Oil Storm
Encyclopedia
Oil Storm is a 2005 television
docudrama
portraying a future oil-shortage crisis in the United States
, precipitated by a hurricane destroying key parts of the United States' oil infrastructure. The program was an attempt to depict what would happen if the highly oil-dependent country was suddenly faced with gasoline costing upwards of $7 to $8 per gallon (as opposed to the national average of around $2 per gallon when the show first aired). Directed by James Erskine and written by Erskine and Caroline Levy, it originally aired on FX Networks
on June 5, 2005, at 8 p.m. ET.
The crisis arises from a hurricane destroying an important pipeline at Port Fourchon
in Louisiana
, a tanker collision closing a busy port, terrorist attacks and tension with Saudi Arabia
over the oil trade, and other fictional events. The program followed the lives of several people - the owners of a mom-and-pop convenience store, a paramedic, stock market and oil analysts, government officials, and others - and includes a substantial amount of human drama.
, making a direct hit on New Orleans, Louisiana
, killing thousands of people and causing severe damage. Large numbers of offshore oil rigs in the Gulf, and a major pipeline and the primary nerve center of the Gulf Coast petroleum
industry at Port Fourchon, Louisiana
are destroyed. It shows how the effects of that disaster could have significant consequences throughout the United States
, even in areas far removed from landfall.
While the loss of life and property in the storm is staggering (with the death toll in the thousands and the damage in the billions), the greater impact is on the crippled energy industry. Due to the destruction at Port Fourchon and in the Gulf, oil prices skyrocket from $55 to $77 per barrel, and the United States government is forced to take immediate action to rebuild the Gulf's energy infrastructure. Once the storm passes, the government starts to rebuild the infrastructure at Port Fourchon (requiring a minimum of eight months) and repair or replace damaged offshore rigs (requiring a similar amount of time). Also, shipping that normally goes through Port Fourchon is rerouted to the Port of Houston
; Houston's port facilities are open around-the-clock with higher-than-usual throughput, with attendant higher risk of accident.
With widespread gas lines and prices over $
3.00 per gallon, the U.S. persuades Saudi Arabia
to increase its oil production by 1m barrels a day. The Saudi decision to aid America causes a backlash among a restive Muslim population already energized because of the US invasion of Iraq. Local terrorists stage an attack on an upscale shopping mall in Riyadh
which (after intervention by Saudi special forces) kills about 300 Americans associated with multinational oil companies. This attack leads the U.S. to send troops to Saudi Arabia. In the meantime, the oil crisis escalates when two large tankers collide in the narrow Houston Ship Channel
, shutting down the Channel.
Once winter sets in, gas lines take a back seat to critical shortages of heating oil during a bitterly cold winter, with thousands dying in the cold. Some good news comes after the Houston Ship Channel is reopened, but on Christmas Day, the same Saudi terrorists blow up sections of the mammoth Ras Tanura
refinery complex, killing 142 U.S. soldiers who were protecting the Saudi oil infrastructure; among the casualties is the eldest son of the convenience store owners. Oil prices reach $153 per barrel, and gas prices top $8 per gallon.
Meanwhile, with a government budget crisis due to military and economic pressures, farm spending is cut dramatically, leading to a subplot in which the social and political effects of this are explored. A well-renowned agricultural leader organizes a 750,000-farmer march on Washington, leading to clashes with police and the leader being taken into custody.
In the spring, the U.S. makes a deal with Russia
to send 8 Moilbbl of oil by tanker, but the oil companies involved subsequently make a deal with China
, which, equally hungry for oil and with greater financial reserves, outbids the U.S. This leaves America in a state of chaos, as well leading to soul-searching on whether China has now become the world's economic superpower. The country considers fast-tracking development of alternative energy sources, but there is little that can be done in the short-term to alter an economy structurally dependent on cheap foreign oil. Later, the U.S. government, showing unexpected diplomatic skill, resurrects the Russian oil deal by agreeing to a $16 billion long-term investment in its oil industry, and the China-bound tankers change course to the United States.
