{"id":338645,"date":"2024-08-06T09:33:39","date_gmt":"2024-08-06T07:33:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=338645"},"modified":"2024-08-06T09:33:42","modified_gmt":"2024-08-06T07:33:42","slug":"no-rigzone-extreme-weather-is-not-becoming-increasingly-dangerous-for-oil-and-gas-companies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=338645","title":{"rendered":"No, Rigzone, Extreme Weather Is Not Becoming Increasingly Dangerous for Oil and Gas Companies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From ClimateRealism<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Linnea Lueken<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Offshore production platform, 2019, taken by Linnea Lueken<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A recent article at Rigzone, \u201cHow Dangerous Is Extreme Weather for Oil and Gas Companies In 2024?\u201d<\/a> repeats the claim that extreme weather events like hurricanes are becoming worse, and therefore pose a major risk to oil and gas operations especially in the Gulf of Mexico. Offshore oil operations are threatened by hurricanes, but this is not new, it poses a threat every hurricane season. As a result, operators should work on improving weather prediction technologies and response plans, to reduce the risk. This is true regardless of climate change, because hurricanes have not, in fact, become more frequent or severe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rigzone article consist primarily of interviews with a few oilfield \u201cexperts,\u201d particularly an economist named Frederick J. Lawrence, who first makes the obvious statement that extreme weather can be a risk factor for oil and gas, and that \u201cpreparation and faster response will always be needed in addition to improved standards and resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lawrence is the one who makes the claim later in the article that \u201cincreased preparations for extreme weather events will remain a top priority given what appears to be an increased frequency and intensity of events according to groups that track weather-related incidents[.]\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others interviewed, like Alex Stevens from the Institute for Energy Research<\/a>, sensibly said that \u201churricanes have always posed risks to oil and gas companies due to their potential impact on supply chain logistics, infrastructure, and extraction demands.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlways\u201d is correct, and in fact there is no evidence that hurricanes or other kinds of extreme weather that impact oil and gas operations are becoming, as Lawrence said, more frequent or intense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking hurricanes as the clearest example, since they pose the most direct and obvious threat yearly to oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico, we can see from available historical data that they are not becoming worse regardless of what \u201cgroups that track weather-related incidents\u201d say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My suspicion is that these \u201cgroups\u201d being referred to are those like the World Weather Attribution, which make their living attributing various weather events to climate change. Theirs is an untrustworthy methodology for finding the truth about weather events, because they begin with the assumption that extreme weather events are caused or influenced by climate change, then work backwards to make their models fit and determine the degree to which climate change impacted it. We\u2019ve covered this bad science several times at Climate Realism<\/em>, like with the flooding<\/a> in Dubai this past spring, wildfires in Canada<\/a> last year, and other<\/a> weather events that made the news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hurricanes have not been getting more severe or frequent- not in the Gulf of Mexico, and not worldwide, as Climate Realism has pointed out repeatedly in the past, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, and here<\/a>, for example, and as has definitively established by data cited in Climate at a Glance: Hurricanes<\/a> and Climate at a Glance: Global Tropical Cyclones<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most recent global hurricane count, graphed in the figure below by Dr. Ryan Maue, show no increasing trend since the 1980s. If anything, hurricane counts appear to be slightly declining over that period. (See figure below)<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The measurement of the overall energy contained in hurricanes and tropical storms has likewise not displayed an increasing trend since records begin in the 1970s. There is significant annual variability, but no clear trend overall. (See figure below)<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

It is simply not true that hurricanes that threaten oil and gas operations are becoming more frequent or extreme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, extreme heat, which is another weather condition that can threaten oilfield work especially in hot and arid regions like the American Southwest, is not becoming more intense either, as discussed in Climate At A Glance: U.S. Heatwaves<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Extreme cold, which is more dangerous to life, is also not<\/a> becoming more likely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is not to say that it is not a good idea to continue to improve oilfield weather resilience and invest in better weather forecasting and storm tracking technology. But this is a good idea regardless of a trend in any direction when it comes to severe weather, because if one thing is absolutely certain it is that extreme weather will<\/em> strike eventually and it will<\/em> cause disruptions for operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While thankfully no one suggested in the particular Rigzone article that ceasing the use of fossil fuels is how you can prevent extreme weather, it is not helpful to spread falsehoods about trends in weather extremes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A recent article at Rigzone, \u201cHow Dangerous Is Extreme Weather for Oil and Gas Companies In 2024?\u201d repeats the claim that extreme weather events like hurricanes are becoming worse, and therefore pose a major risk to oil and gas operations especially in the Gulf of Mexico. Offshore oil operations are threatened by hurricanes, but this is not new, it poses a threat every hurricane season<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":338653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818056,691818514,691823015,691818104,691828902,691830002,691819785],"class_list":{"0":"post-338645","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-climate-change","9":"tag-extreme-weather","10":"tag-gulf-of-mexico","11":"tag-hurricanes","12":"tag-oil-and-gas-companies","13":"tag-rigzone","14":"tag-tropical-storms","16":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/00Oil_platform_Hydraulics-scaled-1.