Related posts: Falls are NOT trivial and Important reading for offshore safety leaders
Archive for 2022
BSEE Safety Alert addresses fall prevention issues
Posted in accidents, Gulf of Mexico, tagged BSEE, fall prevention, injury, Safety Alert on June 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Ultradeep geothermal update
Posted in climate, drilling, energy, Uncategorized, tagged MIT, Quaise Energy, ultradeep geothermal on June 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »
For others who are fascinated by ultradeep geothermal energy, MIT News has posted an update on Quaise Energy. Quaise wants to use x-rays to drill ultradeep geothermal wells at old coal and gas power plants.
“The company plans to vaporize enough rock to create the world’s deepest holes and harvest geothermal energy at a scale that could satisfy human energy consumption for millions of years. They haven’t yet solved all the related engineering challenges, but Quaise’s founders have set an ambitious timeline to begin harvesting energy from a pilot well by 2026.”
Quaise will use conventional rotary drilling technology to reach basement formations before switching to high-power millimeter waves that vaporize boreholes through rock and provide access to deep geothermal heat. See our previous post on this exciting concept.
Congratulations to Paul Danos on being elected NOIA Chair
Posted in Offshore Energy - General, Uncategorized, tagged Hank Danos, NOIA, Paul Danos, safety, safety culture on June 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Paul, his father Hank, and the rest of the Danos team have always had a strong commitment to safety achievement. In recognition of their outstanding safety, pollution prevention, and compliance record, Danos won multiple National and District MMS SAFE Awards in the Production Contractor category. Danos is also a 2-time recipient of NOIA’s Safety in Seas Award. Paul will no doubt be an outstanding NOIA leader.
What is the status of the Huntington Beach pipeline spill investigation?
Posted in accidents, California, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged ACOE, Amplify, Coast Guard, Huntington Beach, pipeline spill on June 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »
The pipeline rupture, which was apparently caused by a ship’s anchor, occurred almost 9 months ago, but no investigation report has been issued. In February, the LA Times reported that the investigation was being delayed by bureaucratic processes. Meanwhile local politicians (see letter below) seem intent on preventing future production through the pipeline, regardless of the investigation’s findings.
Reports indicate that the pipeline was in excellent condition at the time of the incident. The best reporting and expert commentary on the incident also explains why immediate leak detection can be difficult on low pressure pipelines.
Brief filed by 14 states in support of the Sale 257 appeal
Posted in climate, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged 5 year leasing plan, Lease Sale 257, States appeal, Texas on June 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Per their court filing, Montana, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia seek to protect oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico and throughout the United States. The States’ brief is rather political, which is not surprising given their support for offshore leasing and the apparent alignment of the Federal defendants and the plaintiffs in support of the decision by Judge Contreras to vacate the sale.
As was expected at the time of the ruling, the court decision on Sale 257 shut down offshore leasing for the remainder of the 2017-22 Five Year Plan. Secretary of the Interior Haaland has promised that a new proposed leasing plan will be released by 6/30/2022, but that is just the start of the lengthy planning process.
Interesting NEPA data from the States’ brief:
- In 2018 CEQ found that, across the federal government, the average EIS completion time and issuance of a Record of Decision was over 4.5 years and the median was 3.6 years.
- On average, Interior takes five years and the Department of Transportation 6.5 years to complete an EIS—and that’s not including the usual years of resulting litigation.
- CEQ found that “across all Federal agencies, draft EISs averaged 586 pages in total, with a median document length of 403 pages.” As a result, “[t]he entire original purpose of doing NEPA analysis has been lost along the way to creating mountains of data and information in the hopes of successfully defending against inevitable litigation.”
Many thanks to the Texas AG for making the States’ brief readily available online. Unfortunately, that is not the case for the other briefs filed in support of the sale.
Gulf of Mexico rig count unchanged
Posted in drilling, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Baker Hughes rig count, Gulf of Mexico on June 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Update on the Sale 257 appeal
Posted in climate, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged API, DOI, Lease Sale 257, Louisiana on June 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »
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.
Previous posts and background information on Lease Sale 257.
Alleged missile attack on Black Sea platforms
Posted in Offshore Energy - General, Russia, tagged Black Sea platforms, Crimea, missile attack, Russia, Ukraine on June 23, 2022| Leave a Comment »
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.
offshore-energy.biz
Contrast the investigation of even minor offshore incidents with the (non)investigation into the origins of a virus that has killed 18 million (est.)
Posted in accidents, Offshore Energy - General, tagged investigations, origin of Covid, safety culture, WHO on June 23, 2022| Leave a Comment »
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?
EIA short term production forecast for the Gulf of Mexico looks about right
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged EIA short term forecast, gas production, Gulf of Mexico, longer term concerns, oil production on June 23, 2022| Leave a Comment »
The EIA forecast looks about right. Production from new projects should offset existing field declines and maintain relatively stable volumes over the next 2-3 years. In the intermediate and longer terms we have problems given the dearth of exploratory drilling and new discoveries, and the complete absence of leasing.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 