow sheen evidence of natural seeps.

Below center: Tar sample recovered by ROV.

chert (chûrt) n. A very fine-grained rock formed

in ancient ocean sediments. It often has a semiglassy finish and is usually white, pinkish, brown,

gray, or blue-gray in color.

Tar “whip” 

discovered offshore

Point Conception.
6 MMS OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

Energy Bridge: World's First Deepwater

Liquefied Natural Gas Port

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is typically transported by a tanker built

specifically for that use. Each new 3 billion cubic foot (Bcf) capacity tanker costs

about $260 million. The LNG cargo is cooled by using a small part of the cargo,

or boiloff (0.15 to 0.25 percent per day), and burning it as boiler fuel. Once the

tanker arrives at its destination, the LNG is regasified on the ship and the gas is

transferred to existing pipelines on the seafloor.

The first of these facilities has been developed by Excelerate Energy. Excelerate

Energy's Gulf Gateway Energy Bridge is the world's first deepwater LNG port to

commence operations. The terminal, which is located 116 miles off the coast of

Louisiana in 298 feet of water, will deliver about 500 million cubic feet of

natural gas per day of regasified LNG into the pipeline grid via the Sea Robin and

Blue Water subsea systems.

The United States imported LNG from several countries in 2003: Trinidad

and Tobago, 378.07 Bcf; Algeria, 53.42 Bcf; Nigeria, 50.07 Bcf; Qatar, 13.62 Bcf;

and Oman, 8.63 Bcf.

Excelerate Energy's Gulf Gateways Energy Bridge buoy compartment.Photo courtesy of Excelerate Energy.

liquefying, transporting, and regasifying

it. All four of those facilities are open

again and the downturn suffered by LNG

facilities in the 1970’s and 1980’s is over,

as LNG imports to the U.S. from 1995 to

2001 increased by more than 13 times.

LNG is natural gas that has been

cooled or “frozen” through a cryogenic

process into a liquid. It can then be

pumped into insulated tanks for transportation by railcars, trucks, or ships.

When the LNG reaches its destination, it

is stored in a cryogenic storage tank that

has a stainless steel inner core and a steel

or aluminum outer tank. The LNG can

also be taken directly to a regasification

unit. These units use seawater or air to

reheat the LNG until it reverts to gaseous

natural gas.

Currently, the most common use for

LNG is “peak-shaving” for local power

and gas companies. Peak-shaving occurs

LNG

THE

NATURAL 

GAS According to the U.S.

Energy Information

Administration (EIA),

the U.S. could face a shortfall in supply

of natural gas of about 5 trillion cubic

feet (Tcf) by 2020. Gas supplies to meet

that demand can be brought in from

Canada, the Gulf of Mexico, and Alaska

through existing pipelines, but how does

one import natural gas from countries

where there are no connecting pipelines?

The answer may be liquefied natural gas

(LNG). In fact, the National Petroleum

Council estimates that, by the year 2025,

as much as 25 percent of all U.S. natural

gas supplies will come from LNG.

LNG has been produced and used by

some countries for decades. Japan,

currently the leading LNG importer with

48 percent of the world’s annual usage,

acquires LNG from the Kenai, Alaska,

terminal, which was constructed in

1969. When the cost of processing LNG

became too costly, some LNG receiving

facilities in the U.S. fell into disuse in the

1970’s. However, with the current rising

demand and decreasing supply of

natural gas in its original form, countries

and energy companies are taking a

second look at LNG.

Of the four LNG import terminals in

the continental U.S., three were formerly

closed because of lack of demand for

LNG and the high costs associated with
FOR OR MORE MORE INFORMA INFORMATION:

MMS Map and Information 

on Proposed Offshore 

Receiving Terminals in GOM

Website: www.gomr.mms.gov/

homepg/offshore/LNG/

lng_index.html

Energy Information

Administration (EIA) 

Analysis of LNG

Website: www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/

servicerpt/natgas/

chapter3.html

An Examination of the

Development of Liquefied 

Natural Gas Facilities 

on the Gulf of Mexico

Website: www.gomr.mms.gov/

homepg/regulate/environ/

ongoing_studies/gm/

GM-92-42-112.html

MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE MAY/JUNE 2005 7

attractive option, since offshore

terminals can avoid some higher costs

associated with coastal terminals. One

method for processing and delivering

LNG from an offshore terminal is

regasifying LNG onsite and distributing

it through a major company’s existing

offshore and coastal pipelines. Another

method is to receive the LNG at the

offshore terminal, load it on a tanker

with regasifying capabilities, and then

discharge the now-regasified product to

an undersea pipeline.

