UK firm flies out to assess Katrina oil rig damage

QS Stapleton International has been drafted in to the US’ hurricane-hit Gulf Coast for an emergency project to repair four damaged oil rigs. The firm has been called in by existing client GlobalSanteFe, a Texan offshore oil and gas drilling company.

Stapleton sent five staff from its UK arm, headquartered in Darlington, to the region 48 hours after the storm subsided.

Work will include calculating the costs of the project, scheduling and working out the insurance claim. The costs will to run into “tens of millions”, according to Stapleton director Bob Breeze.

Stapleton’s first task is to survey the damage. This includes one rig having been torn from its mooring, another with water 28 ft deep in its hull, causing it to lean dramatically to one side, while all the rigs have had fixings such as helipads ripped off in the high winds.

The first challenge was to tow the rigs to shore, where they could be boarded safely. Stapleton had to organise helicopters, boats, a diving team and mooring equipment.

A lack of suitable places to harbour the rigs was another issue.

Local repair centres and suppliers of parts are also out of action, causing Stapleton to call on its offices in Singapore and Kuwait for support.

The assessment has been further hindered by Hurricane Rita, which was preventing surveyors from boarding the rigs when QS News went to press.

The Stapleton team, which is led by a director, Tony Cole, will get one further British member this week and could go up to 10 or 12. Work there could last until Christmas.

It is understood that 76 oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico have been ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Other QSs working on the repair and rebuilding work in the disaster-struck region include Gleeds and Hill International. Gleeds is bidding to assess damage to commercial buildings, while Hill is working for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.