Regional Director’s Update on the Gulf of Mexico
Chris Oynes October 27, 1999 OCS Policy Committee
1. Recent Events 2. Recent Studies
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Recent Events
• Chevron’s Destin Dome Plan
FL AL
e ra l Bo u n d a r St a t e / Fe d y
Pe n sa c o la
C e n tra l G u lf
Ea ste rn G u lf
C h evron ’s D estin D om e P roject
D e stin D o m e De So to C a n yo n
SC ALE IN M ILES
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Chevron’s Destin Dome Plan
• 25 miles south of Pensacola, Florida • Possible production of 1.3 to 1.9 TCF/gas • MMS released Draft Environmental Impact Statement in August 1999; public hearings held • Florida objected to coastal zone consistency; on appeal to NOAA; closes October 27
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Recent Events
• Lease Sale 174 - Western Gulf
– 153 tracts bid on with 177 bids – $94.6 million in high bid bonuses – Independent oil companies dominated the sale – Kerr-McGee Oil and Gas Corp. was the most active company along with Spinnaker Exploration and Coastal Oil and Gas
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Spinnaker/ Murphy/Callon GB 434 $4.7 million
Kerr-McGee GB 877 $11.2 million Kerr-McGee AC 349 $5.2 million
High Bids Received
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Kerr-McGee Spinnaker
Bidding by Some Independents
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Recent Events
• MMS is preparing an environmental assessment on geophysical exploration activities (such as seismic noise) • Contract awarded in June 1999 and final assessment is scheduled for mid2000 • Areas to be examined seismic, acoustic (hazard surveys), electromagnetic, bottom sampling and geochemical sampling 8
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Recent Environmental Studies in the Gulf
• Listing of 17 environmental studies attached
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Recent Environmental Studies
1. MMS 98-0039 Long-Term Effects of Contaminants from OCS Produced-Water Discharges at Pelican Island, Louisiana 2. MMS 97-0042 Northeastern GOM Satellite Oceanography Study and Oceanic Atlas 3. MMS 98-0035 Texas-Louisiana Shelf Circulation 4. MMS 98-0057 Assessment of PAH Composition of Diesel Fuel Absorbed to Marine Sediments and their Toxicity to Aquatic Food Webs
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Long-Term Effects of Contaminants from OCS Produced-Water Discharges at Pelican Island Facility, Louisiana, MMS Study 98-0039
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Long-Term Effects of Produced Water
What is produced water?
• During the production of oil or gas, water may also be brought to the surface • The water is called formation water, produced water, or oil field brine • The water is generally removed in order to transport the product • The separated water may be discharged into the surface waters of the ocean or coastal areas
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Long-Term Effects of Produced Water
• There were over 1,200 produced water discharge points in the coastal habitats of Louisiana and Texas by the late 1980’s • Fifteen of these discharges contained produced water from the OCS
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Long-Term Effects of Produced Water
• Study examined four sites near discharge points • Two year recovery and nine year recovery were examined • Examined persistence of hydrocarbons in sediment (AH contamination) and impacts on macroinfaunal samples
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Produced-Water Effects MMS 98-0039
270
1989 1996
190
120
60 25
2
-950 -700
3 3.5
-450
12
4
-250 0
5
250 15
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Stations and Distance (m) from Abandoned Discharge (from Figure 36)
Long-Term Effects of Produced Water
• Mixed results on persistence of hydrocarbons - some persistence, some great declines in 9 years • Impacts on invertebrates in sediments
– Ecosystem recovery after 9 years – Abundance and distribution of species quite high
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Northeastern GOM Satellite Oceanography Study and Oceanic Atlas, MMS Study 97-0042
• Synthesis of remote sensing in NE GOM • Climatology of physical processes • Loop current, river plumes, hurricanes
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Texas-Louisiana Shelf Circulation and Transport Processes Study, MMS Study 98-0035
• 5 year study of LATEX circulation • Inshore: alongshore winds drive the circulation • Offshore (50m isobath): Mesoscale processes and eddies • Easterly current at the shelf break • Impacts of hurricanes, cyclones, cold air
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Assessment of PAH Composition of Diesel Fuel Absorbed to Marine Sediments and their Toxicity to Aquatic Food Webs, MMS Study 98-0057
• Examined the effects of diesel-contaminated sediment on the sedimentary bacterial community • This was a Louisiana salt marsh that had been chronically exposed to petroleum hydrocarbons for decades • Result: degradation of PAH’s by bacteria • Result: bacterial communities in salt marshes tolerate chronic exposure to hydrocarbons (rapid removal)
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