The Minerals Management Service

(MMS) is partnering with the U.S. Coast

Guard, the lead agency, in reviewing the

impacts from placement of offshore

LNG facilities. Pipelines used to

transport the gas are permitted and

inspected by MMS. Through oversight

and partnership, MMS will continue to

ensure that LNG is not just a “cool”, 

but a safe energy source.

when gas demand spikes (for instance,

during the winter heating or summer air

conditioning season) and cannot be met

through the utility’s typical pipeline

source. Stored LNG can be converted

from its liquefied state back to its

gaseous state to supplement the utility’s

pipeline supplies.

LNG’s use is not limited to cities that

have access to offshore or coastal receiving terminals via pipeline. More remote

areas of the U.S. without pipeline access

can use LNG as back-up fuel for peak-use

days by transporting it by truck and

storing it for those occasions. While propane currently serves this purpose in

many cities, LNG is safer and does not

require blending with the pipeline stream

like propane. Another possible niche use

for LNG is a trailer-mounted regasification unit that can meet demand in

emergencies or other special situations.

New technologies make locating 

new receiving terminals offshore an

Beaufort Sea Lease Sale Brings Unexpected Success

T he Minerals Management Service (MMS) Beaufort Sea

Sale 195 was highly successful. On March 30, MMS’s

Alaska office received $46,735,081 in high bids on 121

blocks, covering about 619,000 acres. This was the largest

number of bids and money

exposed at any Alaska

Outer Continental Shelf

(OCS) sale since 1988. The

big surprise of the sale was

that Shell Offshore

returned to Alaska in a big

way, with 86 bids for over

$44 million. Armstrong

Alaska picked up 21 blocks,

ConocoPhillips 12, and

North American Civil

Recoveries Arbitrage

(NACRA) 2. The sale 

high bid, by Shell, was

$12,220,173 on a

Hammerhead Prospect

block. Companies were

reminded of the

requirement of

coordinating all activity

with the subsistence

whaling communities, 

if activities might affect 

the annual bowhead 

whale hunt. The sale area was contiguous to that offered 

by the State of Alaska in its recent Beaufort Sea sale. All 

high bids are now under fair market value review to decide

bid acceptance.
8 MMS OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

NORTH TO ALASKA

THE ICY ROAD TO EXPLORATION 

Satellite photo of Alaska and adjacent seas. 

A

n arctic, ice-dominated

environment, like that in the

Beaufort Sea on the northern coast of Alaska, imposes

very different technological challenges from those faced in

other Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)

regions. The arctic presents formidable

challenges, such as remote locations,

fragile landscapes and wildlife, and

extreme temperatures (sometimes 60 ̊F

below zero) that affect both human and

machine. Innovative solutions to these

problems include using what the arctic

has plenty of – ice!

The solid ice season usually occurs

from November through April. Ice roads

are generally used for access during this

period. Since the early 1970’s, oil

companies have been using ice roads to

support exploratory drilling in Alaska.

Construction of ice roads, ice islands,

and ice airstrips is standard practice for

modern Alaskan arctic oil exploration

projects. Typically, construction begins

during December, the well is drilled

during February and March, and the rig

is demobilized during April. The ice

melts during breakup, leaving virtually

no trace of the exploration project.

Mars Spray Ice Island. Offshore Alaska.

Ice roads are constructed by

harvesting available ice and snow from

lakes to form a road base, and then

using tankers to spray water to build up

ice surfaces. Ice islands are often used to

support drilling and/or production

facilities. Ice islands are created by

pumping seawater onto the frozen sea

ice sheet. The water freezes in layers until

the ice is grounded onto the seafloor or

is thick enough to accommodate the

weight of a drilling rig and equipment.

