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Archive for September, 2021

Offshore gas to the rescue?

Posted in gas, natural gas, Norway, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , on September 20, 2021| Leave a Comment »

European power prices have spiraled to multi-year highs on a variety of factors in recent weeks, ranging from extremely strong commodity and carbon prices to low wind output.

CNBC

Equinor and its partners have received permission to increase gas exports from two fields on the the Norwegian continental shelf to supply the tight European market. Production permits for the Oseberg and Troll fields have each been increased by 1 billion cubic meters (bcm) for the gas year starting 1 October.

Equinor
Oseberg field centre in the North Sea
Equinor’s Oseberg field, North Sea.

I hope the folks organizing the 10/28 congressional hearing are paying attention, but somehow I doubt it.

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Circus Announcement

Posted in energy policy, Uncategorized on September 19, 2021| Leave a Comment »

The House Oversight Committee has requested that executives from Exxon, Shell, Chevron, BP, and testify on October 28th.

“We are deeply concerned that the fossil fuel industry has reaped massive profits for decades while contributing to climate change that is devastating American communities, costing taxpayers billions of dollars and ravaging the natural world,” Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., wrote in a letter to oil executives.

House Oversight Committee

Expect moral outrage, sloganeering, and finger pointing (the Washington salute). A link for viewing the hearing will be posted at the committee website.

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Only about 1/4 of GoM oil production remains shut-in from Ida

Posted in Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, oil, tagged , , on September 17, 2021| Leave a Comment »

BSEE Data

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No oil and gas leasing pause in Norway

Posted in Norway, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , on September 15, 2021| Leave a Comment »

15 Sept 2021: The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy received applications from 31 companies in connection with the announcement of Allocation in Predefined Areas (APA) 2021. The Ministry’s announcement includes some good lessons on resource management:

It is gratifying that the oil companies still see good opportunities on the Norwegian shelf. Exploration is important for maintaining activity and good resource management, and it lays the foundation for value creation and safe jobs throughout the country, says Minister of Petroleum and Energy Tina Bru.

Predictability about which areas it is possible to apply for in APA and regular replenishment of new area is important to achieve an effective exploration. APA rounds are therefore conducted annually.

Ministry of Petroleum and Energy

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Say it ain’t so: NAS Jonsson Center is for sale

Posted in conferences, energy policy, Georges Bank, tagged , , , on September 15, 2021| Leave a Comment »

I was saddened to learn that the National Academy of Sciences is selling the Jonsson Center in Woods Hole, MA. This amazing meeting and conference facility is at a great waterfront location at the epicenter of marine research on the Atlantic Coast. You can buy the estate for a mere $27.5 million and continue its use as a conference center serving the marine science and policy communities.

“I think the concern is this is a historically important location for science, from its long history with the institutions,” said Dr. Saito. “To see one of our science institutions pack up and leave is sad for the community. Also, the loss of that conference facility, which I think is a really valuable resource for not just the area but for US science, is a sad thing to see happen as well.”

Makoto Saito, WHOI

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Norwegian Elections: Major shift in offshore oil policy seems unlikely

Posted in energy policy, Norway, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , on September 15, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Election Results 2021: Norway Set for New Prime Minister - Life in Norway

While Conservative Party leader Erna Solberg will no longer be Prime Minister, her likely replacement, Labor leader Jonas Gahr Støre, seems to be a moderate on energy issues:

“I believe that calling time on our oil and gas industry is the wrong industrial policy and the wrong climate policy,” Stoere told reporters.

KFGO

Monday’s result means Labour neither needs the Marxist Red Party nor the anti-oil Green Party to rule, thus lessening the pressure for big shifts.

“Labour will not make any dramatic changes to the oil industry,” said Teodor Sveen-Nilsen, an energy analyst at Sparebank 1 Markets.

EuroNews

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GoM reserves tick upward after long decline

Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, oil, tagged , , on September 14, 2021| 1 Comment »

BOEM just released their update of Gulf of Mexico OCS oil and gas reserves as of 12/31/2019. Oil reserves increased by 35.2% as a result of 6 new fields being added.

The reserve additions are necessary and welcome given the high depletion rates from 2002 to 2018 when reserves (plotted above) declined steeply while production rates held steady or increased. The concerns about the sustainability of current GoM production rates, as expressed in our 7/26/2021 post, remain given the historically low levels of exploratory drilling. For the reasons presented in that post, our view is that the importance of GoM production will increase, not decrease, over the next decade.

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9/15: GoM shut-in production chart updated; 30% of oil production remains shut-in; WTI closes at $72.66/bbl

Posted in Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, oil, tagged , , , on September 13, 2021| Leave a Comment »

BSEE data

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RODA sues BOEM on Vineyard Wind I approval

Posted in Offshore Wind, Uncategorized, Wind Energy, tagged , , , on September 13, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Vineyard Windmap 9 10 19 01

Washington, D.C. (9/13/2021) — Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA), a broad membership-based coalition of fishing industry associations and fishing companies, filed a Petition for Review today in the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals regarding the Secretary of the Interior’s July 15, 2021 decision approving the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind energy project. This action is the culmination of many years of conscientious participation by fisheries professionals only to see their expertise and value summarily ignored by decision-makers during the leasing process.

The RODA statement is quite strong. While the new administration understandably wants to advance offshore wind development, they would have been wise to accept input from RODA and other interested parties before approving Vineyard Wind I. The fishing industry certainly has a legitimate interest in the outcome of this and other offshore wind projects.

A group of Nantucket residents had already sued BOEM over concerns about the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale. Concerns have also been expressed about the wind farm’s proximity to shore:

Fifteen miles was not OK in North Carolina or Long Island; then why is it OK for Nantucket? It’s just wrong.

David Stevenson, Caesar Rodney Institute

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Reflecting on 9/11 and the importance of energy security. Thankful for the contributions of the offshore industry.

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on September 11, 2021| Leave a Comment »

May be an image of monument, outdoors and text

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