Deep-sea quakes raising eyebrows

The deepest waters of the Gulf of Mexico already hold plenty of challenges for the oil and gas industry


The Gulf, normally plagued far more by storms on the surface than by movement in the earth below, had three sub-
sea earthquakes last year, all beneath the deep waters where most major oil and gas projects are moving.

On Feb. 10, 2006, a magnitude 5.2 earthquake occurred 160 miles south of New Orleans in about 3,000 feet of water.

A smaller one followed on April 18 about 120 miles northeast of the first. And a magnitude 6 earthquake occurred on Sept. 10, about 260 miles southwest of Tampa, Fla.

The unusual series of events led to a spate of activity among geologists who assess such hazards for the oil industry, and to a number of papers presented at the four-day Offshore Technology Conference that ended Thursday at Reliant Park.

Houston Chronicle