Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘energy policy’ Category

Carbon sequestration provision in the new infrastructure legislation seems to explain Exxon’s Sale 257 intentions

Posted in CCS, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , on November 18, 2021| Leave a Comment » 

Excerpt from SEC. 40307. GEOLOGIC CARBON SEQUESTRATION ON THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF:
(b) Leases, Easements, or Rights-of-way for Energy and Related Purposes.--Section 8(p)(1) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(1)) is amended--
        (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``or'' after the semicolon;
        (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; or''; and
        (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(E) provide for, support, or are directly related to the injection of a carbon dioxide stream to sub-seabed geologic formations for the purpose of long-term carbon sequestration.''.
    (c) Clarification.--A carbon dioxide stream injected for the purpose of carbon sequestration under subparagraph (E) of section 8(p)(1) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(1))  shall not be considered to be material (as defined in section 3 of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 1402)) for purposes of that Act (33 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.).
    (d) Regulations.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall promulgate regulations to carry out the amendments made by this section.

This will be an interesting challenge for the DOI folks (BSEE/BOEM?) charged with writing the regulation given the jurisdictional issues related to capturing onshore CO2 and transporting it to the OCS. Also, when was this provision added to the infrastructure bill and did its apparent obscurity and delayed enactment give certain parties some type of competitive advantage at the sale?

Read Full Post »

Q&A on Sale 257 at yesterday’s White House press briefing

Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , on November 16, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Q    Can I just ask one more on oil and gas?  So, we just saw President Biden take action now in terms of the — protecting oil and gas development on Native lands and Tribal lands.  But later this week, the U.S. government will open up for auction many, many acres — an area larger than several states, actually — to oil and gas leasing because of this legal situation. 

So there are critics who say that you should have done more to avert this action.  And I wonder if you can just say, you know, what action could potentially be done.  Is there — are there any last-minute steps that could be taken to prevent those auctions from going forward?

MS. PSAKI:  Well, you know, the President did — as you know, Andrea, but just to get others up to speed — issue an executive order pausing oil and gas leasing on public lands and in offshore waters to facilitate the identification and implementation of long-needed permitting and leasing reforms. 

Shortly thereafter, the Interior Department cancelled the pending offshore oil and gas lease in the Gulf of Mexico known as Lease Sale 257. 

So, what you’re referring to, I believe, is the fact that, in June, a federal district court in Louisiana stopped the President’s leasing pause and ruled that the Interior Department is legally required to go through with the sale of the Lease Sale 257, which is what you’re refer- — what Andrea is referring to in terms of putting up a bunch of lease sales — oil and gas lease sales. 

We believe the decision is wrong, and the Justice Department is appealing it.  So it’s in the courts; it’s in a legal process.  We’re required to comply with the injunction.  It’s a legal case and legal process, but it’s important for advocates and other people out there who are following this to understand that it’s not aligned with our view, the President’s policies, or the executive order that he signed.

Go ahead.

Q    So there’s no more la- — so, you can’t take any last-minute action to prevent that from going forward?

MS. PSAKI:  I would point you to the Justice Department.  They, of course, are appealing this, and I would point you to them for any legal action or what their options are.

White House

Read Full Post »

Often attempted in industry and government, but seldom successfully executed 😃

Posted in energy policy, Regulation, Uncategorized, tagged on November 15, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Legal engineer | Feature | Law Gazette
Law Society Gazette

Read Full Post »

Need to reverse these trends to reduce the risk of oil supply crunches in the future

Posted in drilling, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , on November 10, 2021| Leave a Comment »

  • Chart 1: Gulf of Mexico rig count remains low
  • Chart 2: Exploratory drilling continues to decline and may be insufficient to replace reserves
  • Chart 3: Well starts and number of operators drilling remain at historic low levels
  • Chart 4: (1) One company (Shell) accounted for 39% of the 2021 YTD deepwater well starts in the GoM. (2) Five companies (Shell, Oxy/Anadarko, Chevron, Murphy, and BP) accounted for 80% of the deepwater well starts.

More certainty regarding lease sales would help. Prospective participants need assurances that they will have opportunities to apply findings and test exploration and development strategies. Will Lease Sale 257 be held on schedule next week?

Read Full Post »

Not My Job Award for Energy Secretary Granholm

Posted in energy policy, tagged , on November 9, 2021| Leave a Comment »

She is, of course, correct in asserting that markets determine energy prices, as they should. She is wrong in implying that OPEC alone controls oil prices. (Is she aware that the country she serves is a major oil producer?). She earns the Not My Job Award for implying she is powerless to influence energy prices and laughing about it (an added bit of chutzpah that greatly impressed the NMJA selection panel).

