It sounds strange to say it, but some of Hurricane Katrina’s effects are highly constructive and go way past just replacing or repairing lost or damaged infrastructure on a one-to-one basis. Many initiatives undertaken by the industry post-Katrina have never been done before and are of the “we are not going to let this happen again” nature.

One response to Katrina seems especially suited to the purpose. This is the Hurricane Management System jointly developed by Microsoft, BP and IDV Solutions. The system gives BP real-time information to quickly make decisions, improve security and protect assets — especially people — when a storm looms.

BP (and many others) had a few problems during Katrina. The company didn’t know where its people were, so it couldn’t get aid to them or learn about the availability of people on shore. It didn’t know the condition of equipment offshore and onshore.

The project team designed and built a system to provide as much information as humanly possible, integrated in a way that makes sense, through a single, Web-based portal anywhere Internet connectivity is available. The system resides behind BP’s “firewall.”
The team assembled onshore locations of BP employees and a system to locate people offshore. It put together an inventory of assets from platforms to refineries — anything with a physical location that could be put into a geographical information system (GIS).

BP wanted as much advance information as possible about incoming hurricanes. The team collected sources of information such as government hurricane reports and sea conditions from National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) offshore weather buoys. It can map hurricane severity and probable paths just like the evening news.

They added satellite imagery. Comparing before and after hurricane shots, for example, can help team members to find out whether the helipad on an offshore platform is still in place so they can land repair crews. Also, the observed condition of platforms can help them to set priorities for repair.

All of this information goes into an Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI)-based GIS system. This allows the company to, say, pick a platform, drill down to all of the details about that platform, maintain a log of platform status during repairs and update replaced production. It also includes the NOAA weather buoys. Click on a buoy and you get wind force and direction and wave height. Since it’s a GIS system, you can put a lot of layers of information into it, depending on the need from an overall picture to details about specific locations, and it is all real time plus about 20 minutes.

You don’t need ESRI software to read all this. It’s readable on a Google Earth system on the Internet where it’s available to anyone with a computer and access. IDV’s Visual Fusion Server software allows the convergence of all of these applications into a worldwide GIS display.

Weather information is updated every 20 minutes. Software can measure from the eye of the hurricane in a circle to see which BP facilities and people lie within the impact area. It can move that circle to see about employees and facilities that could be impacted along the prospective path. That allows the company to warn people at facilities, or in their homes, about pending danger. It also allows the company to mobilize crews early to get help to people or facilities.

The system also maps loop currents. Katrina’s power increased when it crossed over a loop current, so that’s handy information for projections. In a non-hurricane situation it also can help to determine when it might be inadvisable to deploy a drilling rig just to have it sit there unable to lower riser to the sea floor. The system also can broaden the weather picture to include the Caribbean and western Atlantic, where hurricanes start.

With real-time information being fed back from facilities with satellite communications, all information about an offshore platform is available at shore-based offices, as long as there is enough electricity on the platform to send the information. Newer additions include GPS information that gives the company real-time positions of helicopters and supply boats. If a helicopter goes down, the company knows where.

The record of people evacuated, starting a week ahead of the hurricane danger point, also gets recorded, so the company can review and improve procedures. Entering the name of an employee shows that employee’s current location and home address. The company can get aid to that place, if necessary.

There is a drawback. During a hurricane, it’s difficult to get communication through to a satellite. That’s why BP will finish fiber optic installations to its Gulf of Mexico
facilities in the third quarter this year.

A team has been formed by BP in the United Kingdom to use the system in any pandemic globally. Using the same system as BP’s, it can interface with a country’s databases
for people, facilities and weather information.

Good stuff. We can’t control the weather, but we can control our response to it in order to better safeguard lives and minimize disruption of vital energy production.