Energy Secretary: Gulf oil, natural gas won't recover until summer

[MaineDem]

By Deb Riechmann, Associated Press Writer | December 8, 2005

WASHINGTON --Oil and natural gas production in the Gulf Coast area probably will not recover from this year's hurricanes until next summer, Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said Thursday, urging conservation as the cost of heating homes is expected to soar this winter.

"The infrastructure of our country took a real blow with Hurricanes Rita and Katrina," Bodman told reporters outside the White House.

"Even to this day, we have about a third of the natural gas and a third of the oil that is produced in the Gulf of Mexico still shut-in due to the damage that was done," he said. "That's not going to be back up and online, my guess is, until summertime."

Short supplies will contribute to high energy prices this heating season, said Bodman, who urged Americans to step up conservation.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2005/12/08/energy_secretary_gulf_oil_natural_gas_wont_recover_until_summer/?rss_id=Boston.com+%2F+News

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

1. Recovery Just In Time For Next Hurricane Season.....

So, they should be back to normal right about the time the next hurricanes will come and issue another setback.

[NMDemDist2]

3. GMTA!!! n/t

[Barrett808]

5. Risk premiums: much of this shut-in capacity may stay shut in

I've heard that insurance companies are balking at building billion-dollar platforms that sink in Cat 5 hurricanes...there's talk of abandoning 100,000-200,000 barrels per day of production in the GOM.

[OKthatsIT]

7. that's the pattern....cap it off and call it 'dry'

[megatherium]

8. Two seasons in the gulf -- hurricane season and repair season?

Just like they say in the upper midwest: two seasons -- winter and road repair.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

9. "Recovery: Just in time for no need for heat."

[Nickster]

2. Wasn't there just a report from the DoE saying that the effected resources

would be back online sometime in Feb or March?

[Dr Batsen D Belfry]

4. This just baffles me

I saw a report earlier that damaged oil rigs represented a real problem. There was already a worldwide shortage of drilling rigs before Katrina and Rita, and now there is even more of one. They said it takes three years to build a drilling rig.

Now they announce resources in the gulf shut in.

Is it me, or weren't we cranking out battleships and aircraft carriers in MONTHS, and multiple aircraft by the day during WWII?

If business and government WANT to make it happen, they can. They just don't want to.

DBDB

[htuttle]

6. That was when we used to make stuff here

Nowdays, there's all the additional shipping time from China to take into account.