Archive for December, 2022
White Christmas in the Gulf of Mexico? đ
Posted in climate, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Uncategorized, tagged Gulf of Mexico, snow, White Christmas on December 19, 2022| Leave a Comment »
If you like high energy prices, shortages, supply disruptions, and endless litigation …
Posted in energy policy, tagged climate, coal, Commerce Clause, New York, oil and gas, pure hate, S9612, US constitution on December 19, 2022| Leave a Comment »
… this New York state legislation is perfect.
NY State Senate Bill S9612 (proposed)
§ 328-a provides that no fossil fuel industry member, as that term is defined in the bill, shall knowingly or recklessly create or contribute to a condition that endangers the safety or health of the public by extracting, storing, transporting, refining, importing, reporting, producing, manufacturing, distributing. compounding, marketing, or sale of a "qualified product". 328-b declares that a violation of the new article that results in any harm shall be deemed climate negligence regardless of when the underlying conduct occurred. 328-c prohibits governmental enforcement. (i.e. prohibits govt intervention on behalf of the accused company) 328-d provides that any person, firm, corporation, or association that has been damaged as a result of a fossil fuel industry member's acts or omissions in violation of this article shall be entitled to bring an action for recovery of damages.This non-attorney suspects that the legislation might conflict with the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3), which gives Congress the power âto regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.â New York produces little oil, gas, or coal, so the legislation would largely affect operations that are conducted in other states, on Federal lands, or in foreign countries.
MEP Mick Wallace on Nord Stream sabotage
Posted in climate, energy policy, pipelines, tagged Mick Wallace MEP, Nord Stream on December 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »
SPR decline continues; 382.271 million bbls in reserve as of 12/9/2022
Posted in energy policy, tagged SPR depletion, Strategic Petroleum Reserve on December 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »
- down another 4.7 million bbs from the previous week (12/2/2022)
- lowest reserve volume since 1/6/1984
- 212 million bbls withdrawn this year
- EIA data
Waiting for…
Posted in accidents, California, Gulf of Mexico, pipelines, tagged aban pearl, BSEE, Hogan and Houchin, Huntington Beach, NordStream, offshore incidents, Russell Peterson on December 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »
As we approach the end of 2022, I’m still waiting for:
- Nord Stream Pipelines sabotage report(s): Will Denmark, Germany, and Sweden publish reports? Will the responsible parties be identified? I surely hope this wasn’t a US/UK operation.
- Huntington Beach Pipeline Spill investigation report: >14 months since the spill and still no report. What vessel(s) struck the pipeline? The pipeline operator seems to have had minimal responsibility but has been vilified. How will the vessel owner(s) be penalized?
- Offshore Incident Statistics (BSEE): Still no data for 2021 or 2022. The previous OCS safety regulator (MMS) updated these tables at the end of each quarter.
- BSEE/Coast Guard investigation reports for two 2020 GoM occupational fatalities that have yet to be documented. Also waiting for the reports on a 1/24/2021 fatality, a 5/15/2021 explosion and fatality, and a 3/25/2022 fatality. Lives were lost. When will we find out what happened and why?
- Decommissioning status and liability update for Platforms Hogan and Houchin, Santa Barbara Channel.
- (2008) Russell Peterson liftboat fatality offshore Delaware. This was the first fatality associated with the US offshore wind program. The Coast Guard has yet to issue a report.
- (2010) Sinking of the Aban Pearl semisubmersible offshore Venezuela. No report was issued.
- Summary of the incidents on the “BOE watch list” in 2011.
HSBC will no longer finance new oil and gas field projects
Posted in climate, energy policy, UK, Uncategorized, tagged finance, HSBC, oil and gas on December 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »
This rather arrogant and condescending policy makes neither good business sense nor good social sense (unless you support energy poverty), but I’m sure the executive team is proud. That said, they do seem to have left themselves with a fair amount of wiggle room.
In line with the policy, we will no longer provide new lending or capital markets finance for the specific purpose of projects pertaining to new oil and gas fields and related infrastructure when the primary use is in conjunction with new fields.
