U.S. offshore oil study not done as storm season nears

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Study of the hurricane fitness of 92 key Gulf of Mexico oil platforms, begun a year ago, is not finished as the 2009 storm season nears, U.S. Minerals Management Service officials said Tuesday.

The work is taking longer than expected, MMS Gulf Region Director Lars Herbst told a briefing on preparations for the upcoming season, which begins June 1 and ends November 30.

“Review of those is complicated,” MMS Gulf of Mexico Regional Supervisor for Field Operations Mike Saucier said. “Hopefully, we should have it completed, at least most of them, by the end of this year.”

Nevertheless, MMS expects to be better prepared than ever for hurricane season, and is not letting down its guard despite forecasts of a milder season than in 2008, when two strong storms caused heavy damage in the Gulf, Herbst said.

“We’ve had forecasts predicting low seasons in the past, and we’ve had very strong seasons,” Herbst said. “We hope for a calm season, but as always we’re going to be as prepared as possible.”

Reuters