Posted in drilling, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, UK, tagged Atlantic drilling, exploratory drilling, Isle of Man on January 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »
A firm with a licence to drill for natural gas in Manx waters expects to begin exploratory works in October, its chief executive has said.
Crogga has appointed Three60 Energy to drill an appraisal well to understand how much gas is under the seabed 17km (10.5miles) off Maughold Head.
BBC
Posted in accidents, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged 4 fatalities, Bell 407, helicopter crash, NTSB, Rotorcraft, Walter Oil and Gas on January 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »
The attached NTSB report includes details on the timing of the accident, observations from personnel remaining on the platform, condition of the helipad, nature and location of the debris, and the recovery of the fuselage and separated tail boom. The engine control unit (ECU) was recovered and sent to an NTSB lab for data extraction.
Posted in Guyana, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged Exxon, flaring, gas to energy, Guyana oil and gas production, Hess on January 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Only 3 years after first oil, Guyana’s offshore production has soared to nearly 400,000 BOPD, and that rate should triple by 2027. If you want to see the production details, Guyana is doing a good job posting their oil and gas production data.
The startup and compressor issues that contributed to high gas flaring volumes seem to have been resolved, and the recent flaring record is exceptional. Over the month of November 2022, the volume flared averaged less than 0.2% of the gas produced, better than the 1.0-1.5% flaring/venting rate for oil-well gas in US GoM from 2015-2021. Using the World Bank’s flaring intensity metric (m3/bbl), the current flaring intensity for Guyana is a remarkable ~0.07 m3 flared per bbl of oil produced.
The next step is to use the associated offshore gas to power Guyana. The two videos embedded below, while promotional, provide good information on plans to use natural gas for onshore power generation, new industry, and other beneficial purposes. This step will only use 50 million cu ft/day, leas than 1/8 the volume that is currently being reinjected. Increased use of the associated gas resource will be dependent on expanded pipeline and power generation capabilities, and LNG facilities to provide for gas exports.
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged 5 year leasing plan, BOEM, EIA, Gulf of Mexico oil production, OCSLA, production forecasts on January 17, 2023| Leave a Comment »
As is evident from the first table below, the EIA’s new short-term production forecast for the Gulf of Mexico differs significantly from the optimistic BOEM forecast.
The EIA 2022 figure is spot-on, as it should be given that 10 months of 2022 production data are now in hand. However, BOEM’s 2022 forecast (published in July) missed the mark considerably. (In fairness to BOEM staff, their work was probably completed months before publication pending internal reviews.)
Of greater concern, given the policy implications, is the rosy BOEM forecast for the out-years. Despite historically low levels of leasing and exploratory drilling, BOEM forecasts oil production to exceed 2 million BOPD through 2027 and to remain well above the current (2022) level through 2031 (second table below).
As previously noted, the authors of the proposed 5 year OCS leasing plan have used the BOEM forecasts to justify a skeleton leasing plan that is unprecedented in program history. Contrary to the OCS Lands Act’s mandate and EIA projections regarding future oil and gas consumption, the proposed leasing plan not so subtly announces the intention to phase out the offshore oil and gas program.
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
| EIA | 1.75 | 1.87 | 1.85 |
| BOEM | 1.892 | 2.000 | 2.013 |
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged MLK, Penn State on January 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »
I was a freshman at Penn State when MLK was assassinated, and I very clearly remember when a fellow resident of Shunk Hall came into my room and told me what happened. Dr. King had spoken at Penn State a few years earlier, shortly after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, and was much admired at the university.
Dr. King’s passion, leadership, courage, and communication skills were extraordinary, and his commitment to non-violence set him apart. Truly a great man.
Posted in climate, Uncategorized, tagged Konstantin Kisin on January 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Offshore Wind, Wind Energy, tagged BOEM, New Jersey, Orsted, site surveys, whale deaths on January 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »
While it’s unlikely that the whale strandings are the result of pre-construction activities for offshore wind development, greater transparency on the part of the developer and regulators would be helpful:
Absent regular activity updates, accusations and protests are likely to continue and intensify.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Nietzsche, walking, weekend wisdom on January 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Offshore Energy - General, tagged Barbados, offshore licensing round, postponement on January 13, 2023| Leave a Comment »
The Ministry of Energy and Business of the Government of Barbados announces the postponement of the Barbados 2022 Offshore Licensing Round, which was scheduled to commence on December 1, 2022. The Offshore Licensing Round will now be launched in Q1, 2023.
Barbados Ministry of Energy and Business
This gives us more time to prepare the comprehensive BOE bid. Our team is old and slow, which is how we missed out on Guyana 😉😀
Posted in California, decommissioning, tagged California platforms, decommissioning, John B. Smith, Platform Irene, production ceased on January 12, 2023| 3 Comments »
My former colleague John Smith, an expert on Pacific Region decommissioning, advises me that production has ceased at Platform Irene in the Santa Maria Basin offshore California. Irene, the first platform installed in the Santa Maria District in 1985, was a milestone in Pacific OCS development.
Only 7 of the 23 Pacific OCS platforms are still producing. Attached is an updated summary table that John prepared for an upcoming SPE event in Alaska.
More on California OCS decommissioning.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 