From TheOilDrum
In order to beach one of these rigs, ALL THREE of their 150’ legs must be broken off by the storm. So to fix these rigs, they would require 3 new legs, a new derrick, a new block and draworks, repair of everything broken…
Photo also from TheOilDrum (photoshopped for clarity.) I’m speechless, how do you repair/junk something like that? It’ll probably be there for months, if not years. And will the insurance companies be able to handle the claims?
And, via comments on TheOilDrum, check these Rigzone before and after photos of the Chevron Typhoon Tension Leg Platform. Yikes. Makes the damage in the below picture look minor. As I recall, the Typhoon was sunk when another rig broke loose, slammed into it, and severed a major support. The insurance companies will be arguing about liability and suing each other for years over the Katrina/Rita claims.
Meanwhile, 99% of oil and 80% of natural gas production in the Gulf is shut in (offline.)
