Posted in accidents, energy policy, natural gas, pipelines, tagged German trial, natural gas, Nord Stream sabotage, pipeline, Ukraine on October 15, 2026| Leave a Comment »
There have been many BOE posts about the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage, but most of our 2023 summary still stands.
Yesterday, the trial of a Ukrainian officer began in a Hamburg courtroom. See the X post and video below.
The big issue, of course, is the extent of Ukrainian govt involvement in the sabotage.
Posted in Alaska, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, tagged BlueCrest Energy, Cook Inlet, Hilcorp Energy, oil and gas lease sale on October 12, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Attached is the Sale Notice for the 3/3/2027 Cook Inlet oil and gas lease sale.
“The proposed sale would make approximately 1.05 million acres available for leasing in the northern portion of the Cook Inlet Planning Area, the same area offered in the Big Beautiful Cook Inlet 1 sale, held in March 2026.” ZERO bids were received at this sale!) Sale summary:
There are currently no active Federal leases in the Cook Inlet. The last well was drilled in 2007. That well was drilled directionally from shore into the Cosmopolitan Unit, a State Unit that included 2 Federal leases at the time.
BlueCrest Energy is operator of the Cosmopolitan Unit. The Alaska Department of Natural Resources threatened to revoke BlueCrest’s Cosmopolitan leases for not meeting the gas drilling requirements, but BlueCrest has reported that they have secured the financing to meet that obligation.
Hilcorp Energy is now the largest oil and gas operator and the largest gas supplier in Alaska. They were the last Federal leaseholder in the Cook Inlet area.
Below are the 8 leases that Hilcorp still held in 2024:
Will Hilcorp participate in the 2027 sale? BlueCrest? Anyone?
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Gulf of America, Lease Sale BBG4, Notice of Sale, sale terms on October 9, 2026| Leave a Comment »
The proposed Sale Notice is attached. The terms, summarized below, are the same as for the other BBG sales. See the sale map for the blocks that correspond with with the legend categories.
Posted in energy policy, Norway, Offshore Energy - General, UK, tagged Equinor, Ithaca Energy, Jackdaw field, Rosebank, Shell, UK oil and gas on October 8, 2026| Leave a Comment »
JL Daeschler informs us that Equinor may shun further investments in the UK if new oil and gas fields at Rosebank and Jackdaw are not approved.
Rosebank and Jackdaw are operated by Adura, an Equinor-Shell joint venture. Much of the infrastructure for Jackaw is already in place, and gas production could begin this winter when it may be badly needed. Production at Rosebank, which is primarily an oil field, could begin in the first half of 2027.
BBC quotes Equinor chief Anders Opedal:
“The question will be: is the UK investable in the future? I hope it will not come to that.”
“It’s a political choice.The North Sea oil and gas industry started on the UK side. We learned from the UK and it’s actually the same geology on both sides of the border – several fields actually cross it.”
Ithaca Energy is a 20% Rosebank owner. Ithaca has an Israel connection which has further incited project opponents. (Which do left-wing activists hate more – oil or Israel?)
Sadly, as JL laments, the UK is reaping what it has sown. Approval of Rosebank and Jackdaw is a small but important step toward energy sanity.
Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, Regulation, tagged 9th circuit, delayed decision, Las Flores Canyon, pipeline, Sable Offshore, Santa Ynez Unit on October 6, 2026| Leave a Comment »
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has not yet ruled on the merits of the challenge to PHMSA’s assertion of exclusive Federal jurisdiction over Sable Offshore Corp.’s Las Flores (Santa Ynez) pipeline segments (CA-324 and CA-325) or related restart approvals. A three-judge panel ordered additional briefing after a status conference, and a decision is expected to take months.
The 9th Circuit panel held a video status conference on 10/5/2026, and consolidated petitions from the Environmental Defense Center (and other groups) and the State of California. The panel ordered further briefing rather than issuing an immediate decision on the core jurisdictional question—whether the onshore pipeline segments engage in “interstate commerce” under the Pipeline Safety Act (making them subject to exclusive PHMSA authority rather than California’s Office of the State Fire Marshal).
Concise background summary from Grok: PHMSA reclassified the pipelines as interstate in late 2025 (asserting jurisdiction because they transport crude from Outer Continental Shelf platforms through California to a Kern County terminal, with arguments that onshore processing does not break the flow of interstate commerce). This enabled restart approvals and special permits (initially emergency, later a longer-term one) that environmental groups and California challenge as unlawful, preemptive of state authority, and deficient under the Pipeline Safety Act, NEPA, and ESA. Sable restarted operations earlier in 2026 amid related litigation (including Defense Production Act issues and consent-decree matters in district court). The Ninth Circuit cases are Environmental Defense Center et al. v. PHMSA (No. 25-8059) and the consolidated California petition (originally No. 26-508 / related Nos.).
Posted in natural gas, energy policy, tagged natural gas, JL Daeschler, intermittent energy, dispatchable power, Jon Yeomans, Alex Epstein, Winter Storm Fern on October 6, 2026| Leave a Comment »
This interesting Sunday Times (UK) piece was shared by JL Daeschler. A key point in the quote below is that you can’t neglect the gas (dispatchable energy) network when you increase the contribution of intermittent renewables.
