Mississippi River delta mudslides: techniques allow for continued development with reduced risk

Abstract

The Mississippi River delta environment provides all the necessary ingredients to make sediment instability a critical geohazard to be dealt with in a productive oil and gas region. Some of the early development has encountered problems with the unstable sediments as pipelines have been ruptured and platform foundations have been damaged.

From experience and surveys, the government agencies and industry involved on the continental shelf are aware of the nature of instability, mechanism of movement, rate of movement and structural failure that can result, and are applying that knowledge to oil and gas exploration, development and to leasing and permitting.