The crisis finally eases a year after Hurricane Julia, with Port Fourchon back at 80-percent capacity, the strategic petroleum reserve being replenished and tensions in Saudi Arabia stabilized. Oil prices drop from their highs at the height of the crisis to $73 per barrel, and gas prices nearing the $4 per gallon mark and dropping. However, the country has been through a stress as great as the Stock Market Crash of 1929, and now knowing that relying on OPEC for most of its foreign oil imports makes the United States vulnerable, Americans will never take cheap oil for granted again.
, its economic impact
and the ensuing price increases nearly parallel some of the events in the movie. However, the damage to US oil infrastructure was less severe than in the film, and the lack of the compounding events (shutdown of Port of Houston, loss of some of Saudi Arabia's supply) means the consequences of Katrina are much less than of the fictional Julia. However, especially given the coincidence of dates (in the film, Julia strikes in early September 2005), the similarity of the early impact of the two storms has been noted.
On August 28, 2005, Hurricane Katrina was on a direct path to hit Port Fourchon and New Orleans. Many of the initial scenes of Hurricane Julia were playing out in real life with Hurricane Katrina, such as the mandatory evacuation of New Orleans, the opening of the Superdome
as shelter, and the changing of traffic to contraflow
. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina did not directly hit Port Fourchon but across Barataria Bay at Buras, but nonetheless some oil rigs were damaged. Saudi Arabia agreed to increase oil production to help. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050829/wl_mideast_afp/usweatherhurricaneoil_050829200958&printer=1
On August 30, 2005, many gas stations raised prices by a considerable amount putting most of America over $3.00/gallon, as shown in the movie. http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/31/news/gas_prices/index.htm?cnn=yes On September 1, 2005, gas stations throughout the country began to run out of fuel due to worries of mass shortages. Some stations in Atlanta, Georgia
sold gas at nearly $6/gallon. Most of this was due to panic buying
, as noted in the film, rather than physical shortage. Subsequently, as the extent of the damage became clearer, prices eased.
The casualty numbers shown for New Orleans is also startlingly close to the casualties of Katrina. The Movies shows a little more than 1700 while the official number for Katrina is a little more than 1500.
and GM announced layoffs and plant closings in late 2005 and early 2006. However, while one reason for the layoffs was increased gasoline prices, it was not the sole reason for the layoffs. In addition, the layoffs were on a much smaller scale than the ones shown in the film.
There was also the 2009 GM crisis in which General Motors requested and received Federal assistance. Unlike the docudrama, GM did not die, it seemed "too big to fail" because maintaining automotive competition and the status quo seemed more important.
makes a terrorist attack on the oil facilities at Ras Tanura
. On February 24, 2006 al-Qaeda attacked the nearby facility at Abqaiq
, though no damage was inflicted on the facilities themselves.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
docudrama
Docudrama
In film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction....
portraying a future oil-shortage crisis in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, precipitated by a hurricane destroying key parts of the United States' oil infrastructure. The program was an attempt to depict what would happen if the highly oil-dependent country was suddenly faced with gasoline costing upwards of $7 to $8 per gallon (as opposed to the national average of around $2 per gallon when the show first aired). Directed by James Erskine and written by Erskine and Caroline Levy, it originally aired on FX Networks
FX Networks
FX is the name of a number of related pay television channels owned by News Corporation's Fox Entertainment Group...
on June 5, 2005, at 8 p.m. ET.
The crisis arises from a hurricane destroying an important pipeline at Port Fourchon
Port Fourchon, Louisiana
Port Fourchon is Louisiana’s southernmost port, located on the southern tip of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, on the Gulf of Mexico. It is a sea port, with significant petroleum industry traffic from offshore Gulf oil platforms and drilling rigs as well as the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port pipeline...
in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, a tanker collision closing a busy port, terrorist attacks and tension with Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
over the oil trade, and other fictional events. The program followed the lives of several people - the owners of a mom-and-pop convenience store, a paramedic, stock market and oil analysts, government officials, and others - and includes a substantial amount of human drama.
