Posted in climate, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged 5 year leasing plan, Gulf of Mexico, Senator Kelly, Senator Manchin on April 1, 2022| Leave a Comment »
The current 5 year leasing program expires on June 30, 2022. Absent a new program, no lease sales may be held.
We are writing to urge you to develop and implement a new Five-Year Program for oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico without delay.
Posted in climate, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Gulf of Mexico, offshore oil and gas, SPR release on April 1, 2022| Leave a Comment »
In addition to the obvious concerns about depleting the strategic petroleum reserve, further mortgaging our economic future, and increasing national security risks, the directive to withdrawal 1 million BOPD from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for 6 months raises a few comments specific to US offshore production:
Posted in climate, conferences, energy policy, tagged COP26, OPEC, UAE Energy Minister on March 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »
COP26 bans oil industry. Is this helpful?
UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei has most definitely not forgotten:
“I think in COP 26 all the producers felt they were uninvited and unwanted but now we are again superheroes, it’s not going to work like that,” he said.
Reuters
Posted in energy policy, natural gas, tagged Daniel Yergin, LNG exports on March 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Technological advances, most notably horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, and private initiative on private land changed all of that.
“The US is going to emerge this year as the world’s largest LNG exporter, and it is clear that US LNG is a geopolitical asset for the United States and for Europe.”
Daniel Yergin
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, tagged BSEE Director, DOI, Kevin Sligh on March 25, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“I am deeply honored to join the Interior Department and continue my public service career on behalf of the American people. I’ve dedicated my life to keeping the public safe, and I look forward to continuing that service alongside the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s incredible career employees,” said Director Sligh.
DOI Press Release
Excellent opening comment. Best wishes to Director Sligh in this very important position. BSEE is critical to our economic future and energy security.
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, UK, tagged Daniel Yergin, energy transition, North Sea Transition Authority on March 22, 2022| Leave a Comment »
The term energy transition somehow sounds like it is a well-lubricated slide from one reality to another. In fact, it will be far more complex: Throughout history, energy transitions have been difficult, and this one is even more challenging than any previous shift.
The 19th century is known as the “century of coal,” but, as the technology scholar Vaclav Smil has noted, not until the beginning of the 20th century did coal actually overtake wood as the world’s No. 1 energy source. Moreover, past energy transitions have also been “energy additions”—one source atop another. Oil, discovered in 1859, did not surpass coal as the world’s primary energy source until the 1960s, yet today the world uses almost three times as much coal as it did in the ’60s.
Posted in energy policy, Norway, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Dagbladet, energy policy, Norway, oil and gas prices on March 21, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“Norway cannot escape the unpleasant fact: this is a form of war profit”, daily paper Dagbladet wrote in an editorial. “While Ukraine is being destroyed, and most other countries are mainly feeling the negative effects of the war, such as higher energy prices, higher food prices and general inflation, we are making a gain”, it said.
thelocal.no
While such introspection is commendable, energy supply issues in Europe would be far worse were it not for Norway’s actions including:
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, tagged EIA consumption forecast, oil and gas investment, World Oil Congress on March 18, 2022| Leave a Comment »
While demand will remain strong, supply is a concern:
“Capex cuts by international oil companies and national oil companies in 2020 was about 35%,” he said. “We’re now showing another 23% reduction in capex levels” from pre-pandemic levels this year. In 2019, E&P companies spent $525 billion, an amount which plummeted to $341 billion in 2021, he added. “We have to get back to $525 billion over several years until 2030 to restore market balance,” McMonigle said. “I’m afraid what we’re seeing with the energy crisis is on our doorstep.”
Joseph McMonigle, World Oil Congress
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Russia, tagged Black Sea, Crimea, Russia, Ukraine oil and gas on March 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Per our previous post on this topic, the Ukranian shelf may contain more than 70 Tcf of natural gas, most of which was seized by Russia along with Crimea. This illegal seizure of resources in 2014 should be considered as part of any long-term settlement and before easing sanctions on Russia.
For those who want to learn more, this 2018 article by Ukranian journalist Kostiantyn Yanchenko has proven to be particularly insightful. A few key points:
…when in 2014, two-thirds of the former Ukrainian water area passed to Russia with the occupation of Crimea, only a few experts assumed that the struggle for control over energy resources might have been among the main reasons for annexation. Against the background of Moscow’s famous explanation “Why Crimea? Be[cause]Kosovo!”, this version looked unconvincing, but there are many reasons to give it a second glance.
The naysayers often argue that Russia doesn’t have the technology to extract gas on the deep-water shelf. This is true, at least now. However, as researchers note, Russia’s short-term objective was not to benefit from the Black Sea gas but to block its production by the Western companies and hence secure its own positions in the European market.
Furthermore, Russia largely relies on an energy leverage in international relations. Thus, “The Energy Strategy of Russian Federation Until 2020” starts with the statement: “Russia has significant reserves of energy resources and a powerful fuel and energy complex, which is the basis for economic development, an instrument for domestic and foreign policy.”
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 