Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Gulf of America production, Gulf of Mexico producion on February 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »
November 2024 Gulf of Mexico oil production was the lowest in the 2023/24 timeframe, with the exception of Sept. 2024 when production was reduced by Tropical Storms Francine and Helene.
Look for production in the Gulf of America to soar! (eventually😉)
Posted in accidents, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged 4 fatalities, Gulf of Mexico, helicopter crash, helideck safety, NTSB, safety management, Walter Oil and Gas, West Delta 106 on February 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »
The NTSB has finally issued their report (attached) on the 12/29/2022 helicopter crash that resulted in 4 fatalities at Walter’s West Delta 106 A platform. The NTSB report on the Huntington Beach pipeline spill took a comparable amount of time (26 months) to complete. By comparison, the lengthy and complex National Commission, BOEMRE, Chief Counsel, and NAE reports on the Macondo blowout were published 6 to to 17 months after the well was shut-in.
The gist of the NTSB’s findings is pasted below.
The report summarizes operations standards, but does not consider the associated operator/contractor safety management systems that are intended to prevent such incidents. The report notes that:
Was the contractor/operator aware of these deviations from company policy? Should they have been?
The report implies that human (pilot) error was the cause of the dynamic rollover, but fails to assess the organizational controls that are intended to prevent such errors. How was a pilot with 1667.8 flight hours (1343.8 as the PIC), who had made 23 trips to this platform, repeatedly making fundamental positioning and takeoff errors?
The report also notes that:
This is interesting wording given that the perimeter light was identified as the pivot point, one of the 3 requirements for a dynamic rollover. Why wasn’t that violation observed by the operator/contractor and corrected? What helideck inspection procedures were in place? Did NTSB consider the fragmented regulatory regime for helicopter safety, particularly with regard to helidecks?
Posted in Alaska, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Clay HIggins, endorsement, HIggins Bill, limit Presidential withdrawals, OCS Lands Act, Sec. 12(a), Wesley Hunt on January 23, 2025| 2 Comments »
The attached bill not only nullifies most OCS leasing bans, but fundamentally changes the OCS Lands Act provision (Sec. 12(a)) that authorizes such Presidential withdrawals.
The well constructed bill addresses the issues previously raised on the blog. The bill would:
Does this bill have a chance? Realistically, the prospects are probably not good. Although the bill currently has an impressive list of 24 sponsors, all are Republicans and none are from Florida. Absent support from Florida Republicans and some interior state Democrats, it will be difficult to gain traction.
Posted in Alaska, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Offshore Wind, Regulation, tagged Alaska, climate change, Climate Corps, energy policy, Executive Orders, Gulf of America, LNG, permitting, Regulation, Unleashing American Energy on January 21, 2025| 1 Comment »
Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Change Agreement:The US Ambassador to the UN shall immediately submit formal written notification of the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.Â
Regulatory Freeze: Agencies may not propose or issue a rule until approved by a Presidential appointee. OMB may exempt emergency or urgent rules (déjà vu for regulators 😉).
Alaska: Withdraws a Secretarial Order intended to halt ANWR oil and gas leasing. Rescinds cancellation of ANWR leases.
Gulf of America: Renaming the Gulf of Mexico.
Unleashing American Energy (long, main items highlighted below):
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged BP Argos, Chevron Anchor, deepwater production, Gulf of Mexico, Kaskida, Murphy King's Quay, Shell, Shenandoah, simpler safer greener, Sparta, Vito on January 20, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Shell’s Whale floating production unit began producing this month:
All 5 of the new simpler, safer, greener floating production units are now online:
| platform | operator | first production |
| King’s Quay | Murphy | April 2022 |
| Vito | Shell | Feb 2023 |
| Argos | bp | April 2023 |
| Anchor | Chevron | Aug 2024 |
| Whale | Shell | Jan 2025 |
This is all good, but what is next? Will technological advances once again sustain GoM production? The short answer appears to be yes!
The efficiencies achieved with the simpler platform designs combined with the high pressure (>15,000 psi) technology developed over the past 2 decades will facilitate production from the highly prospective Paleogene (Wilcox) deepwater fans. (For those interested in learning more about the geology, see the excellent presentation by Dr. Mike Sweet, Univ. of Texas, that is embedded in this post.)
