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Archive for the ‘Gulf of Mexico’ Category

57 years after the Santa Barbara blowout, production continues at Platform A

Posted in California, decommissioning, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, well control incidents, tagged , , , , , on May 29, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Santa Barbara Channel, Dos Cuadras Field platforms (L to R): Hillhouse, A, B, and C; Antandrus Wiki photo

As part of the recent focus on decommissioning and financial assurance requirements, I looked at borehole data for platforms A, B, and C on Lease OCS-P 0241 in the Santa Barbara Channel. Platform “A” is where a well blew out in 1969, permanently scarring the US offshore program. Observations:

  • There are 140 completed and unplugged wells on the 3 platforms. None of the wells on these platforms have been permanently plugged and only one is temporarily abandoned.
  • The latest available production information (2024 data) indicates ave. daily oil production of 3791 bopd for the lease, including 1901 bopd from Platform A, the highest production for any platform in the region in 2024.
  • 41 of the lease’s completed (unplugged) wells are on Platform A.
    • The number of these wells that are currently producing is not publicly available.
    • 30 of the completed Platform A wells were drilled prior to 1985.
    • The blowout well was the 5th well drilled from platform A. All 4 of the wells drilled prior to the 1/28/1969 blowout are still unplugged:
      • well A-20: spudded on 11/19/1968, reached total depth on 12/2/1968
      • well A-41: spudded on 11/27/1968, TD on 12/19/1968
      • well A-25: spudded on 12/18/1968, TD on 12/28/1969
      • well A-38: spudded on 1/12/1969, TD on 1/24/1969
      • Note how quickly the wells were drilled. The wells were shallow (2299-4051′ true vertical depth), and the operator (Union Oil) saved time by omitting a casing string. (This decision was a root cause of the blowout and thus changed history 😡)

Lease documents and regulations at 30 CFR § 250.1710 require that all wells be permanently plugged within one year of lease termination. For leases like 0241 that are still active, 30 CFR § 250.1711 stipulates that BSEE will order a well to be permanently plugged if the well poses a hazard to safety or the environment, or is not useful for lease operations and is not capable of oil, gas, or sulphur production in paying quantities. In the Gulf of America Region, the policy is to require wells that have not been used in the past 5 years to be permanently plugged. Allowing old wells to remain unplugged is neither prudent nor consistent with the regulations.

Platform A during 1969 blowout

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More onshore vs. offshore: a look at OCS Sale 235

Posted in Offshore Energy - General, Gulf of Mexico, energy policy, tagged , , , , , , , on May 27, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Permian drilling rig
West Vela drillship made Walker Ridge discovery for Talos

Per yesterday’s discussion comparing recent onshore and offshore lease sales, the investments are really quite different. When you acquire Permian and Delaware Basin shale tracts you are essentially buying oil in place that should be producible with current technology.

At offshore sales, you are typically acquiring the opportunity to learn more, either through site surveys or drilling. Your lease exploration and development strategy will also be influenced by drilling outcomes for similar targets on other leases. A return on your investment is far from certain.

I looked back at the top ten leases (by high bid) issued at Central Gulf Sale 235. That sale was chosen because it was 11 years ago, giving time to explore and initiate development, and the bidding was strong. The top ten leases received bids ranging from $12.8 million to $52.2 million. See the screenshot below.

Surprisingly, only four of the leases were ever drilled and nine of the ten leases have expired. The only lease remaining is the highest bid block (OCS-G 35724, Walker Ridge Block 107, $52.2 million) now owned by Talos (27% and operator), Red Willow (22.5%), Shell (22.5%), CSL (9%), and two investment partnerships. This lease is being held by operations given that a well was drilled within the past year. However, Talos has announced a discovery, and the well has been temporarily abandoned to preserve future utility:

The discovery well was drilled to a total vertical depth of 33,228 feet utilizing the West Vela deepwater drillship and encountered oil pay in multiple high-quality, sub-salt Miocene sands. A comprehensive wireline program was conducted, acquiring core, fluid, and log data to evaluate the reservoir.

So the bottom line is $308.3 million in bonuses for 10 leases, 9 of which have now expired, and one discovery which could prove to be commercial down the road.

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Federal oil and gas leasing: onshore program surges to the forefront

Posted in Gulf of Mexico, energy policy, tagged , , , , , , on May 26, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Delaware Basin sale parcels mostly in NM
Lea and Eddy counties, NM

The Federal onshore oil and gas program was always secondary to the offshore program, at least in the opinion of those of us who worked in the offshore program 😉. That was before the shale era revolutionized US energy production.

The onshore program is now free to flex 💪 following recent sale results, most notably last week’s impressive BLM New Mexico sale that featured the Delaware Basin. See the attachment for details.

