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Archive for the ‘Gulf of Mexico’ Category

H.R. 513 receives the coveted BOE endorsement 😉

Posted in Alaska, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , , , 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:

  • Revoke all Presidential leasing bans except for the 2020 withdrawals, which could presumably be reversed by President Trump.
  • Limit withdrawals to under 150,000 acres (the equivalent of 26 lease blocks of typical size) in total or contiguous with any other withdrawal.
  • Limit cumulative withdrawals to 500,000 acres (87 lease blocks) without congressional approval.
  • Sunset withdrawals after 20 years.
  • Require geological, economic, and security assessments for any future withdrawals.
  • Give Congress the authority to review and potentially overturn future withdrawals.
  • Ensure that future withdrawals do not contradict an approved Five-Year Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing Program.

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.

Interactive map showing OCS areas where oil and gas leasing is now prohibited (I.e everywhere but the Central and Western Gulf of Mexico and the Cook Inlet)

HIGGLA_010_xmlDownload

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Energy related Executive Orders

Posted in Alaska, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Offshore Wind, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , , , , 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. 

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):

  • Encourage energy exploration and production on Federal lands and waters, including on the Outer Continental Shelf.
  • Eliminate the electric vehicle (EV) mandate.
  • Requires immediate review of actions that could burden the development of energy resources.
  • Develop and begin implementing action plans to suspend, revise, or rescind all unduly burdensome agency actions.
  • Revoke climate change and “clean energy” EOs.
  • Terminate all activities, programs, and operations associated with the American Climate Corps (RIP 😉).
  • Expedite and simplify permitting processes.
  • Facilitate the permitting and construction of interstate energy transportation and other critical energy infrastructure, including pipelines.
  • Disband the Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases.
  • Terminate the Green New Deal.  All agencies must immediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-169) or the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58).
  • The Secretary of Energy is directed to restart reviews of applications for LNG export projects as expeditiously as possible.

Offshore Wind

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All 5 of the simpler, safer, greener deepwater GoM platforms are now producing

Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 20, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Shell Vito
BP Argos
Murphy King’s Quay
Chevron Anchor
Shell Whale

Shell’s Whale floating production unit began producing this month:

  • estimated peak production:100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d)
  • water depth – 8600 ft
  • 200 miles south of Houston
  • estimated recoverable resource: 480 million boe.
  • first oil only 7.5 years after discovery (includes COVID delay)
  • Vito clone: replicates 99% of the hull design and 80% of the topsides from Vito.
  • high efficiency gas turbines and compression systems
  • ~ 30% lower greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity over its life cycle than the already efficient levels being achieved at Vito. (Why the push to run electric cables from shore to North Sea platforms with ample gas production?)

All 5 of the new simpler, safer, greener floating production units are now online:

platformoperatorfirst production
King’s QuayMurphyApril 2022
VitoShellFeb 2023
ArgosbpApril 2023
AnchorChevronAug 2024
WhaleShellJan 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:

platformoperatordiscovery datefirst production
Kaskidabp20062029
SpartaShell20122028
ShenandoahBeacon20092025 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.

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More than 2 years have elapsed since the tragic helicopter crash at the West Delta 106 A platform, but NTSB has still not issued a final report

Posted in accidents, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , 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:

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There was one US OCS fatality in 2024

Posted in accidents, decommissioning, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , , , , 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.

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Name change for the Gulf of Mexico? Will this increase production? 😉

Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Uncategorized, tagged , , , 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’ 😉

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President Biden’s offshore leasing ban dwarfs all other Sec. 12(a) withdrawals. It may be difficult to reverse.

Posted in Alaska, California, decommissioning, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , , , , , 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:

  • The entire Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS): While there are no current oil and gas leases in the US Atlantic, the region is highly prospective and could contain more than 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent (BOE).
  • The Eastern Gulf of Mexico: This is the OCS area that many petroleum geologists find most attractive. The best prospects are >100 miles from shore which minimizes coastal risks, and the high natural gas potential aligns with Florida legislation supporting the use of gas for power generation.
  • The entire Pacific OCS: While the resources are substantial, their loss has been a foregone conclusion for 25 years. When you can’t even decommission old platforms or restore production on important existing facilities (i.e. the Santa Ynez Unit), how can you possibly expect to issue new leases?
  • The remainder of the OCS offshore western Alaska. The wishes of the majority of Alaskans, who support offshore exploration and development, have been largely ignored for decades.

