Then & Now - April 2021
April 1st, 2021
APRIL 2006
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita battered people and structures in the Gulf of Mexico and along the Gulf Coast, leaving many large-scale renovation projects and rising rig rates in their wakes. Many rigs were damaged, not surprising, given that design guidelines for offshore platforms set by the American Petroleum Institute require that a structure only need withstand a “100-year storm,” equivalent to a Category 2 or 3 hurricane, with sustained winds at 110 mph. API guidelines also require that a platform be able to withstand waves up to about 70 ft high. But waves during the last few big hurricanes reached well beyond this height. The Naval Research Lab recorded a 91-ft wave more than 100 miles from the eye of Ivan last year.
Driven by concerns over stability, China is stepping up cooperation with its neighbors, aiming to secure supplies …