Riders on the Storm: Stopping and Restarting Offshore Oil and Gas

It has been five days since Hurricane Gustav blew through town, and industry is still working to restore the flow of oil and gas from offshore production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico:

Meanwhile, about 47 percent of more than 700 stationary offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico remained evacuated Friday, according to the Minerals Management Service in New Orleans. The agency also said that 34 of 121 oil rigs remained unmanned.

Likewise, the LOOP (Louisiana Offshore Oil Port) has reopened. However, it is running on backup power such that only one tanker at a time can be drained of oil. Commercial power might not be restored to the offshore terminal for another week or two.

With Hurricane Ike possibly headed for the same area in about five days, one might consider whether it is worth the effort to go back out there and restart things until the latest storm passes. What is the process for shutting down production and evacuating prior to the storm? What (and how long) does it take to do the reverse?

The Oil Drum