marked by rising tides and increased wind velocities; generally
the longer a storm lingers in the Gulf, the larger the bulge of
water it pushes ashore as it approaches land. These storm tides
are commonly higher in the bays than on Gulf sea beaches, although
flooding and pounding waves affect both areas. Hurricane Carla,

in 1961, produced 22-foot tides in Lavaca Bay, Texas; Hurricane
Celia, in 1970, produced 14-foot tides in Corpus Christi Bay,
Texas; Hurricane Camille, in 1969, produced 22.6-foot tides at
Pass Christian, Mississippi.

The flood tides and high waves carry shells and sediments from deeper offshore areas onto seaward beaches, spreading a veneer of deposits over the broad, flat hurricane beaches. In the marsh areas extensive and prolonged inundation and ponding occurs, resulting in damage or loss to habitat and man-made structures. The storm surge flood may also produce breaches or channels in

natural barrier islands or in levees.

As the storm passes over the shore, the pattern of current and wave attack shifts into compliance with the direct influence of the counter-clockwise winds of the hurricane. Water and sediment are

pumped out of bays and flooded areas into the Gulf through passes and breaches on the left side while still being pushed shoreward or landward on the right side. The highest intensity

winds are felt as the storm comes ashore, and in the vicinity of

of the eye, rapid changes in atmospheric pressure and the change

in wind direction as the eye passes produce great stresses on

structures.

The most severe hurricane in recent Gulf history was Hurricane "Camille". On August 17, 1969, she passed along the eastern bank of the Mississippi Delta of Louisiana and into the Mississippi

Gulf Coast. 1/ Camille's top winds were estimated at 201.5 miles

per hour

and the barometric pressure in her calm eye dropped

as low as 26.61 inches of mercury. The hurricane surge at Pass Christian, Mississippi, was recorded at 22.6 feet above the normal level of the Gulf. Offshore installations in areas near South Pass, Main Pass, and Breton Sound were badly damaged. Prior to arrival of the storm, the Offshore Operators Committee advised tapering off production operations, and before the storm hit, 4,000 wells in State and Federal waters were shut-in and 3,000 workmen evacuated. Because of this caution, no injuries to

petroleum production personnel were reported and there as a total absence of blowing wells and few leaking wells. The U.S. Geological Survey reported no oil slicks in Federal waters and only one in State waters.

1/ Corps of Engineers, Report on Hurricane Camille. Report No. 1338, 1970, U.S. Army Engineer District, New Orleans, Louisiana.

During the onslaught of "Camille", one production platform was

destroyed and two were damaged, two drilling rigs were destroyed,

and three were damaged.

Also in the area were seven drilling

rigs that were not damaged. Total damages to the petroleum

industry caused by "Camille" were estimated at $71.2 million,

When the Weather Bureau advises that a hurricane or serious tropical storm is imminent, all oil and gas facilities in, or adjacent to, the path of the storm are evacuated. Upon evacuation, all surface equipment and wellhead controls are shut-in. In addition, blank tubing plugs are set in as many wells as possible to further reduce the possibility of pollution in the event the well is damaged. These tubing plugs form a seal against fluid flow.

Industry is continually conducting research into ways to improve

the strength and design of offshore structures.

recent projects are outlined below.

Some of the most

1/ Ibid.

1.

Continental Oil Company's Platform Instrumentation Program consists of a platform in Eugene Island Block 266-F which was instrumented with 126 strain gauges almost three years ago. These strain gauges (100 of which are still operational) were placed on critical joints, structural members, and below the mudline on one piling. Additionally, the platform was outfitted to obtain wind, wave, current, and barometric pressure data. Wave force information as a function of wave height was obtained The information is automatically fed

directly by a transducer.

into an on-site computer which is programmed to determine stress as a function of the other parameters. Since there is particular interest in storm related stresses, it is noteworthy that the system is so automated that it could function even if the platform is abandoned due to severe weather. While the information gathered thus far is proprietary (potential users may buy into the program), we have been told that the information is now being used for design

modifications.

2. Another project, the Joint Industry Wave Force Project (JIWFP), is chaired by Amoco and includes most of the major oil companies. It has as its objective the collection and analysis of wave data in order to permit forecasting of drag and mass coefficients.

This

project is being conducted by Professor Robert Dean of the University

of Florida at Gainesville.

3. Chevron Oil Company has proposed a cooperative study with eight other companies, to examine the axial load on deep pilings. Axial load refers to two properties; 1) downward or supportive force as a function of the depth of the piling, and 2) the pullout capacity (or resistance to pulling out) as a function of depth and sediment properties.

4. Chevron has another project to investigate lateral load on pilings, which can be described as an attempt to evaluate how close one piling can be placed to another before the other recognizes its presence (through sediment translated pressures).

5. Shell Oil and eight or nine other companies are sponsoring the Ocean Data Gathering Project (ODGP). Six separate platforms on the Texas and Louisiana OCS were instrumented to measure winds, barometric pressure, and wave heights (but not currents or wave forces) for two years. The data gathering has been completed,

and is presently being analyzed and hindcast.