About 1-1.5 million gallons of water are

required to build a mile of road 6 inches

thick and 40 feet wide, while an ice

island will need 2-3.5 million gallons.

In addition to ice roads and islands,

other innovative steps are being explored

to decrease the impact of drilling and

exploration activities on the landscape

and animal population. In especially

sensitive areas, directional drilling is

being explored. The drilling site can be

located in a less sensitive site and drilling

angled to explore under the sensitive site

with no adverse effect. The same

techniques can be used to drill many

wells from a single site, thus reducing the

potential disturbance of the landscape.

New technologies are also being used to

monitor wellheads remotely and muffle

equipment to reduce the contact

between human and animal for the

protection of each.

One of the most important

challenges in the arctic is the restoration

and remediation of the landscape of the

drilling site after the well is abandoned.

Ice pads and roads reduce the need for

restoration by reducing the amount of

damage to the tundra. Steps are taken to

ensure the site is returned as closely as

possible to its condition before drilling.

If needed, the site is recontoured and

revegetated to meet State and Federal

requirements, so that all evidence of

human presence is removed.

As we move farther into the arctic

wilderness and deeper into the ocean,

the Minerals Management Service and

industry are working hard to find new

and innovative ways to protect those

environments while developing the

natural resources that lie beneath them.

This is one instance where icy roads

aren’t considered dangerous, 

but welcome.

Tanker spraying water to build up ice surface.
MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE MAY/JUNE 2005 9

FOR OR MORE MORE INFORMA INFORMATION:

Project “Deep Spill”

Website: www.mms.gov/

tarprojects/377.htm

Experimental and Analytical Study

of Multi-phase Plumes in a

Stratified Ocean with Application

to Deep Ocean Spills

Website: www.mms.gov/

tarprojects/324.htm

I

n June 2000, the Minerals

Management Service (MMS), 

23 oil companies with holdings 

in deepwater, and the Norwegian

government worked together to

conduct a Joint Industry Project known

as Deep Spill. Deep Spill is a model of

cooperation between Government and

industry in conducting needed research

to address operational issues in

deepwater. This project increased our

understanding of how potential oil spills

from deepwater wells and pipelines may

behave in the ocean environment.

Collecting data from under the sea

and above the release site by using

various vessels, aircraft and airborne

imaging technology, scientists carefully

studied controlled releases of oil and gas

into the sea. There were four controlled

releases of oil and gas over a three-day

period off the coast of Norway from a

depth of 844 meters. This experiment

helped establish the most effective

response plan in the event of an oil or

gas blowout in deepwater.

Past experiments have shown that oil

and gas behave differently under the

high pressures and low temperatures

found in deepwater when compared

with those of shallower depths. These

experiments provided baseline data to

validate and improve existing oil-spill

models that will be used to guide

cleanup efforts in the event of an

accidental release during actual drilling

and production operations. These

models are part of the oil-spill

Dr. Mary Boatman of the U.S. Minerals Management Service and Dr. Cortis Cooper of Chevron

stand in the foreground, observing the Project Deep

Spill oil release through the use of an echo sounder

onboard one of the research vessels off Norway.

PROJECT DEEP SPILL

PROMOTING RAPID RESPONSE

contingency plans submitted by industry

to MMS for approval prior to the

commencement of drilling.

“The experiments all went

successfully and according to our careful

planning, in spite of losing a day or so to

bad weather,” said Chevron’s Senior Staff

Scientist Cortis Cooper, leader of the

Joint Industry Project.

In a final report, E. Eric Adams,

Senior Research Editor, Department of

Civil and Environmental Engineering,

MIT, noted that “Deep Spill experiments

show that some of the oil surfaces more

rapidly than expected based on the

individual rise velocity of the fastest

rising (largest) oil droplets, suggesting

some group or secondary plume effects.

The greater than expected rise velocity

means that the oil will surface closer to

the release point, making calculations

based on the rise velocity conservative.”

