Energy industry stands ready for upcoming hurricane season

Colorado State University's Tropical Meteorology Project has updated its activity forecast for the upcoming 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, predicting 16 named storms, 80 named storm days and five major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5).

Additionally, the group forecasts that the US has an above-average chance that a major hurricane will make landfall -- 72 percent. In fact, there is 48 percent chance that the East Coast will be hit and a 47 percent chance that the Gulf Coast will be hit.

As we've seen in Japan, natural disasters can spark major energy crises.

In 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed 115 platforms and damaged another 52, as well as damaged 535 pipeline segments and caused the near total shut-down of the US Gulf of Mexico's oil and gas operations.

Despite the destruction, no offshore workers were harmed because operators and service companies quickly evacuated anyone in the path of the storm. Additionally, all production was effectively shut-in, and no hydrocarbon leaks occurred because of the storms. Producers and service companies quickly got to work following the storms to restart production in the Gulf.

"We go to work every day with the goal of operating safely and in an environmentally responsible manner," said Bill Mentz, director of public affairs for Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA), the largest producer on the Gulf of Mexico shelf. "Being prepared for storms is a part of that commitment."


In 2008, Hurricane Ike stormed ashore the Gulf Coast, affecting power distribution to 2.15 million of CenterPoint Energy's 2.26 million customers. T&D teams from across the nation swiftly traveled to the Greater Houston area to work to help restore power to millions of residents and commercial properties within weeks.

"In a way, CenterPoint Energy began preparing for Hurricane Ike a quarter century before its arrival," CenterPoint said of the massive effort. "The company's experience recovering from Hurricane Alicia in 1983 and more recently from the glancing blow of Hurricane Rita in 2005 helped strengthen our storm-recovery culture that has been honed by annual drills and scores of mutual assistance efforts on behalf of other utilities."

CenterPoint Energy maintains a comprehensive Emergency Operating Plan that is coordinated with state and local officials, reassigning critical emergency response roles to all employees and regularly conducting drills to perfect their response efforts.

From offshore oil and gas operations to onshore electricity distribution, the US energy industry is committed to mitigating any risks to safety, production and distribution hurricanes may pose.

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Phaedra Friend Troy is the content director for PennEnergy.com, an all-energy website that provides oil and gas, power and infrastructure news, analysis, reports and more. Sign up for a free daily enewsletter today.