When wind and solar generation are low, the nation switches on the gas — and in a big way. Take January 5 this year, when gas-fired generation jumped from 2.3GW to 26.1GW in the space of a day — enough to power 19 million homes. The upshot is that “less gas use doesn’t mean less gas network,” as one industry source puts it.
As Alex Epstein has frequently asserted “solar and wind aren’t real power sources, they’re intermittent fuel-savers.”
Winter Storm Fern (1/23-31/2026) affected much of the US stretching from the Southern Plains and the Gulf Coast through the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and New England. Power demand surged, and solar and wind power generation were minimal. (Alex Epstein charts below)
Posted in Alaska, drilling, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, well control incidents, tagged Arctic drilling, MMA, regulations, regulatory fragmentation, same season relief well, subsea isolation device, well control on October 5, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Comments on the proposed “Revisions to the Requirements for Exploratory Drilling on the Arctic Outer Continental Shelf” are due today.
My submission (one page) is attached. Main points:
Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged 2025 Gulf of America oil production, AB 1448, MMA, Platform Hondo, Sable Offshore, Santa Ynez Unit on October 2, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Sable’s update includes production and sales information, but nothing about the pipeline anomalies. Summary:
Also Sable related:
Posted in Regulation, energy policy, CCS, tagged 45Q tax credits, BSER, CAA, carbon disposal, CCS, EPA, Exxon, Repsol, Rose Project, TRC on September 29, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Kudos to EPA for their Notice (attached) informing that carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) doesn’t meet the Clean Air Act’s definition of “best system of emissions reduction” (BSER). This common sense determination is a setback for companies chasing the generous 45Q tax credits that their lobbyists succeeded in retaining and enhancing in the One Big Beautiful Bill (table below).
Per the Notice: “EPA is finalizing the determination that 90 percent CCS is not the BSER for existing long-term coal-fired steam generating units because 90 percent CCS has not been adequately demonstrated, the costs of 90 percent CCS are not reasonable, and the associated degree of emission limitation is not achievable.”
EPA further determined “that previous projects that failed to achieve 90 percent CCS were not a sufficient basis to conclude the technology has been adequately demonstrated. Additionally, the carbon dioxide (CO2) capture, pipeline, and sequestration infrastructure necessary to implement 90 percent CCS for the fleet of existing coal-fired steam generating units does not currently exist and would need to be broadly deployed.“
EPA sensibly concludes (p. 58969) that the 45Q tax credit should NOT be accounted for when evaluating the reasonableness of the costs of the BSER. The carbon disposal industry has discounted the risks and overstated the benefits of CCS in their pursuit of those tax benefits, on which that industry is dependent.
Meanwhile. the Texas Railroad Commission by a 2-1 vote just approved a major carbon disposal project despite strong local opposition. The Rose Project will dispose of 53 million metric tons of carbon dioxide ($4.5 billion in tax credits).
Extension of the carbon disposal industry to Federal offshore waters appears to have failed. Only 7 of the 163 OCS oil and gas leases wrongfully acquired by Exxon and Repsol for carbon disposal purposes remain in effect. Those 7 leases will probably be relinquished before they expire in 2027.
Posted in Offshore Energy - General, California, Gulf of Mexico, energy policy, rigs-to-reefs, tagged decommissioning, EO 14430, John B Smith, Marine Minerals Administration, NOAA, repurposing platforms, rigs to reefs on September 25, 2026| 2 Comments »
Section 6 of EO 14430, RESTORING AMERICAN SALTWATER ANGLING AND RECREATION, establishes a program to facilitate the reefing of decommissioned platforms (i.e. “Rigs-to-Reefs”).
Presumably, existing Gulf State reefing programs and private initiatives for repurposing offshore platforms will be integrated into the new Federal program. Where State reefing legislation is unworkable (California), liability issues will have to be resolved. John Smith has made a proposal in that regard.
Full text of Section 6:
Sec. 6. Fast-Tracking Artificial Reefs and Habitat Creation. (a) Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Marine Minerals Administration, shall establish a Federal Outer Continental Shelf Reef-in-Place Program (Program) to facilitate the conversion of decommissioned offshore oil and gas and other-use structures, with the exception of infrastructure associated with offshore wind energy facilities, into permanent artificial reefs through reef-in-place, topple-in-place, or other approved reefing methods, where consistent with applicable law.
(b) The Program shall be available to qualifying offshore structures and leaseholders that satisfy all applicable statutory, regulatory, environmental, navigational, and safety requirements. The Secretary of the Interior shall establish criteria and standards for the program that ensure protection of navigation and national security interests.
(c) In establishing the Program, the Secretary of the Interior shall coordinate with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of War, the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, and the heads of other appropriate agencies to streamline interagency review and permitting to the maximum extent permitted by law, reduce unnecessary administrative delays, and promote timely decisions for qualifying reef projects.
(d) Within 120 days of the date of this order, the Secretary, acting through the NOAA Administrator, in coordination with the Secretary of the Interior, shall review and, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, revise policies and procedures governing SUPs and other applicable authorizations for the placement and management of artificial reefs within National Marine Sanctuaries and Marine National Monuments. Such revisions shall seek to establish transparent and efficient permitting pathways, identify areas suitable for artificial reef development and other national interest uses, and enhance fisheries, recreational fishing, diving, and other compatible public uses.
