Offshore Service Industry and Logistics Modeling in the Gulf of Mexico

The purpose of this book is to examine the spatial and temporal linkage between offshore supply vessels (OSVs) and oil and gas activity in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) of the Gulf of Mexico, and to model vessel activity expected to result from future lease sales. Oil and gas operations occur throughout the world wherever commercial accumulations exist, but no quantitative assessment has ever been performed on the marine vessels that support regional activity. This book bridges this gap and provides insight and computational models for the industry. The challenge of the task arises from the complexity and size of the system, and the particular limitations governing stochastic difficult-to-observe networks. The OCS Gulf of Mexico is the largest and most prolific oil and gas basin in the world, and a large number of marine vessels are engaged in operations in the region, but tracking their activity is difficult and requires the development of empirical models.§Offshore Service Industry and Logistics Modeling in the Gulf of Mexico is presented in three parts. In Part 1, background information on the life cycle stages of offshore development and activity is reviewed, along with a description of the service vessels and port infrastructure in the region. In Part 2, OSV activity in the Gulf of Mexico in 2009-2010 is baselined using PortVision data to establish spatial and temporal characteristics of vessel activity. In Part 3, the analytic framework used to quantify the connection between OSVs, ports, and offshore activity is described, and activity expected to arise from the 2012-2017 OCS lease program is forecast. Providing an invaluable resource for academics and researchers, this book is also intended for government regulators, energy and environmental advocates, and oil and gas industry professionals.§