Posted in climate, energy policy, Uncategorized, tagged solar energy, Wind Energy on March 7, 2022| Leave a Comment »
My mother was a hard-working Quaker farm girl who hung the wash outside until her final days and otherwise conserved energy in a manner that was consistent with her values – thrift, simplicity, and love of fresh air. While there are still many common sense conservationists, professional alarmists have gained control of environmental messaging and dominate fundraising. It may be time for the environmental community to reassess its direction.
Posted in energy policy, Guyana, Offshore Energy - General, Russia, tagged energy policy, NYT, oil production on Federal lands, Russia, Ukraine on March 4, 2022| 1 Comment »
U.S. Oil Industry Uses Ukraine Invasion to Push for More Drilling at Home
New York Times
Actually, it’s a case of the Ukraine invasion demonstrating the obvious – domestic production is critical to our economy and energy security. Europe and the US have had a wake-up call and responsible leaders now recognize the importance of secure supplies and the need to halt purchases from a tyrant.
The oil industry is doing just fine with $100+ per barrel oil. They will produce oil and gas where the opportunities present themselves: Guyana, Mexico, North Sea, Africa, Brazil, Canada, private lands in supportive US states, and elsewhere. The folly is US policy that unreasonably restricts exploration on Federal lands, including the Outer Continental Shelf. These restrictions penalize the owners of those lands, the people of the United States, not the oil industry and certainly not the Russian tyrant.
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Catch22, Lease Sale 257, offshore oil on March 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“The absolute earliest a new Lease Sale 257 could occur is July 2, which is after the expiration of the current five year program,” Interior said in a 28 February court filing (opting not to appeal the DC court decision invalidating the lease sale).
Argus
So, a new lease sale cannot occur until after the five year program expires and no sale may be held. Brilliant, Joseph Heller would be proud. It’s a good thing oil and gas supplies are plentiful and secure, and that prices are cheap.
Remember, the judge’s decision invalidating Sale 257 was that BOEM didn’t analyze the benefits of higher oil and gas prices (as a result of lower offshore production) in reducing international consumption and GHG emissions.
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Russia, Uncategorized, tagged Exxon, Russia, Sakhalin on March 1, 2022| Leave a Comment »
BP, Equinor, and Shell are exiting Russia, but Exxon’s response seems to be something less. Per Upstream:
US supermajor ExxonMobil is scaling back its operations on its flagship offshore development project in Russia’s Sakhalin Island region in response to the fallout from the crisis in Ukraine, according to the Sakhalin Online news website.
A consortium source cited by the Russian website claimed that foreign managers have been told to leave the project for an initial period of one month.
Upstream
Exxon accepted the political risks associated with lucrative Russian production, and they now have a massive moral and public relations dilemma. Will they try to wait this crisis out or take more permanent actions?
It would be nice to see Exxon return to the Gulf of Mexico where they haven’t drilled a well since 2019. Currently, Exxon’s primary interest in the Gulf is for carbon sequestration purposes. Perhaps they can focus more on the Gulf’s still promising production potential and less on its potential as a disposal site.
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged energy security, Gulf of Mexico, leasing, offshore oil and gas, Putin on February 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Since well before the Putin crisis, this independent blog has been expressing concerns about sustaining US offshore oil and gas production without new leases and increased exploration (more here). Now that concerns about domestic production and energy security are heightened (understatement of the year!), let’s review where the leasing program stands:
Posted in energy, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Russia, tagged NordStream, Russia, Sakhalin, Shell on February 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »
The Board of Shell plc (“Shell”) today announced its intention to exit its joint ventures with Gazprom and related entities, including its 27.5 percent stake in the Sakhalin-II liquefied natural gas facility, its 50 percent stake in the Salym Petroleum Development and the Gydan energy venture. Shell also intends to end its involvement in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.
Shell.com
Posted in energy policy, Norway, UK, Uncategorized, tagged bp, Equinor, Norway, Russia, UK on February 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »
On Sunday, the Norwegian government announced that its sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, wwould divest its Russian assets, worth around 25 billion Norwegian crowns ($2.80 billion).
Reuters
“In the current situation, we regard our position as untenable,” Equinor Chief Executive Anders Opedal said in a statement. “We will now stop new investments into our Russian business, and we will start the process of exiting our joint ventures in a manner that is consistent with our values.”
Reuters
British oil giant BP said Sunday that it is “exiting” its $14 billion stake in Russian oil giant Rosneft over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in one of the biggest signs yet that the Western business world is cutting ties over the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Washington Post
Posted in energy policy, Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Mexico, offshore oil on February 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Per offshore-energy.biz, Russian giant Lukoil has closed a $450 million deal to acquire operator interest in Mexican offshore tracts. Not a good look for Mexico, but in their defense:
Posted in energy policy, Norway, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Norway, Press Secretary briefing, UK, undrilled leases on February 25, 2022| Leave a Comment »
A. There’s also plenty of oil leases that are not being tapped into by oil companies, so you should talk to them about that and why.
As has been noted on this blog, recent offshore exploration activity is not sufficient to sustain current production levels. The absence of regular lease sales is an important factor. The UK Energy Minister commented recently about the importance of new licensing and continued investment. Norway has also taken steps to encourage such activity. Note the emphasis on predictability in this statement from the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy:
Predictability about which areas it is possible to apply for in APA (allocation in predefined areas; i.e. leasing or licensing) and regular replenishment of new area is important to achieve an effective exploration. APA rounds are therefore conducted annually.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 