Read Full Post »

Proposed EPA rule prohibits venting of associated gas

Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, natural gas, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged , , , , , on November 4, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Among other provisions, EPA’s proposed rule, issued on 11/2/2021, specifies that associated gas be handled as follows:

Route associated gas to a sales line. If access to a sales line is not available, the gas can be used as an onsite fuel source, used for another useful purpose that a purchased fuel or raw material would serve, or routed to a flare or other control device that achieves at least 95 percent reduction in methane and VOC emissions.

Because the Dept. of the Interior has jurisdiction over air emissions on most of the Gulf of Mexico OCS, I assume this proposed rule does not apply to those facilities. However, the EPA proposal is not entirely clear in that regard. If the EPA proposal does not apply, will BOEM/BSEE be proposing similar restrictions in their regulations?

MMS/DOI considered prohibiting venting, but determined that adding flaring capability was not feasible for many shelf platforms, and for some platforms there would have been a net increase in emissions. That said, venting is not insignificant. A 2017 Argonne study indicated (table 2) that, for shelf platforms from 2011 through 2015, more than 3 times as much gas was vented as was flared. More recent data should be reviewed to get a better sense of the costs, benefits, and safety considerations associated with achieving further reductions in venting.

Current flaring/venting regulations for OCS facilities are here.

Read Full Post »

Forbes: “This is not OPEC’s fault”

Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , on November 3, 2021| Leave a Comment »

But here’s the thing. Whether you think it was the right thing to do, the reality is that passing legislation that is hostile to the U.S. oil and gas industry makes it even more difficult for domestic production to bounce back. So, instead of asking Russia and OPEC to pump more oil, we could look internally to what we could do in the U.S. to pump more oil. 

Forbes

From a US offshore perspective, there should be serious dialogue about how we can increase exploration and production. The risks associated with over reliance on imports have been repeatedly demonstrated over the past 5 decades. The horizontal drilling/well stimulation revolution has been a blessing, but given the sharp decline rates for fracked wells, we cannot solely rely on onshore production from tight reservoirs.

Read Full Post »

Jerry Schubel on the benefits of rigs-to-reefs programs

Posted in California, decommissioning, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, rigs-to-reefs, tagged , , , on November 2, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Veteran marine science advocate Jerry Schubel, former president of Long Beach’s Aquarium of the Pacific, is among those pushing for offshore oil platforms to be transformed for new ocean uses. He points out that the underwater portion of the structures already are a boon to marine life.

“They have enormous value as ecosystems because of the life that has grown on and around them,” he said.

He points out that other states have rigs-to-reefs programs — and California does as well, though it needs funding before it can function. Once the ball gets rolling, oil companies could be tapped to cover costs with fees drawn from the money they would save by not having to haul dismantled rigs ashore. Schubel estimated that turning platforms into reefs could cut decommissioning costs in half.

But Schubel says artificial reefs should be just the beginning. How about fish farms? Research labs? Windmills? Hotels for divers?

“The uses,” he said, “are limited only by our imagination.”

Orange County Register

Well said Dr. Schubel! For a full list of alternative uses for offshore platforms see the official Rigs-to-Reefs+++ page.

Read Full Post »

Remember when the price of oil was negative?

Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , on November 1, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Oil prices went negative a year ago: Here's what traders have learned since - MarketWatch
MarketWatch
Monthly Oil Production
Forbes

U.S. oil production plummeted and is unlikely to recover to pre-pandemic levels. The Gulf of Mexico will not be picking up the slack. GoM production peaked in August 2019 at 2.044 million BOPD. Absent increased exploration, that peak will never be exceeded.

Read Full Post »

Private jets storm Glasgow

Posted in climate, energy policy, tagged , , on November 1, 2021| Leave a Comment »

More than 400 private jets carrying world leaders and business executives to Cop26 will blast 13,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Matt Finch, of the Transport and Environment campaign group, said: “The average private jet, and we are not talking Air Force One, emits two tons of CO2 for every hour in flight.

It can’t be stressed enough how bad private jets are for the environment, it is the worst way to travel by miles.Our research has found that most journeys could easily be completed on scheduled flights.

“Private jets are very prestigious but it is difficult to avoid the hypocrisy of using one while claiming to be fighting climate change.

Daily Record UK

For the record, BOE does not own a private jet. Our Air Force 1 is pictured below 😃

Nike Air Force 1 Low OFF-WHITE University Gold Metallic Silver - DD1876-700

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »