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Archive for the ‘energy policy’ Category

Judge Geck refuses to lift injunction; Sable continues to ramp up production; legal fireworks upcoming?

Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

California Superior Court Judge Donna Geck denies Sable’s motion to lift the preliminary injunction.

Judge Geck’s ruling

(1) For the reasons set forth herein, the motion of real parties in interest Sable Offshore Corp. and Pacific Pipeline Company to dissolve or modify the preliminary injunction issued in this case is denied.

(2) The application of petitioners for issuance of an order to show cause why real parties should not be found in contempt and to enter additional orders is continued to May 22, 2026.

 The Judge concluded:

  • The court is mindful that there are many moving judicial and administrative parts relating to the restart of the Las Flores Pipelines. (understatement of the year candidate? 😉)
  • Sable has not persuaded the court that the DPA (Defense Production Act) Order renders compliance with Federal Consent Decree unnecessary.
  • The Federal Consent Decree requires approvals from the OSFM (Office of the State Fire Marshal), which in turn must comply with state procedures in granting such approvals.
  • Sable has not met its burden to show that the preliminary injunction should be dissolved or modified. Sable’s motion will therefore be denied.

On May 22, Judge Geck will consider whether Sable should be held in contempt for not complying with the preliminary injunction.

If you haven’t been keeping up 😉:

  • Subsequent to Judge Geck’s preliminary injunction, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA – a simpler agency name is long overdue!) asserted that the Las Flores Pipelines constitute an interstate pipeline subject to PHMSA’s exclusive jurisdiction.
  • PHMSA issued their own approvals and an emergency special permit.
  • The PHMSA approvals are the subject of proceedings in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has not issued a final ruling.

Undaunted, Sable reports (4/20/2026):

  • The 40 wells currently online at Platform Harmony and Platform Heritage are producing an average of 750 gross barrels of oil per day per well. Once all 74 production wells on these two platforms are online, Sable expects the average production per well to be approximately 700 gross barrels of oil per day.
  • Sable expects Platform Hondo to come online in June 2026 with an estimated fully ramped production rate of approximately 10,000 gross barrels of oil per day.

Hence, Sable production is estimated to reach ~60,000 bopd in June, which is about 6 times total California OCS production prior to the Sable restart!

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Vineyard Wind threatens ‘wind farm graveyard’

Posted in energy policy, Offshore Wind, tagged , , , on April 18, 2026| 2 Comments »

The Constance Gee letter (pasted below) is entertaining no matter where you stand on the Vineyard Wind debacle. A couple of quotes 😉:

It’s been a mess from the beginning and in a mess it will end, but the current “he said she said” over who owes more millions to whom is especially trashy.

Poor Vineyard Wind doesn’t have a clue how to service and maintain the 62 turbines they’ve hammered into the seabed 15 miles off our coast, and they are upset that GE Renewables won’t hand over the troubleshooting manual.

The Vineyard Wind Court filing is accessible here.

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John Smith Makes the Case for Reefing California Platforms

Posted in California, climate, decommissioning, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , , on April 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »

HHH platforms
Herrema Balder SSCV

The Case for Reefing California Platforms by John Smith

Environmental groups like the Environmental Defense Center and Get Oil Out continue to oppose converting the jackets of California oil and gas platforms to artificial reefs despite scientific studies (Claisse et al. 2014) showing “oil and gas platforms off the coast of California have the highest secondary fish production per unit area of seafloor of any marine habitat that
has been studied.”

Another important factor environmental groups and the 2023 BOEM Programmatic EIS for Decommissioning failed to consider and acknowledge is the huge amount of air emissions that would be released by world-class heavy lift vessels like the Thialf or Balder Semi-submersible Crane Vessels (SSCVs) that would be required to safely and efficiently remove the large federal OCS platforms like Harvest, Hermosa, and Hidalgo (HHH). The HHH platforms are in waters depths ranging from 430-675 feet and have combined deck and jacket weights ranging from 20,000 – 25,000 tons. In comparison, the wrought iron structure of the Eiffel Tower weighs about 8,000 tons.