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1q61","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":200479,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=200479","url_meta":{"origin":338645,"position":0},"title":"Thanks, Rigzone, For Reporting on the Biden Administration\u2019s Inconsistent, Harmful Energy Policies","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"19\/05\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Rigzone reports the Biden administration\u2019s recent decision to cancel the sale of several offshore oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska is leaving the offshore oil industry concerned about the future of offshore oil exploration and production. Rigzone\u2019s analysis shows the Biden administration\u2019s policies are inconsistent\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/020190601_190731-2-scaled-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/020190601_190731-2-scaled-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/020190601_190731-2-scaled-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/020190601_190731-2-scaled-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/020190601_190731-2-scaled-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":368824,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=368824","url_meta":{"origin":338645,"position":1},"title":"Sorry, Rigzone and Telegraph, Oil and Gas Companies Are Wise to Reject Net Zero and Renewables","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"06\/03\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Rigzone and\u00a0The\u00a0Telegraph, among other outlets, are reporting that many major energy companies are tempering net-zero pledges they made in recent years, turning away from renewables and back towards oil and gas. This move makes sense, as subsidies that wind and solar depend on may dry up, and traditional sources outcompete\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"BP and Shell\"","block_context":{"text":"BP and Shell","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=bp-and-shell"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0-green-energy-23.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0-green-energy-23.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0-green-energy-23.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0-green-energy-23.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0-green-energy-23.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":418799,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=418799","url_meta":{"origin":338645,"position":2},"title":"True, Rigzone, 2025 Was Quiet in the USA For Hurricanes","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"27\/12\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A recent post at the website Rigzone, \u201cNo Hurricanes Strike USA For 1st Time in a Decade,\u201d discusses how the United States lucked out by not being struck by any hurricanes this year, and never once credits climate change. The whole post is factual and straightforward. Climate change is not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0no-landfalls.png?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0no-landfalls.png?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0no-landfalls.png?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0no-landfalls.png?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0no-landfalls.png?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":240176,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=240176","url_meta":{"origin":338645,"position":3},"title":"Wrong, Media and COP-27, Africa Is Not De-Carbonizing, Oil Exploration Is Expanding","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"17\/01\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Recent news about upcoming African oil exploration and drilling projects makes it clear that, despite the bluster at COP27, Africa is actively developing fossil fuels.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-769.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-769.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-769.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-769.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-769.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":342998,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=342998","url_meta":{"origin":338645,"position":4},"title":"Right, Rigzone and Rystad Energy, Oil and Gas Will Remain Dominant for the Foreseeable Future","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"14\/09\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A recent article at Rigzone, \u201cRystad: Oil, Gas Will Remain Central to Energy Mix for Foreseeable Future,\u201d reports on comments made by Rystad Energy, a Norwegian energy research company, in a report it published claiming that despite the push for renewables, oil and gas will stay dominant as an energy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Decarbonization\"","block_context":{"text":"Decarbonization","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=decarbonization"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/0biggest_oil_and_gas_companies.jpg?fit=1200%2C595&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/0biggest_oil_and_gas_companies.jpg?fit=1200%2C595&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/0biggest_oil_and_gas_companies.jpg?fit=1200%2C595&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/0biggest_oil_and_gas_companies.jpg?fit=1200%2C595&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/0biggest_oil_and_gas_companies.jpg?fit=1200%2C595&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":363342,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=363342","url_meta":{"origin":338645,"position":5},"title":"Trump 47: Drill, Baby, Drill 2.0","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"25\/01\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Energy stocks moved up Tuesday on the heels of President Donald Trump\u2019s repeat of the slogan, \u201cDrill, baby, drill,\u201d in his inauguration speech. While oil futures fell Tuesday on the prospect for increased supply, Trump sparked buying in energy stocks after declaring a national energy emergency to speed oil and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"drill baby drill\"","block_context":{"text":"drill baby drill","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=drill-baby-drill"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0Trump-Drill-Baby-Drill.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0Trump-Drill-Baby-Drill.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0Trump-Drill-Baby-Drill.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0Trump-Drill-Baby-Drill.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0Trump-Drill-Baby-Drill.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=338645"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":338654,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338645\/revisions\/338654"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/338653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=338645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=338645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=338645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}