Archive for 2021
Often attempted in industry and government, but seldom successfully executed 😃
Posted in energy policy, Regulation, Uncategorized, tagged reorganization on November 15, 2021| Leave a Comment »
OCS Lease Sale 257 scheduled for Wednesday (11/17)
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Judge Moss, Lease Sale 257, Louisiana on November 15, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Not much news regarding the suit to block Sale 257. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss had previously authorized Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry to join the case as a defendant alongside the Department of the Interior (DOI), meaning that at least one party is sincerely interested in defending the sale. This comment by Judge Moss was telling:
Moss said he agreed to the state’s request to join the case because he harbored sufficient doubts that the state’s interests would be adequately represented by the federal government.
Reuters
Marvels of ingenuity juxtaposed; exploring the two great frontiers
Posted in energy, Offshore Energy - General, Uncategorized, tagged Gulf of Mexico, Perdido, SpaceX Dragon, spars on November 12, 2021| 2 Comments »
Which platform is pictured in the International Space Station photo (re-posted below)? It is clearly a spar (basically a large vertically floating cylinder), and like most GoM spars appears to be the truss type (see diagram below depicting spar types). There are currently 18 GoM spars (list in table below). Looking at photos of these spars, my guess is that the SpaceX Dragon is pictured above Perdido (bottom photo).
| Name | Operator | Water Depth | Spar Type | Installed |
| Horn Mountain | Anadardo | 5400′ | truss | 2002 |
| Front Runner | Murphy | 3330′ | truss | 2004 |
| Gunnison | Anadarko | 3150 | truss | 2003 |
| Constitution | Anadarko | 4970 | truss | 2005 |
| Neptune | Fieldwood | 1930 | classic | 1996 |
| Boomvang | Anadarko | 3650 | truss | 2002 |
| Devil’s Tower | Eni | 5610 | truss | 2004 |
| Tahiti | Chevron | 4000 | truss | 2008 |
| Genesis | Chevron | 2590 | classic | 1998 |
| Holstein | Anadarko | 4340 | truss | 2004 |
| Hoover | Exxon | 4825 | classic | 2000 |
| Perdido | Shell | 7835 | truss | 2009 |
| Lucius | Anadarko | 7000 | truss | 2014 |
| Medusa | Murphy | 2223 | truss | 2003 |
| Mad Dog | BP | 4420 | truss | 2004 |
| Nansen | Anadarko | 3675 | truss | 2001 |
| Gulfstar | Hess | 4600 | classic | 2014 |
| Heidelberg | Anadarko | 5300 | truss | 2016 |
Good Washington Post article on hydrokinetic projects in the Orkneys
Posted in Offshore Energy - General, UK, Uncategorized, tagged hydrokinetic energy, Orkney Islands on November 11, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Conceptually, these projects have great promise. To date, the main challenges have been durability, mooring system integrity, and space preemption. As noted in the Post article:
The idea is simple; execution less so. As these devices — and their computers, turbines and hydraulics — must survive in some of the harshest conditions on Earth.
Need to reverse these trends to reduce the risk of oil supply crunches in the future
Posted in drilling, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged drilling, Gulf of Mexico, Lease Sale 257, rig counts on November 10, 2021| Leave a Comment »
- Chart 1: Gulf of Mexico rig count remains low
- Chart 2: Exploratory drilling continues to decline and may be insufficient to replace reserves
- Chart 3: Well starts and number of operators drilling remain at historic low levels
- Chart 4: (1) One company (Shell) accounted for 39% of the 2021 YTD deepwater well starts in the GoM. (2) Five companies (Shell, Oxy/Anadarko, Chevron, Murphy, and BP) accounted for 80% of the deepwater well starts.
More certainty regarding lease sales would help. Prospective participants need assurances that they will have opportunities to apply findings and test exploration and development strategies. Will Lease Sale 257 be held on schedule next week?
Great picture of the SpaceX Dragon reentering the atmosphere above a Gulf of Mexico platform
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Gulf of Mexico, offshore platform, SpaceX Dragon on November 10, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Shell has restored all GoM production that was idled by Hurricane Ida
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Ida, Mars, production, Shell, Ursa on November 9, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Per Shell, production at Mars and Ursa has restarted. Olympus was restarted on 10/1. The December production figures should give us a pretty good indication of stabilized GoM production post Ida.
Not My Job Award for Energy Secretary Granholm
Posted in energy policy, tagged Not My Job Award, Secretary Granholm on November 9, 2021| Leave a Comment »
She is, of course, correct in asserting that markets determine energy prices, as they should. She is wrong in implying that OPEC alone controls oil prices. (Is she aware that the country she serves is a major oil producer?). She earns the Not My Job Award for implying she is powerless to influence energy prices and laughing about it (an added bit of chutzpah that greatly impressed the NMJA selection panel).
Will Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale be held on schedule (11/17/2021)?
Posted in Offshore Energy - General, tagged DOI, Lease Sale 257 on November 8, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Opponents have filed suit in DC Federal Court to block the sale. Given that DOI seems to side with the parties that are suing them (no irony there, this is Washington), how vigorous will their defense be? Meanwhile, OPEC continues to reject White House appeals for increased production.
Per Forbes:
“If we prematurely discourage investment in fossil fuels — and then our dependence doesn’t decline as rapidly as the Biden Administration envisions — that is a recipe for shortages, higher prices, and greater dependence on foreign nations for our energy.”
Forbes
OSHA vaccine mandate on ice
Posted in hurricanes, Regulation, tagged OSHA, Regulation, vaccine mandate on November 7, 2021| Leave a Comment »
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency stay of the requirement by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration that those workers be vaccinated by Jan. 4 or face mask requirements and weekly tests.
NPR
This court action was completely predictable from the outset. OSHA no doubt knew this but had no option but to dedicate substantial resources to the task. In all likelihood, the ETS/regulation will never be finalized.
Many (probably most) proposed regulations are never completed. Others never get beyond the concept stage. Establishing an OSHA rule takes an average of 7 years. That is not at all atypical for Federal regulators. There are much better ways to accomplish the regulatory objectives as was demonstrated after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. Unfortunately our political system frowns on collaborative approaches so we do things the hard way – accomplishing much less in much more time and at a far greater cost.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 