The SSCVs and accompanying Anchor Handling Tugs (AHTs) used to remove the HHH platforms will likely to be mobilized from distant locations like the North Sea or Gulf of America where they typically operate. Because SSCVs like the Thialf and Balder are too large to enter the Panama Canal, this would involve a 20,000 nautical mile roundtrip voyage around the tip of South America.

Three to four campaigns, and separate SSCV and AHT mobilizations and demobilizations, are projected to be required to fully remove the HHH platforms because the challenging oceanographic conditions offshore Point Arguello restrict heavy lift operations to a 150-day period between May and October.

Four campaigns by the SSCV and AHT would consume about 300,000 metric tons (mt) of marine diesel oil and release approximately 470,000 mt of CO2 and 11,000 mt of NOX emissions. To put these numbers into context, 470,000 mt of CO2 and 11,000 mt of NOX are:

  • the amount of CO2 emissions released by providing electrical power to 97,600 homes annually (the city of Santa Barbara has about 38,000 housing units).
  • the amount of CO2 emissions released by burning 1.1 million barrels of oil.
  • the amount of CO2 emissions released by 102,000 gasoline burning cars annually.
  • the amount of NOX emissions released by four large oil or coal-fired power plants annually.
  • the total annual NOX emissions in Santa Barbara County.

And this is only the emissions released during mobilization and demobilization of the SSCV and AHT. If full removal is required, an additional 50 days of operational time by the SSCV and AHT is estimated to be required to remove the topside and jacket of each HHH platform. This could be reduced to about 15 days per platform if the jackets are converted to artificial reefs. Only one SSCV and AHT campaign may be required if the HHH jackets are reefed, compared to the four campaigns required for the full removal scenario. This would result in a 75 percent reduction in CO2 and NOX emissions.

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If you care about property rights and Santa Barbara County history, this quote may concern you

Posted in California, energy policy, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , , on April 13, 2026| 1 Comment »

Background: By a 3-2 vote, the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission, acting under the direction of the Board of Supervisors (also by a 3-2 vote), passed ordinances to ban new onshore oil and gas wells and phase out old wells.

The quote:

“We keep discovering new oil and new techniques to recover it,” said Commissioner John Parke. “The only thing to stop the oil industry and the production of oil is legislation.”

Comments:

  • The first sentence is perceptive, acknowledging that resources are not really finite given the ingenuity of engineers and geologists.
  • The second sentence is disturbing. The Commissioner believes he is legally and morally entitled to terminate an industry that has been present in Santa Barbara County for >130 years. He believes the Commission can do so by a slim majority and without compensation to those whose property rights are being abrogated.
  • The 2 Commissioners voting against euthanizing the County’s oil industry represent Districts 4 and 5 (maps below) where most of the wells are located. In essence, South County Santa Barbara is terminating an industry that is important to North County.
  • Pertinent to the County’s action is a suit filed by John and Melinda Morgan, who inherited the mineral rights to two parcels in the Cat Canyon Field (District 4). They argue that a similar provision in CA Senate Bill 1137 amounts to an unconstitutional taking of their property.
District Boundaries
Oil Wells

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Vineyard Wind and GE Renewables clash heightens decommissioning financial assurance concerns

Posted in decommissioning, energy policy, Offshore Wind, Regulation, tagged , , , , , on April 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Three wind turbines, including one with a damaged blade, at the Vineyard Wind offshore site in November 2024. Credit: Eleonora Bianchi / The New Bedford Light.

Yet another chapter in the Vineyard Wind saga:

New Bedford Light: Vineyard Wind on Wednesday sued its turbine supplier, GE Renewables, in civil court in Boston, alleging GE is breaching its contract and planning to abandon the project by April 28 — during the critical final stage of coming fully online.

