Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
While the entire US Atlantic remains off-limits to oil and gas leasing, Canada-Newfoundland offshore areas are open for business. This month marks the 29th anniversary of production offshore Newfoundland.
The latest bidding round was highly successful, with Shell leading the way. The total of 10 successful bids is the largest number for the province since 2000. All of the acquired parcels are in the Eastern Newfoundland Area identified above.
Note that the 2 new Equinor licenses are close to their Bay du Nord “significant discovery licenses.” Also note the size of the the parcels as compared to Gulf of America lease blocks which are only 5760 acres or 2331 hectares.
| Successful Bid Results for Call for Bids NL26-CFB01 (Eastern Newfoundland Region) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Parcel | Hectares | Successful Bidders | Successful Bid Amount (work commitments) |
| 1 | 268,608 | Shell Canada Limited (100%) | $50,101,000.00 |
| 3 | 270,830 | Shell Canada Limited (100%) | $20,101,000.00 |
| 4 | 266,671 | Shell Canada Limited (100%) | $20,101,000.00 |
| 5 | 271,992 | Oil and Gas Corporation of NL (100%) | $10,000,000.00 |
| 6 | 272,566 | Shell Canada Limited (100%) | $50,101,000.00 |
| 7 | 273,029 | Oil and Gas Corporation of NL (100%) | $10,000,000.00 |
| 8 | 273,579 | Shell Canada Limited (100%) | $50,101,000.00 |
| 9 | 187,675 | Shell Canada Limited (100%) | $20,101,000.00 |
| 11 | 41,933 | Equinor Canada Ltd. (70%)Shell Canada Limited (30%) | $15,000,000.00 |
| 12 | 81,094 | Equinor Canada Ltd. (70%)Shell Canada Limited (30%) | $15,000,000.00 |
| Total | 2,207,977 | $260,606,000.00 | |
If like me, you are curious about the “Oil and Gas Corp. of NL,” the successful bidder on 2 parcels, OilCo (as they are known) is a State owned company. Their news release explains the OilCo strategy:
OilCo will invite companies to partner on these licences through negotiated farm-down arrangements. The model allows companies to engage throughout the year rather than wait for a scheduled land sale, creating a clearer path from technical evaluation to acreage access. OilCo’s commercial objective is to negotiate a 10 per cent back-in at project sanction, with no OilCo funding of exploration drilling. Through direct negotiations, OilCo will seek the best value for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians while encouraging investment and advancing exploration activity.
If you can drill and produce safely in Newfoundland’s hyper challenging offshore environment, as has been demonstrated (100% safety management commitment required), you can safely drill and produce anywhere.
Posted in Canada, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged Bay du Nord, Canada, Newfoundland, offshore oil and gas, OilCo, Orphan basin, Shell | Leave a Comment »
Here’s why – from p. 43 of Sable’s Q3 report (emphasis added):
Going Concern. As a result of the Company’s primary purchaser’s [Chevron] temporary curtailment of its purchases of the Company’s crude oil beginning October 6, 2026, as described in Note 1 — Organization, Business Operations, and Going Concern, management does not currently expect operating cash flows, together with the remaining proceeds of the 2026 Refinancing Transactions, to be sufficient to fund operating expenses and service indebtedness in the near term. The curtailment of sales from our primary purchaser continued throughout October 2026 and remains ongoing as of the date of this filing. In response, the Company has reduced production to manage crude oil inventory levels at its dedicated storage facilities. In early November 2026, the Company began selling crude oil to additional purchasers, and the Company anticipates that its primary purchaser will resume purchasing barrels in the near term. However, the timing and volume of any such resumption are uncertain. Refer to the section entitled “Part II, Item 1A. Risk Factors—We depend upon a limited number of purchasers for the sale of most of our crude oil. The loss of one or more of these purchasers could, among other factors, limit our access to suitable markets for the crude oil we produce.”
Sable’s Santa Ynez Unit
Posted in California, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged Q3 report, Sable Offshore, Santa Ynez Unit | Leave a Comment »
Excelerate Energy, AxDo Bahamas Ltd., an international leader in energy trading and marketing, and Bahamas-based energy and maritime logistics company Domicisle LNG announced an 11-year LNG supply agreement supporting development of the Bahamas LNG Hub.
AxDo will become an anchor customer of Excelerate’s planned offshore LNG storage and distribution terminal near Grand Bahama island.
The planned Bahamas LNG Hub is intended to support growing LNG demand in The Bahamas and throughout the Caribbean. The project is designed to provide LNG storage and distribution services for marine bunkering, power generation, and other downstream customers while expanding access to natural gas across the region.