Adams also concluded that operating

machinery directly above a spill may

indeed be safe. “Echo sounders [prove]

efficient at tracking oil and gas releases

in the field and showed that the gas 

was completely dissolved before it 

could surface.”

This project allows for a better

understanding of potential spill behavior

from deepwater oil and gas operations

and will ensure that these spills are

handled efficiently and rapidly.

Layout of the ROV arrangement operating on the seafloor. The oil and gas were pumped through different

lines, made of coiled steel tubing, from Far Grip and down to the release arrangement on the seafloor.
10 MMS OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

DEEP GAS COULD EASE NATURAL GAS PRICE SPIKES

OUR NATION’S ENERGY FUTURE

FOR OR MORE MORE INFORMA INFORMATION:

Deep Gas

Website: www.gomr.mms.gov/

homepg/offshore/

deepgas.html

Royalty Relief

Website: www.gomr.mms.gov/

homepg/offshore/royrelef.html

Information for Consumers

Website: www.eia.doe.gov/

oil_gas/natural_gas/

analysis_publications/

natbro/gasprices.htm

the risks, MMS instituted its Deep Gas

Initiative in January 2004 to provide

substantial royalty relief for companies

who gamble by exploring and

developing deep gas wells in areas they

currently lease. Regarding recent high

natural gas prices, Interior Secretary 

Gale Norton stated, “We need to

respond by encouraging production of

deep gas resources that otherwise are

financially risky for companies to

explore and develop.”

Not only will drilling deep gas in

shallow water add to the Nation’s gas

resources, but MMS estimates that the

drilling and production upgrades necessary for deep gas exploration could

add 20,000 new jobs to the economy for

the next six years.

By encouraging drilling of deep gas

wells in already leased areas, MMS is

ensuring that the natural resources in

their care are used for maximum benefit

and that our public lands (and waters)

can provide energy sources for

generations to come.

Gas prices have sharply

increased in the past two

winters because of an

increased demand and a

diminishing supply. Those

feeling the pinch of high gas bills can

appreciate Minerals Management

Service’s (MMS) idea of providing an

incentive for energy companies to

increase the supply of natural gas in the

near future. Approximately 56 million

U.S. homes are heated with natural gas,

and the vast majority of new power

plants built in the next decade will use

natural gas. Deep gas from an old

frontier, existing shallow-water leases in

the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), can help

meet the energy needs of the Nation.

The MMS defines deep gas wells as

those drilled to at least 15,000 feet true

vertical depth below mean sea level in

shallow water (less than 600 feet water

depth) on the Outer Continental Shelf

(OCS). For years, shallow water has been

the “workhorse” of the Gulf, accounting

for the bulk of oil and gas production.

But production has declined every year

since 1996. Relatively few wells, however,

have explored depths below 15,000 feet.

According to MMS research, up to 55

trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of undiscovered

gas resources may underlie the untapped

deep reaches of the shallow waters of the

GOM. In fact, 10 Tcf of gas has already

been discovered in exploration deeper

than 15,000 feet.

The high cost of drilling deep gas 

(up to $50 million for a 20,000-foot

well) and the risk associated with its

exploration (one in four chance of

success) has discouraged interest from

energy companies. Finding the gas at

such depths with extremely high

temperature and pressure transitions 

is also an issue that has hindered

exploration.

To provide an incentive to promote

the exploration of shallow water despite

Shallow-Water 

Deep Gas Discoveries in the 

Gulf of Mexico

January 2004
MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE MAY/JUNE 2005 11

PETRONIUS WEATHERS THE STORM

MMS CHECKS IT OUT

Acompliant tower platform,

much like a fixed platform, 

is bottom founded, but

allows for greater flexibility than a conventional fixed platform. This flexibility allows

the compliant platform to flex when a

force, such as a wave, current, or wind, is

applied, which reduces the forces acting

on the platform and foundation.

Chevron’s Petronius compliant tower

platform is located in roughly 1,754 feet

of water in the Central Gulf of Mexico,

approximately 150 miles from downtown New Orleans.

