$750-Million Contract Boosts Gulf Hurricane Cleanup Work

Two years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf of Mexico, oil and gas companies have cleaned up just half the mess made by the storms, and the work is expected to continue until 2013, according to the federal Minerals Management Service (MMS). But a $750-million contract recently awarded by a group of platform owners to Harvey, La.-based Superior Energy Services signals that some companies are ready to finish the work. The contract is the biggest hurricane-cleanup contract yet, industry officials say.


The amount is a fraction of the estimated $5 billion-plus in expected work, some of it the most complex the industry has ever faced, says Lars Herbst, Gulf of Mexico regional director for MMS, a unit of the U.S. Dept. of the Interior that oversees offshore oil and gas leasing. Only 20% of the 118 storm-damaged platforms have been removed, and about 40% of the wells have been sealed, he says. MMS anticipates a great deal of activity to take place this year.