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.

Leske-FINALDownload

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Oct. GoM production returned to 2024 norm

Posted in Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , 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.

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W&T sues insurers and related decommissioning comments

Posted in decommissioning, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Offshore Wind, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , , on December 17, 2024| Leave a Comment »

W&T (lease and facility map above) claims that insurers have colluded to damage the company by jointly demanding additional collateral and premiums.

Comments on excerpts from the W&T press release follow:

“At the heart of the dispute are rules from the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management – BOEM – which require energy producers in the Outer Continental Shelf to provide a bond to pay for well, platform, pipeline and facilities cleanup if the operating company fails to do so.”

Comment: Despite disagreeing with aspects of the BOEM financial assurance rule, this blog has defended the rule against unfair criticism. Better solutions are achievable, but that will require industry leaders from all factions to come to the table with a commitment to reach a balanced agreement that protects the public interest.

“These insurance companies and their unreasonable demands for increased collateral pose an existential threat to independent operators like W&T.”

Comment: If insuring offshore decommissioning is so risk-free and lucrative, why aren’t other companies entering the market?

“Several states, including Texas, are challenging the BOEM rule and in one case they specifically cite W&T as an example of how the rule could be misused to irreparably harm energy producers.“

Comment: As previously posted, the concerned States should propose alternative solutions that would promote production while also protecting taxpayer interests. Arguing that decommissioning financial risks are not a problem is neither accurate nor a solution.

“In over 70 years of producer operations in the Gulf of Mexico, the federal government has never been forced to pay for any abandonment cleanup operations associated with well, platform facility, or pipeline operations.”

Comment: Shamefully, from the standpoints of both the offshore industry and the Federal government, that statement is no longer true. The taxpayer has now funded decommissioning operations in the Matagorda Island Area offshore Texas (BSEE photo below) and more significant decommissioning liabilities loom.

Other thoughts:

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Carbon disposal moving forward in the North Sea, stalled (hopefully forever) in the GoM

Posted in CCS, climate, Gulf of Mexico, UK, tagged , , , , , on December 16, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Northern Endurance Partnership (bp, Equinor, and Total) has been awarded the UK’s first permit to “store” CO2 beneath the North Sea. NEP plans to begin construction in the middle of 2025 with start-up expected in 2028 (bet the over!). Climate solution or costly virtue signaling at the public’s expense?

Fortunately, from the standpoint of US consumers and taxpayers, the push for carbon disposal in the Federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico has stalled, perhaps permanently. Oct.1 marked the 2 year anniversary of the 94 leases improperly acquired by Exxon at Sale 257 for carbon disposal purposes. Those leases will expire in 33 months (with the remaining 105 rogue leases expiring 1-2 years later) barring another legislative maneuver by industry advocates.

All of the previously posted questions about carbon disposal in the Gulf of Mexico remain, and most apply elsewhere. In particular, detailed cost-benefit analyses and risk assessments for these projects have not been provided. The intended permanency of offshore, subsurface carbon disposal raises complex monitoring, maintenance, liability, and decommissioning issues.

What are the carbon disposal proponents selling and why should governments be buying? If CO2 emissions are a significant threat to society (and informed opinions differ), is carbon disposal a cost effective solution? Policy decisions on subsidies for carbon disposal will be a good indication of how serious the new administration is about cutting Federal spending.

199 GoM oil and gas leases were wrongfully acquired for carbon disposal purposes. At Sale 261, Repsol acquired 36 nearshore Texas tracts in the Mustang Island and Matagorda Island areas (red blocks at the western end of the map above). Exxon had acquired 163 nearshore Texas tracts (blue in map above) at Sales 257 (94) and 259 (69).

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