According to the complaint, GE filed a termination notice with Vineyard Wind in late February for its contracts to supply wind turbines and service and maintain them, citing more than $300 million in claims unpaid by Vineyard Wind.

If GE exits, Vineyard Wind says, the project “will likely fail, leaving the windfarm stranded.”

The New Bedford Light provides more details on the litigation.

Remember, BOEM waived the “pay as you build” decommissioning financial assurance requirement for Vineyard Wind and subsequently relaxed financial assurance requirements for all offshore wind projects.

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North Sea: Norway explores, UK snores

Posted in energy policy, Norway, Offshore Energy - General, UK, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 10, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Some of us remember when the UK and Norway were friendly North Sea oil and gas rivals – competing to be tops in production, technology, safety, and even promotion at conferences like OTC. Take a look at the production chart below and note the UK’s production leadership followed by the extraordinary decline.

So what happened? Norway may have better oil and gas resource potential, but that is only part of the story. While Norway was managing their offshore sector to succeed, the UK was seemingly managing theirs to fail.

Norway’s North Sea remains far more active because the government promotes exploration through predictable licensing, cost-recovery incentives, and a focus on adding resources to existing infrastructure.

The UK, by contrast, has shifted toward limited development and decommissioning. In recent years, the UK’s windfall tax on oil and gas profits was raised to 78 percent, and licences for exploratory drilling in new areas were banned.

In 2022, the UK government even changed the name of the Oil and Gas Authority to the more trendy North Sea Transition Authority. (Changing names is one thing; delivering reliable energy at reasonable prices is quite something else.)

The stark policy differences are evident in the exploration drilling numbers – sustained drilling vs. sustained decline (charts below).

Norwegian Continental Shelf Directorate data
UK NSTA data:exploration wells spudded with original wellbore intent classified as “exploration” (offshore UK includes geological sidetracks).

JL Daeschler shared this excellent response by Natalie Coupar (excerpts below) to tired anti-exploration arguments that are popular in the UK and elsewhere:

“Claim: Hundreds of North Sea licences have delivered only “36 days of gas”, proving new drilling does not improve energy security.

“This actually proves the opposite. In a mature basin like the North Sea, you need a constant churn of investment and new licences just to stand still. Without ongoing activity, decline accelerates and import dependence rises faster. That is why countries like Norway continue to license and develop new projects. Their approach allows them to replace what they produce and manage decline more effectively. In industry terms, this is measured through the reserves replacement ratio – how much new resource is added compared with what is produced. Norway consistently produces a higher reserves replacement ratio than the UK. Over the 5 year period 2019-2024, through exploration, Norway replaced on average 46% of the reserves that were produced, the UK however, replaced just 14%.“

“Today, the North Sea still provides over half of the UK’s oil and gas needs. With the right conditions, we can sustain production for longer, reduce exposure to imports, and manage the transition more securely. Without licensing and investment, the UK simply becomes reliant on overseas supplies sooner – regardless of demand falling.“

Claim: 93% of UK North Sea oil and gas has already been extracted, so new drilling makes little difference.

“Official projections show several billion barrels of oil and gas still expected to be produced between now and 2050. Independent analysis commissioned by OEUK shows that, with the right conditions, significantly more could be delivered from known projects and discoveries.“

“And even beyond that, the UK’s own regulator identifies large volumes of oil and gas in:

  • approved projects
  • existing discoveries
  • areas that haven’t yet been developed“

Pressure is mounting on the UK govt to approve the Rosebank and Jackdaw projects and ease exploration restrictions. Will it work?

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Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe continues to oppose wind projects that impact their historic and cultural homeland

Posted in energy policy, Offshore Wind, Regulation, tagged , , , , , on April 9, 2026| 1 Comment »

Wamsutta Frank James speaking in Plymouth, at the statue of Massasoit.

My wife has native American (Micmac) heritage. Her family has deep respect for the Wampanoag tribe, in part because of their friendship with Aquinnah Wampanoag elder and activist Frank B. (Wamsutta) James.

