Posted in Guyana, Offshore Energy - General, tagged arbitration, Chevron, Exxon, Guyana, Hess, Stabroek on May 30, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Exxon senior vice president Neil Chapman said he was confident that a three-member arbitration panel would rule in Exxon’s favor and determine it had a right-of-first-refusal to purchase Hess’ stake in a Guyana oil joint venture operated by Exxon.
Hess: “We remain confident that the arbitration will confirm the Stabroek right of first refusal does not apply to the merger.”
A ruling is expected in 2-3 months.
Posted in California, Offshore Energy - General, rigs-to-reefs, tagged BOEM, killer whales, platform ecology, Platform Holly, rigs-to-reefs, Rigs-to-Refuge, sea lions, shelter, UCSB on May 30, 2025| Leave a Comment »
During a recent dive survey at Platform Holly off California’s coast, scientists from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) had to pause fieldwork because dozens of sea lions took shelter around the structure.
The reason? A pod of killer whales had been spotted hunting near another offshore platform in federal waters.
These real-time encounters reveal more than marine drama. They highlight the ecological role that offshore platforms can play as part of the seascape. UCSB’s work is part of our ongoing study, Understanding Biological Connectivity Among Offshore Structures and Natural Reefs, which explores how marine life moves among natural and manmade habitats.
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Wind, Regulation, tagged Ack for Whales, Aquinnah Wampanoag, BOEM, DOI, Green Oceans, lawsuit, New England Wind, NMFS on May 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »
ACK For Whales, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head / Aquinnah, Green Oceans, a coalition of charter fishing groups and seven individuals filed suit in federal court asserting that the Departments of Interior and Commerce violated the law when they approved the Record of Decision (ROD) for the New England Wind 1 and 2 projects.
Construction has not yet begun on the New England Wind 1 and 2 projects. The leases abut Vineyard Wind’s troubled lease 0501 (see above map), site of last summer’s turbine blade failure.
Per ACK for Whales President Vallorie Oliver:
“In offshore wind project after offshore wind project, from Revolution Wind, Vineyard Wind and New England Wind to the others, the government was so desperate to rush these projects that it cut corners and violated the law,” Oliver said. “The government didn’t care if it trampled on the Wampanoag sacred beliefs and rites, hurt the charter boat, fishing and lobster industries or wiped out the Right whales. The only thing that mattered was to get these environmentally destructive turbines built, costs to the rest of us be damned.”
| Plaintiff: | ACK FOR WHALES, INC., VALLORIE OLIVER, AMY DISIBIO, VERONICA BONNET, DOUGLAS LINDLEY, STEVEN AND SHARYL KOHLER, DANNY PRONK, WILLIAM VANDERHOOP, GREEN OCEANS, RHODE ISLAND PARTY AND CHARTER BOAT ASSOCIATION, CAPE COD CHARTER BOAT ASSOCIATION, INC., CONNECTICUT CHARTER AND PARTY BOAT ASSOCIATION, INC., MONTAUK BOATMEN AND CAPTAINS ASSOCIATION, INC. and WAMPANOAG TRIBE OF GAY HEAD AQUINNAH |
|---|---|
| Defendant: | UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, BUREAU OF OCEAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, DOUG BURGUM, in his official capacity as Secretary of the Interior, WALTER CRUICKSHANK, in his official capacity as the Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, HOWARD LUTNICK, in his official capacity as the Secretary of Commerce and EUGENIO PIEIRO SOLER, in his official capacity as the Assistant Administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service |
| Case Number: | 1:2025cv01678 |
| Filed: | May 27, 2025 |
| Court: | U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia |
Posted in Canada, energy policy, pipelines, tagged Alliance, energy integation, US-Canada on May 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Stop the bluster about annexation of Canada. Almost no one on either side of the border supports this. Focus instead on strengthening strategic alliances – most notably with regard to energy supply.
Both the US and Canada are energy powerhouses. Both countries are also energy underachievers relative to their potential. The more efficiently our pipelines and transmission systems can be integrated, the better that potential can be realized and the more both countries can prosper.
See the attached energy trade map to get a better understanding of our integrated energy economies.