Three major high-pressure projects, ala Chevron’s Anchor, are anticipated:
| platform | operator | discovery date | first production |
| Kaskida | bp | 2006 | 2029 |
| Sparta | Shell | 2012 | 2028 |
| Shenandoah | Beacon | 2009 | 2025 Q2 |
The Gulf still has high production potential if properly managed with consistent lease sales.
Will Florida budge by supporting the lifting of the EGOM leasing moratorium? Here is why they should.
Posted in accidents, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged 4 fatalities, helicopter crash, helideck safety, NTSB, West Delta 106 on January 16, 2025| Leave a Comment »
The NTSB has still not issued a final report, which is troubling. However, the detailed Operations Group Factual Report (including attachments) can be accessed in the case docket This and other items in the docket should be of interest to those involved with offshore operations and helicopter safety.
From the factual report, below are graphics showing the helideck damage and assumed final position of the helicopter.
Excerpts from the testimony of a worker at the platform who was part of an attempted search and rescue operation in the platform’s Whitaker escape capsule:
Posted in accidents, decommissioning, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged 2024, crane safety, decommissioning, Helix, OCS fatality, Talos, Triton Diving Services, wrongful death on January 9, 2025| Leave a Comment »
After a zero fatality year in 2023, the first in at least 60 years, Jason Mathews of BSEE advises that one worker was killed during US OCS oil and gas operations in 2024.
The fatality occurred during decommissioning operations on the Helix D/B EPIC HEDRON at Talos Energy’s Ship Shoal Block 225 “D” platform in the Gulf. The platform was to be reefed in Eugene Island Block 276.
The victim, who worked for Triton Diving Services, was moving hoses on the port side of the barge and got caught between the bulwark and counterweight of the crawler crane (see picture below).
The victim’s family have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Helix Energy Services and Triton Diving Services. The plaintiffs assert that prior to the crane movement the crane operator and crew had not undertaken measures to assure that the crane’s swing area was clear of other crew members. Per their filing, Triton and Helix were negligent as follows:
They further assert that:
The incident remains under investigation by BSEE.
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Uncategorized, tagged Greenland, Gulf of America, Gulf of Mexico, President Trump on January 8, 2025| Leave a Comment »
New name, short form:
full name:
This may be a bit of an adjustment for us older folks. 😉
Also, keep in mind that Greenland is geographically part of North America. Just sayin’ 😉
Posted in Alaska, California, decommissioning, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Atlantic, EGOM, NYU Law, OCSLA, offshore leasing bans, Padific, President Biden, President Trump, Sec. 12(a) on January 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »
As expected, the White House announced the largest ever permanent ban on offshore oil and gas leasing in the US, and to the best of my knowledge, anywhere in the world.
The sheer magnitude of the ban makes other such withdrawals appear modest by comparison. It’s amazing how bold Presidents (and their handlers) become when they are about to leave office.
The permanent ban includes:
President-elect Trump has vowed to reverse President Biden’s leasing ban, but that may not be so easy. This is not a matter of simply reversing an executive order. Sec. 12(a) of OCSLA grants the authority to withdraw lands to the President and does not provide for reversal by future Presidents. The attached NYU Law brief concludes that “a subsequent president lacks authority to restore previously withdrawn lands to the federal oil and gas leasing inventory.”
The new Administration will no doubt have a different view than that expressed in the NYU Law brief, but any reversal decision will likely be challenged in court.
Those who wrote and approved Sec. 12(a) should have had more foresight. However, 72 years ago the authors presumably thought Presidents would only use the authority to remove small, especially sensitive areas from leasing consideration, and never thought that a President would remove both of our oceans and much of the Gulf of Mexico!
Congress could of course reverse the Biden bans, but given the complexity of offshore energy issues, such legislation may be difficult to pass.
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Francine, Hurricane Helene, Oct 2024, oil production on January 2, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Following the 200,000 bopd decline in Sept. because of Tropical Storms Francine and Helene, Oct. GoM oil production was once again in the normal range for 2024. With the exception of Sept., average 2024 production has been remarkably consistent from month to month.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 