Posted in drilling, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Gulf of Mexico, offshore drilling, rig count on February 21, 2022| Leave a Comment »
The rig count remains low at 12 (see the updated chart below). Per BSEE’s borehole file, only 3 deepwater exploratory wells have been spudded in 2022 YTD (2/21) – one each for Shell, Hess, and Anadarko.
What’s going on? Better opportunities elsewhere? Uncertainty about lease sales? Concerns about legal challenges and the future of the US offshore program?
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Lease Sale 257, offshore production, oil and gas supply, shale depletion on February 18, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Meanwhile, however, drillers may be running out of sweet spots in the shale basins of the country. In an article citing well data, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that because of the quick depletion rates of shale wells, low-cost resources are giving way to higher-cost deposits. And this is motivating a warier approach to production growth.
Markets Insider
The shale revolution made the US a net oil exporter, but skepticism about shale production forecasts suggests the need for other supply sources. Given the shale uncertainty and the unrealistic expectations regarding the energy transition, greater US dependence on imported oil is on the horizon. This bodes well for OPEC, but not so well for US and international consumers.
BOE post, 1/4/2022
Yet Lease Sale 257 was vacated because BOEM didn’t analyze the GHG reduction that would result from reduced international consumption caused by zero US leasing (and thus higher oil and gas prices). Fortunately US onshore production on private land is not subject to this absurd and economically destructive level of oversight.
Posted in climate, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, tagged DC Federal Court, EO 13990, Lease Sale 257, Louisiana Federal Court on February 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »
On 2/11/2022 Judge Cain (Western District of Louisiana) issued ruled that a Biden executive order contradicts Congress’ intent regarding the consideration of global effects:
The Court finds that EO 13990 contradicts Congress’ intent regarding legislative rulemaking by mandating consideration of the global effects. The Court further finds that the President lacks power to promulgate fundamentally transformative legislative rules in areas of vast political, social, and economic importance, thus, the issuance of EO 13990 violates the major questions doctrine.
p. 33 of the ruling
Judge Cain’s order seems, at least to this non-lawyer, to contradict the 1/27/2022 ruling by Judge Contreras, DC Federal Court, that BOEM “acted arbitrarily and capriciously in excluding foreign consumption from their greenhouse gas emissions calculation.” The plaintiffs had asserted that BOEM failed to consider the effect that reduced US offshore production (and higher prices) would have on foreign consumption and the associated GHG emissions. (Poverty is good?)
Posted in energy policy, tagged IEA, net zero, oil production, OPEC on February 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »
February 2022:
For a second time this week, Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), called on the OPEC+ group on Wednesday to narrow the widening gap between its production quotas and the much lower actual supply to the market.
OilPrice.com
May 2021:
There is no need for investment in new fossil fuel supply in our net zero pathway
IEA Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector
So much for what remains of the IEA’s credibility.
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged API, appeal, DOI, Lease Sale 257 on February 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“At a time of rising energy costs and heightened geopolitical tensions, the misguided decision to cancel the only lease sale held last year is contributing to significant uncertainty for U.S. natural gas and oil producers and limiting access to the affordable, reliable energy that’s needed here in the U.S. and around the world. We call on the Department of Interior to join us in this effort and appeal the court’s ruling …
API release
When will we hear from the Department of the Interior?
Update: We understand that Louisiana has also appealed the Sale 257 decision.
Posted in energy policy, natural gas, Offshore Energy - General, tagged EIA', natural gas production, oil production, US OCS vs. PA, US OCS vs. TX on February 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »
EIA production data through 11/20/2021:
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Anchor, Argos, BSEE, deepwater Gulf of Mexico, Houma, King's Quay, Murphy Oil, production semisubmersibles, Shenandoah, Vito, Whale on February 10, 2022| 4 Comments »
Posted in climate, energy policy, tagged energy fantasy land, Energy Minister, increasing oil production capacity, Saudi Arabia on February 8, 2022| Leave a Comment »
This interesting Time Magazine interview with Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister includes a discussion of the Kingdom’s decision to increase production capacity by 3 million bopd. A few excerpts follow:
Abdulaziz insists Saudi Arabia can roll out multibillion-dollar solar, wind, and hydrogen projects at home, even while remaining a giant oil producer. Choosing between the two is absurd, he says, and those who predict the inevitable decline of fossil fuel use are “living in a fantasy land.”
We believe oil consumption will continue to grow. The demand for oil will continue growing. At what level, I do not know, because the jury is out. Anyone who tells you that they have a good grasp of where and when and how much is certainly living in a fantasy land. We are human, and we could prove to be wrong, but that is exactly what we believe.
Three billion people lack any meaningful energy source, any clean energy, just for cooking. These people use biomass, everything, to burn, including cutting trees. Just to get through the day, they expose themselves to all sorts of hazards, including sickness and even death. For $500 million you would be able to give energy to 750 million people, in order to cook using clean energy, using propane energy, giving them a stove.
Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman
Posted in climate, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged BOEM, DC Federal Court, energy justice, energy poverty, Lease Sale 257, oil prices on January 31, 2022| Leave a Comment »
The very disappointing 68 page ruling on Lease Sale 257 boils down to the following:
So, if BOEM has to consider the environmental benefits of higher oil and gas prices, shouldn’t they also have to consider the negative economic and environmental effects from the resulting price inflation and energy poverty? Are higher prices, which are most detrimental to the poor and to developing nations, “energy justice?”
If your only objective is the destruction of the US offshore oil and gas program, this was a great decision. For everyone else, this is yet another reason to be concerned about our energy future.
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged DC Federal Court, Lease Sale 257, Louisiana on January 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »
The Court VACATES and REMANDS the Record of Decision for Lease Sale 257 to the Department of the Interior.
Rudolph Contreras, US District Judge
The decision is yet another victory for OPEC+, which is doing quite well of late, and a loss for our economy and energy security.
So here is where we are:
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 