Posted in decommissioning, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, rigs-to-reefs, tagged Minerals Management Service, new film, rigs to reefs, Steel to Sanctuary, Villere Reggio on July 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Linked below is a new Rigs to Reefs film (“Steel to Sanctuary”). Note the commentary on permitting complexity and regulatory fragmentation.
Not mentioned in the film are the extraordinary efforts of the Mineral Management Service’s Villere Reggio in establishing the Rigs to Reefs program. Villere (pictured below), has a most interesting family history as summarized in the caption. See p. 3 of this issue of MMS Today for the complete article.
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged drilling Safety leaders, encouraging innovation, regulatory reform, rescinding regulations, US Dept. of the Interior on July 18, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Comments on the Dept. of the Interior’s regulatory reform initiative are due by July 21.
DOI’s “Deregulation Suggestions” form implies that their review may be limited in scope. The form focuses solely on rescinding regulations. True regulatory reform requires a broader assessment of regulatory methods and strategies.
Offshore safety regulations address known or perceived operational risks. Deleting individual provisions without considering the effect on the regulatory objective could introduce new risks without reducing the burden on operators and regulators.
More meaningful regulatory reform, and the associated improvements in operator and regulator efficiency, can be achieved by addressing regulatory fragmentation and providing regulatory incentives for companies with outstanding safety and environmental performance records.
My comments to DOI will address fragmentation and the challenges associated with updating regulations and standards. A Drilling Safety Leaders Pilot Program will be proposed. This pilot program would offer a more flexible regulatory regime for operators with outstanding safety records.
The regulatory system can constrain leading operators and delay innovation. The top performers should be encouraged to stay ahead of the technology and management curves. Most of the requirements that were added after Macondo had been adopted by leading operators well before the blowout.
Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Sable Offshore, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Unit, Supervisor Joan Hartmann on July 17, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Per the Independent, the alleged conflict of interest that prevented County Supervisor Joan Hartmann from voting on Sable oil matters has been reevaluated. She is now legally permitted full voting rights.
With Hartmann recusing herself, the supervisors had been deadlocked in a perpetual 2-2 tie when voting on issues concerning Sable. Supervisor Hartmann’s participation is not good for Sable given her public comments in opposition to the Santa Ynez Unit restart.
Posted in climate, energy policy, tagged cow burps, Denmark, livestock emissions tax, Univ. of Nebraska on July 17, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Danish Tax Minister Jeppe Bruus boasted that other countries will be inspired by the world’s first tax on livestock emissions.
Not so fast says the University of Nebraska; perhaps the cows deserve a tax credit! 😉
Posted in energy policy, tagged Big Beautiful Bill, funding reduction, refill, Strategic Petroleum Reserve on July 15, 2025| 2 Comments »
During the 2024 presidential campaign and early in his second term, President Trump repeatedly pledged to “immediately refill” the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to its maximum capacity, emphasizing its role in ensuring energy security and stabilizing oil markets during global supply disruptions.
The Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) sends a much different message, providing only $171 million for petroleum acquisition and $218 million for maintenance of SPR facilities through 2029. This is an 87% reduction in the acquisition funding from the House version that proposed $1.3 billion for crude oil purchases.
The Administration has offered no comment on the BBB’s surprise SPR language. Meanwhile, the SPR will likely remain at or near the current level, which is 324 million bbls below the 2010 high and only 56 million bbls above the 2023 low. (See the above chart.)
Posted in accidents, Offshore Wind, energy policy, tagged Vineyard Wind, Nantucket, settlement agreement, turbine blade failure, Good Neighbor Agreement, GE Vernova, operator responsibility on July 14, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Nantucket reached a settlement agreement (attached) with turbine manufacturer GE Vernova (GEV), praising that company while criticizing Vineyard Wind (VW), the lessee and operator:
“The Town of Nantucket commends GE Vernova for its leadership in reaching this agreement. By contrast, the Town has found Vineyard Wind wanting in terms of its leadership, accountability, transparency, and stewardship in the aftermath of the blade failure and determined that it would not accept Vineyard Wind as a signatory to the settlement,” the town stated Friday morning.
Comments:
Posted in drilling, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, tagged drill baby drill, oil and gas drilling, Rystad, tariffs on July 10, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Tariffs and their uncertainty “will certainly decrease expected investment activity in the energy sector,” says the new report. More than $50 billion of offshore investment this year has been deferred “with operators looking to wait out current market uncertainty before making significant final investment decisions,” Rystad notes.
Rystad estimates that tariffs will increase costs for offshore oil and gas projects by 8% year-over-year and 12% for onshore. “Most steel and raw material exposed cost categories are feeling the majority of the impact from tariffs and thus will take the biggest hit.”
The Tax Foundation and Wood Mackenzie have offered similar opinions.
Comment: At a glance, the number of 2025 well starts in the GOA appears to be down (more on this at a later date). While there are many factors affecting drilling decisions, lower oil prices and higher costs associated with tariffs are not compatible with a “drill baby drill” philosophy.
Posted in climate, energy policy, tagged AEi, climate, energy cost, energy reliability, voters energy priorities on July 9, 2025| Leave a Comment »
The full report is attached.
Not at all shocking:
The public is most interested in the cost and reliability of the energy they use and the convenience and comfort of their energy-using products. They are unwilling to sacrifice much at all financially to address climate change or significantly change their consumer behavior.
Posted in deep sea mining, energy policy, tagged consolidated licensing, deepsea mining, DSHMRA, NOAA, UNCLOS on July 8, 2025| Leave a Comment »
The proposed rule is attached. Important points:
How can the US issue mining licenses in international waters (controversial)?
“The International Seabed Authority (ISA) regulates deep seabed mining in areas beyond national jurisdiction for countries that are parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The United States is a non-party to UNCLOS. Under U.S. law, NOAA may issue licenses and permits to U.S. citizens in areas beyond national jurisdiction under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRA).“
Main objective of the proposed rule (paraphrased):
The deepsea mining industry has gained experience from site specific exploration activities. As a result, later entrants may be able to capitalize on the information gained by previous explorers and lessen the need for further exploration of previously explored areas. In such cases there may be a need for a consolidated licensing process in which permit applicants could meet exploration license requirements to establish priority of right, and permit requirements, simultaneously.
Comment: The proposed rule seems reasonable in that qualified companies that gather the necessary site information would have the right (after NOAA review and approval) to collect the minerals. This would align deepsea mining more closely with offshore oil and gas in that companies acquiring licenses would be able to proceed to production after regulatory approvals.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 
Regulatory reform comments
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged comments, Department of the Interior, drilling Safety leaders, pilot program, regulatory burden, regulatory fragmentation, regulatory reform on July 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »
My comments in response to the Dept. of the Interior’s regulatory reform notice are attached. First and foremost, I believe these recommendations would reduce safety and environmental risks. Second, I am confident that they would also reduce governmental costs and the regulatory burden on industry.
The first attachment discusses regulatory fragmentation and recommends actions to reduce the complexity and redundancy of the offshore regulatory regime. The second attachment proposes a Drilling Safety Leaders Pilot Program as a means of evaluating a more adaptable framework regulatory framework for operators with outstanding performance records.
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