Plot
Hurricane Julia, a Category 4 hurricane, strikes the Gulf of MexicoGulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
, making a direct hit on New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, killing thousands of people and causing severe damage. Large numbers of offshore oil rigs in the Gulf, and a major pipeline and the primary nerve center of the Gulf Coast petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
industry at Port Fourchon, Louisiana
Port Fourchon, Louisiana
Port Fourchon is Louisiana’s southernmost port, located on the southern tip of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, on the Gulf of Mexico. It is a sea port, with significant petroleum industry traffic from offshore Gulf oil platforms and drilling rigs as well as the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port pipeline...
are destroyed. It shows how the effects of that disaster could have significant consequences throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, even in areas far removed from landfall.
While the loss of life and property in the storm is staggering (with the death toll in the thousands and the damage in the billions), the greater impact is on the crippled energy industry. Due to the destruction at Port Fourchon and in the Gulf, oil prices skyrocket from $55 to $77 per barrel, and the United States government is forced to take immediate action to rebuild the Gulf's energy infrastructure. Once the storm passes, the government starts to rebuild the infrastructure at Port Fourchon (requiring a minimum of eight months) and repair or replace damaged offshore rigs (requiring a similar amount of time). Also, shipping that normally goes through Port Fourchon is rerouted to the Port of Houston
Port of Houston
The Port of Houston is a port in Houston—the fourth-largest city in the United States. The Port is a 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities located a few hours' sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico...
; Houston's port facilities are open around-the-clock with higher-than-usual throughput, with attendant higher risk of accident.
With widespread gas lines and prices over $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
3.00 per gallon, the U.S. persuades Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
to increase its oil production by 1m barrels a day. The Saudi decision to aid America causes a backlash among a restive Muslim population already energized because of the US invasion of Iraq. Local terrorists stage an attack on an upscale shopping mall in Riyadh
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...
which (after intervention by Saudi special forces) kills about 300 Americans associated with multinational oil companies. This attack leads the U.S. to send troops to Saudi Arabia. In the meantime, the oil crisis escalates when two large tankers collide in the narrow Houston Ship Channel
Port of Houston
The Port of Houston is a port in Houston—the fourth-largest city in the United States. The Port is a 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities located a few hours' sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico...
, shutting down the Channel.
Once winter sets in, gas lines take a back seat to critical shortages of heating oil during a bitterly cold winter, with thousands dying in the cold. Some good news comes after the Houston Ship Channel is reopened, but on Christmas Day, the same Saudi terrorists blow up sections of the mammoth Ras Tanura
Ras Tanura
Ras Tanura is a city in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia located on a peninsula extending into the Persian Gulf...
refinery complex, killing 142 U.S. soldiers who were protecting the Saudi oil infrastructure; among the casualties is the eldest son of the convenience store owners. Oil prices reach $153 per barrel, and gas prices top $8 per gallon.
Meanwhile, with a government budget crisis due to military and economic pressures, farm spending is cut dramatically, leading to a subplot in which the social and political effects of this are explored. A well-renowned agricultural leader organizes a 750,000-farmer march on Washington, leading to clashes with police and the leader being taken into custody.
In the spring, the U.S. makes a deal with Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
to send 8 Moilbbl of oil by tanker, but the oil companies involved subsequently make a deal with China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, which, equally hungry for oil and with greater financial reserves, outbids the U.S. This leaves America in a state of chaos, as well leading to soul-searching on whether China has now become the world's economic superpower. The country considers fast-tracking development of alternative energy sources, but there is little that can be done in the short-term to alter an economy structurally dependent on cheap foreign oil. Later, the U.S. government, showing unexpected diplomatic skill, resurrects the Russian oil deal by agreeing to a $16 billion long-term investment in its oil industry, and the China-bound tankers change course to the United States.
