Per a very good OGJ update, API, Louisiana, Chevron, bp, Shell, NOIA, the EnerGeo trade group of geophysical contractors, 14 states filing jointly, and the US Chamber of Commerce have submitted briefs to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Don’t expect a decision soon. The environmental advocacy groups are not scheduled to file their responses until Aug. 26, after which replies can be filed. No decision is expected before November at the earliest.
Following an alleged missile strike on three platforms operated by the Crimea-based oil and gas company Chernomorneftegaz, satellite images indicate the fire is still visible at the site in the Black Sea. Russian official claims that the strike left behind several injured and missing persons.
As we should and must, offshore operators, contractors, and regulators suffer over every injury, leak, or potentially hazardous event. This is also true for onshore oil and gas operations and most other industries. Yet for the past 2 years, we have been waiting for a proper investigation into the origins of the Covid virus. The Daily Mail is reporting that the Director-General of the WHO now believes that the virus was released from the Wuhan lab.
How can a company have a proper safety culture in a world where this level of malfeasance and stonewalling are tolerated and rewarded?
Kudos to Mike Wirth. It’s nice to see a CEO with some backbone. Most importantly, he defended his employees and their vital contribution to society.
“Chevron and its 37,000 employees work every day to help provide the world with the energy it demands and to lift up the lives of billions of people who rely on these supplies. Notwithstanding these efforts, your Administration has largely sought to criticize, and at times vilify, our industry. These actions are not beneficial to meeting the challenges we face and are not what the American people deserve.”
The comment that follows is interesting. Perhaps he wants to hear from the Climate Policy Office?
“Chevron will engage in this week’s meeting with Secretary Granholm. I encourage you to also send your senior advisors to this meeting, so they too can engage in a robust conversation.”
Number of regions in which lease sales will be proposed: BOE thinks 2, the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska. There is no chance of >2. A GoM only proposed program is possible, but we doubt that Alaska will be eliminated at this early stage.
Number of lease sales proposed: BOE guesses a total of 7 sales, 5 in the GoM and 2 in Alaska. The “under” is probably a better bet than the “over,” unless they eschew area-wide GoM sales and propose an increased number of more targeted sales.
For comparison, the previous six 5-Year Programs have included 10-12 GoM sales (11.3 average), 1-8 Alaska sales (4.3 ave.), 0-1 Atlantic sales (0.3 ave.), and no Pacific sales.
Meanwhile, no new leases have been issued in Federal waters immediately offshore from the SPR sites (see map below) for 580 days, the longest leasing gap since 1958.
“While attending USC, Jim met his future wife and love of his life, Sarah Ann Mason, a fellow geology student. It was crystal clear from the moment he met her in the Mineralogy lab, Sarah was a gem and despite all his faults he wouldn’t take her for granite.“
After high school, Jim worked as a cook on the Glomar Challenger scientific drilling vessel, which no doubt inspired him to study geology. As part of the Deep Sea Drilling Program, the Challenger recovered cores that provided conclusive evidence of plate tectonics, which until that time was just a theory. From 1968 to 1983, the Challenger recovered over 19,000 cores in water depths up to 7044 m!
Jim became a leading expert on oil and gas resources offshore California, which were once (and still should be) considered nationally important. Much respect for his many contributions to our understanding of Pacific geology!
Apple has full control over the price of its products and trounces ExxonMobil’s earnings in every quarter. Apple could slash the price of its products and still make a huge profit. But ExxonMobil can’t slash the price of its products because it doesn’t set the price.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 