Bracing for Impact

Rigzone has a story: Energy Industry Fortifying Plans, Equipment in the Gulf of Mexico.

Some excerpts...

Still bloodied from last year's hurricane season, the energy industry is building up its defenses in the Gulf of Mexico for another round with Mother Nature.

Hurricane season begins Thursday, and federal officials report that 22 percent of crude oil production and 13 percent of natural gas production in the Gulf is still derailed.

...

Though it's impossible to "hurricane-proof" a platform or pipeline, people in the industry appear to be hellbent on trying to do a better job at prepping for the upcoming storm season than they did last year.

They are looking for ways to reduce the enormous amount of lost production that occurred last year and which set off spikes in energy prices.

Companies are scrambling to lock in contracts for tug and helicopter services, and squirrel away extra valves, meters and piping needed to make fast post-hurricane repairs.

...

Transocean, which owns deepwater drilling rigs, is upgrading the mooring systems that keep the rigs fastened in place in the water. Instead of the traditional eight-point mooring system, Transocean is beefing up to a 12-point mooring system at a cost of about $7 million per rig. But because of difficulties in getting all the necessary parts, that transformation won't be complete until midsummer.

If the oil and gas industry can survive a major hurricane hit in the Gulf of Mexico with little damage, that would be good news. These folks have a can-do attitude, and deep wallets thanks to higher oil prices. I think oil prices are going higher anyway, but I'd be happy if they they don't skyrocket overnight.

Check out my new gold and energy blog at MoneyAndMarkets.com