Posted in California, energy policy, pipelines, Regulation, tagged California Coastal Commission, halt to pipeline work, preliminary injunction, Sable Offshore, Santa Ynez Unit on May 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »
For the reasons set forth herein, the application of the California Coastal Commission for issuance of a preliminary injunction is granted. No bond is required. The Commission shall present a written order for entry by the court.
The roller coaster ride continues. Sable Offshore’s stock price plunged in response to the latest order.
Posted in deep sea mining, energy policy, Regulation, tagged American Samoa, BOEM, deepsea mining, Impossible Metals on May 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »
As a result of a formal request from the Impossible Metals company, BOEM will begin a multi-step process which could lead to a marine minerals lease sale offshore American Samoa.
The first step will be the publication of a request for information and Interest in the Federal Register. This notice will seek public input that will help inform BOEM’s assessment of geologic conditions, potential environmental and cultural impacts, and other uses of the area.
Impossible Metals has developed an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for selective mineral harvesting. Their novel AUV uses advanced robotics, AI, and a buoyancy engine to hover above the seabed and minimize disruption to the habitat and native biodiversity. Impossible Metals believes this method will have the lowest environmental impact and cost among land and deep-sea mining approaches.
9 minute interview with the CEO of Impossible Metals:
Posted in climate, energy policy, Offshore Wind, pipelines, Regulation, tagged commercial fishing, Constitution pipeline, Empire Wind, Equinor, Green Oceans, Norway, offshore wind regulation, pause reversal, Wampanoag Tribe on May 27, 2025| Leave a Comment »
With victory in sight, the President pulled the ball away from his most ardent East Coast supporters.
Further thoughts on the reasons for the Empire Wind reversal:
Following the reversal of the Empire Wind decision, Green Oceans, ACK for Whales, Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, Protect Our Westport Waters, Save Greater Dowses Beach, Save Right Whales Coalition, and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head/Aquinnah petitioned Secretary Burgum to halt all wind construction in New England coastal waters and begin a “complete reevaluation” of their permits under applicable federal laws. In addition to right whale and tribal cultural resources concerns, the letter cited:
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Uncategorized, tagged energy independence, energy workers, gratitude, Memorial Day, security on May 26, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Thinking of those who gave their lives to protect our freedoms, including workers who died providing the energy needed to power our economy.
abundant, reliable, affordable energy 🡆 economic strength, security, & independence
Posted in Alaska, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged Big Beautiful Bill, Cook Inlet, Gulf of America, litigation, offshore oil and gas leasing, royalty rates, sale requirements on May 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Part VIII, Offshore OIl and Gas Leasing, is a good read for those interested in OCS leasing policy. This cleverly crafted part of the bill specifies leasing schedules, streamlines the leasing process, and minimizes litigation risks. Highlights:
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Regulation, tagged API, Chevron, Endangered Species Act, Gulf of America, Louisiana, NMFS biological opinion, offshore oil and gas operations, Rice's whale on May 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Their filing is attached. I found the following points to be particularly compelling:
p.3: “Despite no evidence that an Oil and Gas Program vessel has ever struck a Rice’s whale, the 2025 BiOp projects that Oil and Gas Program vessels will lethally strike numerous Rice’s whales over the term of the 2025 BiOp. On that basis alone, the Service found that the Oil and Gas Program will jeopardize the continued existence of the Rice’s whale, and developed a multi-step reasonable and prudent alternative which it asserts will reduce projected vessel strikes to zero.“
p. 4: “The Rice’s whale is a rarely found animal that the Service first identified as a new species (separate from the non-endangered Bryde’s whale) in 2021. 86 Fed. Reg. 47,022 (Aug. 23, 2021). There is no evidence that an Oil and Gas Program vessel has ever struck a Rice’s whale (or a Bryde’s whale) despite continued operation in the Gulf over many decades.”
p. 5: “The 2025 BiOp disregards the Bureaus’ logical, fact-based conclusion. Instead, the Service’s 2025 BiOp engages in speculation and guess-work to surmise that Oil and Gas Program vessels could be striking and killing Rice’s whales on a regular basis. The Service ignores the best available data (i.e., showing no recorded observations of an oil and gas vessel striking a Rice’s whale) and instead presumes that forceable and lethal collisions between oil and gas service vessels and 60,000-pound whales are regularly occurring but somehow going unnoticed by the vessels and their crews and that the carcasses silently disappear into the water, never to be seen again.“
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 