We will continue to provide finance or advisory services to energy sector clients at the corporate level, where clientsâ transition plans are consistent with our 2030 portfolio-level targets and net zero by 2050 commitment.
HSBC
Who are these companies?
Posted in California, energy, Offshore Wind, tagged California North Floating, California offshore wind sale, Central California Offshore WInd, Equinor, Invenergy, RWE Renewables on December 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Only Equinor is a familiar name to the offshore oil and gas industry, so here are some blurbs about the other high bidders.
California North Floating, LLC, is a subsidiary of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP). Since entering the US offshore market in 2016, CIP has built a leading offshore wind position through its affiliate Vineyard Offshore. This includes Vineyard Wind 1, the countryâs first commercial scale offshore wind project which is currently under construction, as well as two lease areas under development totaling approximately 5.0 GW off the coast of Massachusetts and New York.
Central California Offshore Wind is managed by an East Coast offshore wind energy company, Ocean Winds North America LLC, which formed a joint venture with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to win the lease. Ocean Winds has more than 10 years of experience in floating offshore wind, most notably through the development and operation of Windfloat Atlantic (offshore Portugal), the world’s first fully commercially operational floating offshore wind farm
Equinor, a Norwegian company, is a major international oil and gas producer, an important wind energy investor, and a leader in the development of floating wind turbine technology. Equinor operates the Hywind Tampen floating offshore wind farm which will supply power to Norwegian offshore oil and gas fields.
Invenergy and its affiliated companies develop, own, and operate large-scale renewable and other clean energy generation and storage facilities in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Invenergy’s home office is located in Chicago, and it has regional development offices in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Spain, Japan, Poland, and Scotland.
RWE Renewables has experience covering the offshore and onshore wind energy value chain from development to construction and operation. These activities are the responsibility of two functional units, âUnit Renewables Europe & Australiaâ and âUnit Offshore Windâ, as well as the subsidiary RWE Renewables Americas. RWE Renewables also invests in large-scale solar projects and supports power producers, plant operators and other stakeholders in the development, construction and operation of photovoltaic and solar energy plants as well as in the construction of battery storage systems. The focus is on large-scale industrial projects.
Nord Stream: the EU agrees to better protect critical infrastructure, but ignores the elephant in the room
Posted in accidents, energy, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged EU, investigations, Nord Stream, pipeline leaks, sabotage on December 13, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Wer ist verantwortlich?
As reported by Tagespiegel, the EU states have agreed to better protect critical infrastructure. Yet apparently the status of the Nord Stream investigation(s) was not discussed. When will the findings be released? How and when will the responsible parties be identified?
Ultradeep geothermal – It’s all about the drilling
Posted in drilling, energy, Uncategorized, tagged gyrotron, Oak Ridge Lab, Quaise Energy, ultradeep geothermal on December 12, 2022| Leave a Comment »
The hype for ultradeep geothermal is building, as it should be given the intermittency and energy density issues that limit the potential of other renewable energy options. However, the ability to drill 20 km into the earth’s surface with millimeter, rock-melting waves has yet to be demonstrated.
Conventional drilling technology gets you through sedimentary formations to the hard basement rock that lies below. That is where gyrotrons will be expected to vaporize rock to depths needed to tap into unlimited 900+ deg F geothermal energy. But questions regarding gyrotron reliability, hole stability, and material removal. Quaise Energy is working with DOE’s Oak Ridge lab to resolve these issues. Field tests are expected over the next few years with initial energy production in 2026. This is all very exciting, but even conventional drilling is seldom routine, so complications should be expected.
Here’s a very good video:
Strategic Petroleum Reserve withdrawals continue
Posted in energy policy, tagged SPR depletion, Strategic Petroleum Reserve on December 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Down to 387 million bbls as of 12/2. Lowest SPR volume since 2/24/1984. 206 million bbls withdrawn in 2022. With WTI near $72/bbl, is this finally the end of the withdrawals?
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 