Frank rescued my father-in-law after a car crash on Cape Cod and was a close friend for the rest of his life. Frank and my father-in-law, who headed the Art Dept. at Barnstable H.S., had common interests in art and history. Frank was also a talented musician, and was my wife’s music teacher at Eastham Elementary School on the Outer Cape.

Frank fought for the rights of Native Americans long before it was fashionable. In 1970, the speech be wrote to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the arrival of the Mayflower was never delivered, because it was deemed to be inflammatory. In his draft remarks, Frank succinctly summarized the tribe’s recent history:

“Although time has drained our culture, and our language is almost extinct, we the Wampanoags still walk the lands of Massachusetts…. Our spirit refuses to die.”

This spirit is evident in their opposition to wind projects that impact their historic and cultural homeland.

If Frank was alive today, he would no doubt be tirelessly supporting the preservation efforts of the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe. Most recently, the tribe joined the Narragansett Tribe, Green Oceans, commercial fishermen, and others in a suit challenging federal approvals for the Sunrise Wind project. Green Ocean’s press release is attached.

GO+PressRelease-Sunrise-LawsuitDownload

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Comments from the California AG and Sable Offshore on the special permit application to PHMSA

Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , , on April 8, 2026| 2 Comments »

I’m attaching the complete comment letters from Sable Offshore and their main antagonist, California Attorney General Bonta, in response to PHMSA’s public notice and request for comments on Sable’s special permit application.

Summary of the California AG’s assertions:

“First, PHMSA is without authority to grant such a special permit because Lines CA-324/325 are intrastate pipelines and California regulators have sole regulatory oversight over any attempt to restart these Lines and issue state waivers. Second, California has vested interests in ensuring Lines CA-324/325 operate safely and PHMSA’s proposed special permit would dilute the higher state safety standards that were imposed on Sable and therefore it is inconsistent with pipeline safety. 49 C.F.R. § 190.341(d). Third, given the fact Line CA-324 already failed and caused a catastrophic oil spill in 2015 in Santa Barbara County, even if PHMSA had authority to issue a special permit (which it does not), a more robust environmental analysis needs to be performed. Fourth, PHMSA unlawfully invokes the Endangered Species Acts’s emergency consultation procedures and has given no indication that it will consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service, in violation of the Act. Finally, Secretary Wright’s March 13, 2026, order (“DPA
Order”) does not change anything about the propriety of the Application, because the DPA Order itself is unlawful.”

Summary of Sable’s position (screenshot):

You can sample the other public comments, some of which are quite good, by visiting the Regulations.gov docket.

PHMSA-2026-0464-0067_attachment_1Download
California Comment LetterDownload

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Breaking news: BOEM and BSEE to be combined to form the Marine Minerals Administration

Posted in energy policy, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , , on April 3, 2026| Leave a Comment »

“The Department of the Interior today announced the start of a phased plan to establish the Marine Minerals Administration, bringing together the functions of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. This action is intended to improve coordination and increase efficiencies across offshore leasing, permitting, inspections and environmental oversight, while maintaining all existing regulatory protections and rigorous safety standards. 

This streamlined approach reflects the evolution of offshore energy development and the need for a more integrated approach to managing conventional and emerging resources such as critical minerals. By aligning planning, leasing and oversight functions, the Department is positioning the agency to better meet current and future energy demands.“

This is an excellent step that many OCS program veterans have been advocating. In addition to the inefficiencies associated with overlapping and intertwined BOEM and BSEE responsibilities, the associated regulatory fragmentation is a significant safety risk factor.

See the comments that I submitted to the Dept. of the Interior in response to their request for regulatory reform recommendations.

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Honored to have been a guest on the G’Day Mate podcast

Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on April 3, 2026| 2 Comments »

For those who haven’t suffered enough following the BOE blog😉, you can listen to me on the G’Day Mate podcast hosted by offshore industry veterans Evan Zimmerman and Tom Pado. You may also want to check out other episodes on their excellent podcast.

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