5 Hurricanes That Have Crippled The Oil Industry

With the East coast of the United States reeling and a rumoured $45 billion dollars of damage to be cleared up, Oil & Gas iQ looks back at the five hurricanes that have cost the oil industry the most.

2002 Hurricane Lili

The second major hurricane of the 2002 Atlantic hurricane season, Lili rose in the Windward Islands, passed through the Gulf of Mexico and made landfall in Western Cuba and Louisiana before dissipating further inland.

Category Four

Lifespan 9 days (September 21st - October 4th)

Peak wind speed 145 mph (230km/h)

Total cost in damages USD 882 million

Oil infrastructure affected - 6 platforms destroyed

- 31 platforms seriously damaged.

- 4 MODUs were broken from their moorings

- 2 jack-ups capsized.

2005 Hurricane Ivan

The fourth major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season, Ivan was extraordinarily long-lived, developing near the Cape Verde Islands and assaulting the Caribbean - causing particular devastation in Grenada - before passing through the Gulf of Mexico and making landfall in US.

Category Five

Lifespan 22 days (September 2nd - September 24th)

Peak wind speed 165 mph (270km/h)

Total cost in damages USD 18 billion

Oil infrastructure affected - 7 platforms destroyed

- 6 platforms seriously damaged.

- 5 drilling rigs with major damage

2005 Hurricane Dennis

The first major hurricane of the unprecedentedly ferocious 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Dennis arose in the southeastern Caribbean Sea, making landfall in Cuba and then passing through the Gulf of Mexico and up through the southeastern United States.

Category Four

Lifespan 9 days (September 2nd - September 24th)

Peak wind speed 150 mph (240km/h)

Total cost in damages USD 4 billion

Oil infrastructure affected - BP's Thunder Horse platform capsized

2005 Hurricane Katrina

The third major hurricane of the 2005 season, and the costliest natural disaster in the history of the United States, Katrina made landfall in Florida before ravaging the Gulf of Mexico and laying waste to New Orleans, causing more than 1,000 fatalities.

Category Five

Lifespan 7 days (August 23rd - August 30th)

Peak wind speed 175 mph (280km/h)

Total cost in damages USD 80-130 billion

Oil infrastructure affected - 47 platforms destroyed

- 20 platforms seriously damaged

- 6 rigs broken from moorings

- 3 platform rigs destroyed

- 2 platform rigs seriously damaged

- 1 jack-up capsized

- 2 jack-ups seriously damaged

- 5 semi-subs seriously damaged

2005 Hurricane Rita

The fifth major hurricane, and third Category 5 hurricane of the devastating 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane on record.

Category Five

Lifespan 8 days (September 18th - September 26th)

Peak wind speed 180 mph (285km/h)

Total cost in damages USD 11.3 billion

Oil infrastructure affected - 66 platforms destroyed

- 32 platforms seriously damaged

- 13 MODUs broke their moorings

- 1 jack-up sunk

- 7 jack-ups seriously damaged

- 2 semi-subs seriously damaged

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