The crisis finally eases a year after Hurricane Julia, with Port Fourchon back at 80-percent capacity, the strategic petroleum reserve being replenished and tensions in Saudi Arabia stabilized. Oil prices drop from their highs at the height of the crisis to $73 per barrel, and gas prices nearing the $4 per gallon mark and dropping. However, the country has been through a stress as great as the Stock Market Crash of 1929, and now knowing that relying on OPEC for most of its foreign oil imports makes the United States vulnerable, Americans will never take cheap oil for granted again.
Hurricane Katrina
The events of Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
, its economic impact
Economic effects of Hurricane Katrina
The economic effects of Hurricane Katrina, which hit Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi in late August 2005, were far-reaching. As of April 2006, the Bush Administration has sought $105 billion for repairs and reconstruction in the region, making it the costliest natural disaster in US history...
and the ensuing price increases nearly parallel some of the events in the movie. However, the damage to US oil infrastructure was less severe than in the film, and the lack of the compounding events (shutdown of Port of Houston, loss of some of Saudi Arabia's supply) means the consequences of Katrina are much less than of the fictional Julia. However, especially given the coincidence of dates (in the film, Julia strikes in early September 2005), the similarity of the early impact of the two storms has been noted.
On August 28, 2005, Hurricane Katrina was on a direct path to hit Port Fourchon and New Orleans. Many of the initial scenes of Hurricane Julia were playing out in real life with Hurricane Katrina, such as the mandatory evacuation of New Orleans, the opening of the Superdome
Louisiana Superdome
The Mercedes-Benz Superdome, previously known as the Louisiana Superdome and colloquially known as the Superdome, is a sports and exhibition arena located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA...
as shelter, and the changing of traffic to contraflow
Contraflow lane reversal
Contraflow lane reversal refers to plans that alter the normal flow of traffic, typically on a controlled-access highway , to either aid in an emergency evacuation or, as part of routine maintenance activities, to facilitate widening or reconstruction of one of the highway's carriageways...
. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina did not directly hit Port Fourchon but across Barataria Bay at Buras, but nonetheless some oil rigs were damaged. Saudi Arabia agreed to increase oil production to help. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050829/wl_mideast_afp/usweatherhurricaneoil_050829200958&printer=1
On August 30, 2005, many gas stations raised prices by a considerable amount putting most of America over $3.00/gallon, as shown in the movie. http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/31/news/gas_prices/index.htm?cnn=yes On September 1, 2005, gas stations throughout the country began to run out of fuel due to worries of mass shortages. Some stations in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
sold gas at nearly $6/gallon. Most of this was due to panic buying
Panic buying
Panic buying is an imprecise common use term to describe the act of people buying unusually large amounts of a product in anticipation of or after a disaster or perceived disaster, or in anticipation of a large price increase or shortage, as can occur before a blizzard or hurricane or government...
, as noted in the film, rather than physical shortage. Subsequently, as the extent of the damage became clearer, prices eased.
The casualty numbers shown for New Orleans is also startlingly close to the casualties of Katrina. The Movies shows a little more than 1700 while the official number for Katrina is a little more than 1500.
Automotive layoffs
Both FordFord Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
and GM announced layoffs and plant closings in late 2005 and early 2006. However, while one reason for the layoffs was increased gasoline prices, it was not the sole reason for the layoffs. In addition, the layoffs were on a much smaller scale than the ones shown in the film.
There was also the 2009 GM crisis in which General Motors requested and received Federal assistance. Unlike the docudrama, GM did not die, it seemed "too big to fail" because maintaining automotive competition and the status quo seemed more important.
Attacks on Saudi refineries
In the film, al-QaedaAl-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
makes a terrorist attack on the oil facilities at Ras Tanura
Ras Tanura
Ras Tanura is a city in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia located on a peninsula extending into the Persian Gulf...
. On February 24, 2006 al-Qaeda attacked the nearby facility at Abqaiq
Abqaiq
Abqaiq, or in Arabic Bqaiq , is a Saudi Aramco camp in the interior of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, located in the desert 60 km southwest of the Dhahran-Dammam-Khobar metropolitan area. The camp was built in the 1940s by ARAMCO...
, though no damage was inflicted on the facilities themselves.