On September 15, 2004, Hurricane

Ivan passed about 25 miles to the west

of Petronius, introducing the platform to

enormous environmental loadings. The

wave height was in excess of 90 feet for

that location. Ivan delivered a wave into

Petronius’ deck 60 feet above sea level,

causing significant damage to several of

the platform’s 4-foot-deep plate girders

and below-deck piping and electrical

systems. The wave force exerted extreme

pressure on the side of the girders,

resulting in permanent deflection of

these beams.

The Office of

Structural and

Technical Support

(OSTS) of the

Minerals

Management

Service (MMS) has

responsibility of

ensuring that the

platforms

operating on the

Outer Continental

Shelf are designed,

fabricated,

installed, and

maintained in

accordance with

regulations. It is the

operator’s

responsibility to

report all major

damage and receive

approval for

subsequent repairs.

After the storm had passed, Chevron

informed MMS of the damage and began

developing and implementing a repair

plan. In the final stages of the repair, the

Chief of OSTS, Tommy Laurendine, sent

Fung Chan and Sean Verret, both

Above: The deck quarters of Petronius being

transported offshore. Left: Petronius structure. Photos

courtesy of Chevron.

Left: Picture of Petronius repair before painting was

completed. Below: A view of Petronius' damaged

deck plate girders. Photos courtesy of Chevron.

structural engineers with OSTS, to

Petronius to evaluate the repairs for final

approval before production could be

resumed, nearly six months later.

The repairs Chevron implemented

were documented by photographs and

followed up by a final repair permit,

including all pertinent design criteria and

analysis results. The Chevron repairs

included leaving the girders in their

damaged state and adding additional

beams. In the end, OSTS approved the

repair and gave the green light for

Chevron to begin producing 40,000

barrels per day again.

– by Sean Verret
MMS OCEAN SCIENCE

Minerals Management Service

Mail Stop 5431

1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard

New Orleans, LA 70123

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POSTAGE 

PAID

PERMIT NO. 1

ADDISON, IL

MMS – A Leader in 

Securing the Nation’s

Domestic Energy

Supply

NEW WAVES Late-breaking News & Information

MMS Studies Ivan’s Impact

Offshore oil and gas structures in the 

Gulf of Mexico stood up generally well

against Hurricane Ivan last September,

but experts want to know why they did and if

they can be improved. 

The Minerals Management Service (MMS)

has awarded six contracts totaling more than

$600,000 for studies to analyze and assess the

damage and recommend any necessary changes

in design or technology.

Ivan, which made landfall in Alabama on

September 16, 2004, may have been the most

damaging storm to hit the oil and gas industry in

the Gulf, partly because there is more exploration

and production underway there today.

“We are pleased that, in spite of the 

140-mph winds of Hurricane Ivan, there was no

loss of life and no significant pollution,” said

Johnnie Burton, MMS director. “We attribute this to

the well-built facilities and the noble efforts to

maintain and operate them. However, there is still

room to improve.”

Ivan also showed the Nation last September

that hurricanes cannot only can cause death and

destruction, but they can also raise oil prices when

they tear through the Gulf. The price of oil jumped

to $55 a barrel after Ivan made landfall and later

fell when industry and regulators responded.

About 10 percent of the Gulf's production was

interrupted for at least four months as companies

repaired damage to platforms and the network of

pipelines. The Gulf produces 30 percent of the

Nation's oil and 23 percent of its natural gas.

The entire oil and gas infrastructure is online

now, although some operations may not be

producing at the same level they were before Ivan,

MMS said.

Thirty-one platforms were seriously damaged

and seven were destroyed. Five mobile drilling

rigs were set adrift by the storm and later rounded

up by U.S. Coast Guard and industry boats. One

drifted 70 miles before it was caught.

Burton said the studies will ensure the safe,

clean operation of the offshore oil and gas

industry even when storms like Ivan tear through

the Gulf.

“These studies will address short- and longterm adjustments in MMS's technical, engineering, and geologic standards and regulations

to ensure that offshore oil and gas production

remains safe, environmentally friendly, and less

susceptible to interruption,” she said.

LNG ship close-up of mooring

Photo courtesy of Excelerate Energy.