The Oil Drum is a blog that features news of interest to the oil industry. These days, there’s a bit of focus on the hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. As well as having a link to the previously mentioned RigZone/RigLogix interactive map of the Gulf, it has a number of links to other maps of interest, including one by CNN of the location of oil refineries and the forecasted track of Hurricane Rita. I can’t find this map on the CNN site and the forecasted track is a bit dated but it does still have value (even if their choice of symbology can be improved).

The American Minerals Management Service has a large map of the Gulf of Mexico showing oil platforms in pdf format. It is a 5 MB download.

If (free) oil infrastructure maps are what you are looking for, then go to MapSearch. This site has a number of jpg maps of Canada and the United States that show oil pipelines and refinery locations, among others. The detail is not great but it highlights the vulnerability of the American oil industry to Gulf hurricanes.

All above links by way of The Oil Drum.

The New York Times has a map showing the potential impact of Hurricane Rita on oil facilities and structures in Texas and Louisiana as does The Globe and Mail. The Times map shows a little more details and dispenses with some of the unnecessary bells and whistles.

For worldwide oil and gas maps, Petroleum Economist looks to have the best set around. Unfortunately, you’ll need to own part of an oil company to pay for them as the maps are not free and cost a pretty penny. Tantalizing thumbnails are available on their website.