Initial LNG deliveries are expected to begin in 2027 utilizing existing LNG supply and logistics capabilities from Excelerate’s Jamaica platform. A second phase is expected to include deployment of a floating storage unit (FSU) near Grand Bahama Island in 2028. The FSU will serve as the offshore LNG storage and distribution terminal.
Located in one of the Caribbean’s busiest maritime corridors, Grand Bahama is strategically positioned to support cruise ship bunkering, power generation and regional LNG distribution demand while enhancing regional LNG logistics capabilities and energy security.
Posted in Bahamas, energy, natural gas | Tagged AxDo Bahamas, Excelerate Energy, floating storage unit, Grand Bahama Island, LNG | Leave a Comment »
The Norwegian Marine Industry Authority (Havtil) has launched an investigation following the fire on the Visund platform on November 4, 2026.
The fire originated in an emergency switchboard room and caused heavy smoke, which also spread to nearby rooms. The fire was extinguished, and no injuries were reported. The majority of the personnel on board were evacuated, and the facility was shut down and depressurized as a result of the incident.
Havtil will:
- Carefully review the sequence of events.
- Consider actual and potential consequences.
- Assess direct and underlying causes.
- Identify deviations and areas for improvement related to regulations.
Havtil’s investigations are comprehensive and timely.
Posted in accidents, Norway, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged Equinor, fire, Havtil, investigation, North Sea, Norway, Visund | Leave a Comment »
- Will Sable’s rocky road become impassable? Congress will have something to say about Federal jurisdiction over the onshore pipeline and the special DPA permit issued by PHMSA.
- NOAA’s review of the California Coastal Commission looks less threatening to the Commission. Expect Congressional scrutiny of the NOAA review (hearings?).
- The default toppling-in-place decommissioning proposal seems unlikely to proceed.
- Deep sea minerals: The 11/19 Samoa minerals sale is likely to be held unless halted by the Courts, but will leases be issued? Will other marine minerals sales go ahead.
- Interior Dept. reviews of past wind approvals will be challenged by Congress, if allowed by the Courts.
- Don’t expect more wind lease buybacks. Existing deals may be challenged by Congress.
- The legislatively mandated oil and gas lease sale schedule is unlikely to be overturned.
- The proposed revisions to the arctic drilling rule are less likely to be finalized.
- The anticipated decommissioning financial assurance restart will likely be delayed.
- Career Federal employees become accustomed to sudden changes in policy direction.
“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.” ~ John F. Kennedy
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Uncategorized | Tagged California Coastal Commission, decommissioning, mid term elections, offshore energy, Offshore Wind, Sable Offshore | Leave a Comment »
The C-NLOER does a very good job of informing the public about offshore incidents, even those that are relatively minor, in a timely manner. The information below is excerpted from their report.
On October 29, 2026 Cenovus reported a spill of approximately 1,400 litres (370 gallons, 8.8 barrels) of synthetic-based mud (SBM) from the West White Rose Platform.
The release occurred during completions operations through the cuttings discharge chute, approximately 63 metres below sea level. No indication of the release was observed at the sea surface from the platform or the standby vessel, which conducted a sweep of the area.
As a precaution, operations were suspended on the West White Rose on October 29 while Cenovus investigated the circumstances surrounding the release. Operations resumed the next day with measures in place to prevent recurrence. C-NLOER Environmental Protection and Well Operations staff were engaged by Cenovus prior to the resumption of operations and are continuing to monitor Cenovus’s investigation and response.
SBM is a dense fluid used during drilling and well operations. It is a mixture of synthetic base fluid, a food-grade oil, and various weighting agents and additives. The synthetic base fluid has very low toxicity in marine environments, with the potential to biodegrade when sufficient oxygen is present. Because of its density, SBM generally sinks and settles, with effects due to the seabed coverage near the release, limited to within tens of metres of the discharge location.
Posted in accidents, Canada, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged C-NLOER, Cenovus, Newfoundland, spill, synthetic mud, well completion, West White Rose | Leave a Comment »
In September, Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova announced “an amicable settlement” to resolve litigation regarding the Vineyard Wind project. The terms of the agreement are confidential, so we won’t know the extent to which financial arrangements factored into the settlement.
