The corporate media is disinterested (which is a story by itself), but independent journalists like Briahna Joy Gray are coming to the fore.
Archive for 2023
Nord Stream: Nothing new, but a good overview by Briahna Joy Gray (The Hill)
Posted in energy policy, pipelines, tagged Briahna Joy Gray, Nord Stream, Seymour Hersh, the Hill on February 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »
15 Minute Cities
Posted in climate, UK, tagged Greta on February 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Huntington Beach pipeline spill: another settlement but still no investigation report
Posted in accidents, California, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged Amplify, Beta Unit, cargo ships, Huntington Beach, law suits, pipeline spill on February 17, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Per the LA Times, companies linked to the cargo ships accused of dragging anchors over Amplify Energy’s pipeline have agreed to pay $45 million to settle lawsuits. The ships were identified by Sky Truth (see above image) shortly after the spill (October 1, 2021).
Meanwhile, Amplify is suing the vessel owners for damaging the pipeline and failing to notify the authorities after the damage occurred. Amplify would seem to have a good case given that inspection reports indicate that the pipeline was in good shape prior to the anchor damage and that the Beta Unit platforms had a good safety and compliance record.
Finally, when will we see the investigation report for this spill? It has now been nearly 17 months since the incident.
Simpler, safer, greener: Vito takes center stage!
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Anchor, Argos, bp, Chevron, deepwater platform, King's Quay, Murphy, Shell, simpler safer greener, Vito, Whale on February 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Last year, BOE featured 5 deepwater platforms that were under construction: Shell’s Vito and Whale, Murphy’s King’s Quay, bp’s Argos, and Chevron’s Anchor. These floating production units are noteworthy for their lighter, smaller designs. King’s Quay was the first to produce, beginning last April. The spotlight is now on Vito which began producing today. Vito’s peak production should reach 100,000 boe. The other 3 platforms are expected to begin production this year or next.
More Nord Stream from Seymour Hersh and Jeffrey Sachs
Posted in energy policy, Norway, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged Berliner Zeitung, Nord Stream, Seymour Hersh on February 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »
From a Hersh interview with Fabian Scheidler of the Berliner Zeitung:
- 8 “bombs” were placed near the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea, six of which exploded in a rather flat area. The explosives destroyed three of the four Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines. (This explains why one of the four pipelines wasn’t damaged. Presumably, concerns about the unexploded ordinance have been addressed by Sweden.)
- Norway identified a relatively shallow area (80m water depth) near Bornholm.
- It only took a few hours to place the explosives
- No one in Congress was informed of the plan
- In response to criticism about his reliance on unidentified sources, Hersh said that many of his articles were dependent on such sources. If his sources were named, they would be fired or worse.
Below is a very good Jeffrey Sachs interview (new) with appropriate pushback from the host Freddie Sayers. Nothing really new, but both Sachs and Sayers are informed and articulate. Worth viewing.
Ocean Ranger tragedy revisited
Posted in accidents, Canada, Offshore Energy - General, tagged 41 years ago, Newfoundland, Ocean Ranger on February 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Methane emissions: Nord Stream > offshore leasing
Posted in climate, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged BOEM, GHG emissions, lease sales, methane, Nord Stream, OCS oil and gas program on February 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »
The Nord Stream sabotage likely released more methane than the complete lifecycle of a GoM lease sale (upstream and downstream). Also, the Nord Stream explosions may have released more methane than is emitted by all US offshore producers in an entire year. Here are the numbers:
| Source of Methane | CH4 emissions (1000s of tons) |
| Nord Stream (probable range) | 100-400 |
| Nord Stream (maximum) | 500 |
| Nord Stream – first 48 hrs (CAMS est) | 175 |
| all US offshore production in 2020 (EPA) | 193 |
| all US on- and offshore exploration in 2020 (EPA) | 12 |
| lifecycle upstream emissions from a typical GoM lease sale (BOEM) | 118 |
| lifecycle up- and downstream emissions from a typical GoM sale (BOEM) | 151 |
Finally, remember that offshore oil and gas leasing results in a net reduction in GHG emissions.
The No Leasing scenario results in roughly double the CO2e emissions for upstream activities compared to those of the Leasing scenario, given that, collectively, the substitute energy sources have higher GHG emissions per unit of production (also known as “GHG intensity”) compared to the forgone domestically produced OCS oil and natural gas of the Leasing scenario.
BOEM
Even when mid- and downstream emissions are included, leasing is preferable to no leasing. See the table below from the BOEM report:
Bottom line: we need more energy leasing and less military aggression!
Will the Nord Stream Pipeline Blasts ever be Investigated?
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged CIA, Judge Napolitano, Nord Stream, Phil Giraldi, Seymour Hersh on February 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »
First Seymour Hersh interview since his Nord Stream article
Posted in energy policy, Interviews, Norway, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged Nord Stream, sabotage, Seymour Hersh on February 13, 2023| 2 Comments »
Much of the discussion was about his career and the state of journalism. Some of Hersh’s comments on his Nord Stream story:
- He will protect his sources as he always has
- The Nord Stream Pipeline sabotage was “stupid beyond belief”
- “Pipeline industry knows what happened”
- Only one major news show (Tucker Carlson) has contacted him and Hersh chose not to be interviewed
- He was shocked that no other news organization pursued the story
- He has received 1600 emails in 2.5 days since the article was published
I knew Trinidad had a long history of oil production, but wow!
Posted in drilling, Offshore Energy - General, Uncategorized, tagged 1857, first oil production, oil and gas production, petroleum industry history, Trinidad and Tobago on February 13, 2023| 1 Comment »
The record shows that the Merrimac Company, registered in 1857, made attempts to produce oil by distillation of pitch, but furthermore in the same year they drilled a well to a depth of about 280 feet, which was a much greater depth than Drake’s well in Pennsylvania – and two years earlier – and produced oil therefrom
History of Trinidad’s Oil
Here is a list of historical facts for T&T’s petroleum industry.
Central bank of T&T data indicate dry natural gas production of 2.84 BCFD and crude oil production of 57,400 BOPD as of 9/2022.
The Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries is currently mulling bids on 4 deepwater blocks contrary to an erroneous press report that those bids had been rejected.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 