The parties may publicly be singing “Kumbaya,” but that doesn’t dismiss the serious allegations. Unresolved data falsification charges, including the following Vineyard Wind allegation, are particularly troubling:
“This exceptional misconduct includes [GE Vernova’s] intentional scheme to falsify critical quality assurance data… and to intentionally misrepresent the quality of those blades to [Vineyard Wind] in a brazen fraudulent, and willful breach of the TSA [Turbine Supply and Service and Maintenance Agreements], ultimately resulting in the catastrophic blade failure…”
Data falsification, was also reported by Radio Gaspesie in Quebec. If the allegations are true, serious violations of Federal regulations were committed, and both GE Vernova and Vineyard Wind may be subject to civil and criminal penalties.
Civil penalties are administered by MMA, Criminal penalties, administered by the Justice Dept, could be warranted if the falsification of quality assurance data is confirmed. The relevant text from the statute is pasted below.
We also have the outstanding matter of the waived Fabrication and Installation Report (FIR) requirement that was granted so the project could stay on schedule. The FIR addresses quality assurance measures, so the waiver is highly relevant and concerning.
Finally, 28 months after the incident, BSEE/MMA has yet to issue an investigation report or share information on their findings. Are penalty issues contributing to the delay?
43 U.S. Code § 1350 – Remedies and penalties – (c) Criminal penalties
Any person who knowingly and willfully (1) violates any provision of this subchapter, any term of a lease, license, or permit issued pursuant to this subchapter, or any regulation or order issued under the authority of this subchapter designed to protect health, safety, or the environment or conserve natural resources, (2) makes any false statement, representation, or certification in any application, record, report, or other document filed or required to be maintained under this subchapter, (3) falsifies, tampers with, or renders inaccurate any monitoring device or method of record required to be maintained under this subchapter, or (4) reveals any data or information required to be kept confidential by this subchapter shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than $100,000, or by imprisonment for not more than ten years, or both. Each day that a violation under clause (1) of this subsection continues, or each day that any monitoring device or data recorder remains inoperative or inaccurate because of any activity described in clause (3) of this subsection, shall constitute a separate violation
Posted in accidents, Offshore Wind, Regulation | Tagged civil penalties, criminal penalties, data falsification, GE Vernova, investigation, MMA, settlement agreement, turbine blade failure, Vineyard Wind | Leave a Comment »
With regard to the Prospector 5 tragedy, excerpts from Borr Drilling’s 11/2/2026 update follow:
As part of the ongoing search and rescue operations, the body of a fourth individual has been located. All four located individuals have been recovered and are in the process of being transported to Port Gentil, Gabon. Search efforts continue for the remaining individual who is still unaccounted for.
The Company has engaged a globally recognized classification society with extensive experience in offshore and maritime incident investigations to conduct an independent investigation into the incident. The Company remains committed to an independent and objective process to determine the root cause. The Company will continue to cooperate fully and transparently with the relevant authorities and other parties involved.
It’s good to learn that a classification society has been hired to independently investigate the incident. We trust that their report will be made publicly available.
Posted in accidents, drilling, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged Borr Drilling, fatalities, Gabon, independent investigation, Prospector 5 | Leave a Comment »
2026 would be another record production year for the Gulf, were it not for Isaias. It may still be close.
Sable is the dominant producer in the Pacific. More on their production.
Posted in California, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged 2026, Gulf of America, Isaias, oil production, Pacific oil and gas, Sable Offshore | Leave a Comment »
Excerpts from Borr Drilling’s latest update (10/29/2026):
Of the 115 personnel on board at the time of the incident, 110 have returned ashore. Those personnel remain in Gabon and are being provided with accommodation, care and ongoing support, with their wellbeing remaining a priority for the Company.
As part of the ongoing search and rescue operations, the Company has been notified that an underwater remotely operated vehicle has located the bodies of three individuals. Recovery efforts are underway and extensive search and rescue efforts continue for the two individuals who remain unaccounted for.
At the time of the incident, there was approximately 280 cubic meters of marine diesel fuel onboard the Prospector 5. In coordination with our customer and the local authorities, resources have been mobilized and measures are being taken to mitigate and minimize any environmental impact related to this incident.
Lessons learned from this tragic incident, both in terms of root causes and potential mitigations, will be beneficial in preventing recurrences elsewhere. Borr Drilling has been forthcoming in providing updates. Hopefully, they will be similarly transparent in sharing the findings and recommendations resulting from their investigation.
Some operators, contractors, and regulators have been less proactive in sharing investigation results. Perhaps this is a good time to repeat our recommendation calling for an international standard that identifies incident information to be publicly disclosed and specifies the timeframes and methods for releasing this information. An API or ISO committee would seem to be the best means of developing such a standard.
Posted in accidents, drilling, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged Borr Drilling, Prospector 5, Gabon, 3 fatalities, 2 missing | Leave a Comment »