The table below compares the last two Big Beautiful Gulf sales and the record 2008 Gulf of Mexico sale with the BLM NM sale. Most astonishing is the record $357,129 per acre bid for a single NM tract. Devon Energy, which exited the Gulf in 2010, was the mega-bidder acquiring 24 tracts for $2.6 billion! (Devon is still bogged down in the Hogan/Houchin decommissioning dispute in the Pacific, a case which should temper enthusiasm for relaxed lease assignment and financial assurance policies.)

The attractiveness of the Permian, Delaware, and similar onshore basins has been greatly enhanced by vastly improved drilling and well completion technology. The short lead times to first production are a big advantage relative to offshore development.

The total high bids for Gulf Sale 206, which dwarfed the BBG1 and 2 sales, are still a Federal oil and gas leasing record when converted to 2026 dollars, but the sale area was much larger than for the NM sale.

Saledatetracts bid onacres bid ontotal high bidshighest bid/acre
BLM NM5/20/20267433,529$4,007,609,288$357,129
BBG2 3/11/202625140,753$46,976,423$3,647.57
BBG1 12/10/20251811,023,526$300,425,222$3,227.79
2067/21/20086153,323,047$3,677,688,245
($5.7 million in
2026 dollars)		$18,333.47
($28,300 in 2026 dollars)
The royalty rate on Sale 206 leases is 18.75%, versus 12.5% for the other 3 sales.
Efficient Markets Spring 2026 BLM Lease Sale MaterialsDownload

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Lease Sale BBG2 now two blocks smaller; “sweet spot” leases awarded

Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 20, 2026| Leave a Comment »

BBG2 – Big Beautiful Gulf, small lease sale

BOEM has completed their Sale BBG2 bid evaluations, and 2 of the 25 high bids were rejected, further shrinking the sale’s already small footprint. That’s a high rejection rate when compared with Sale BBG1 (3 of 181 bids rejected).

Although BOEM’s decision matrix has not yet been posted, a comparison of the acceptances with the bids submitted tells us that the Keathley Canyon Block 828 ($1,101,202) and Atwater Valley Block 63 ($650,018) bids were rejected.

Both of the rejected bids were submitted by LLOG, partnering with 4 other companies on the Atwater Valley block. LLOG’s high bids on 3 other blocks were accepted, so their rejection rate was 40%. Interestingly, 2 of the 3 BBG1 rejected bids were also submitted by LLOG.

There is no shame in bid rejections, which are part of the legislated leasing process. Why pay more than you have to (or think a block is worth)? A bid rejection may attract future competition, but otherwise the only downside is that you don’t get a lease that you can possibly acquire at another sale if desired (an advantage of regular, predictable lease sales).

BOEM is charged with making fair market value determinations and their process and decisions are publicly available. Of course, opinions differ on the value of an unexplored lease. We will see what the bidding on the BBG1 and BBG2 rejections looks like in future sales.

BOEM did accept the the high bids for the BBG2 “sweet spot” blocks (red in map below; also see the table) in the Green Canyon Area of the Gulf. These 4 blocks accounted for 17 of the sale’s 38 bids (45%) and $32.8 milion of the sale’s $47 million in high bids (70%). BP’s $21 million bid for GC 404 was by far the sale’s highest bid.

red=blocks receiving bids at BBG2; blue=BBG1 and Sale 261 leases; green=active leases issued prior to Sale 261
Green Canyon
Block No.		No. of biddersHigh BidderBid
4045BP$21,009,990
4052BP$885,990
4485Chevron$4,967,067
4925Chevron$5,887,188

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My comments on BOEM’s proposed revisions to decommissioning financial assurance requirements

Posted in California, decommissioning, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , , on May 6, 2026| 1 Comment »

Attached are my comments on BOEM’s proposed revisions to the decommissioning financial assurance regulations. These comments were submitted to Regulations.gov yesterday (3 days early 😀). Bud

Concluding Remarks

  1. MMA’s highest priority must be assuring that facilities are safely decommissioned without public funding. Supplemental financial assurance determinations and lease assignment approvals must be consistent with that priority.  
  2. Predecessor liability is an important financial assurance principle, but legal boundaries and administrative procedures must be clearly established. 
  3. Safety and compliance are inextricably related to financial performance, and must be considered in determining supplemental assurance requirements. 
  4. Using reserve estimates to reduce supplemental assurance exposes taxpayers to geologic and accounting risks. 
  5. Unacceptable public risks have resulted from financial assurance decisions intended to advance offshore wind development.
Comments – BOEM financial assurance ruleDownload

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John Smith’s comments on BOEM’s proposed revisions to decommissioning financial assurance requirements

Posted in California, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Offshore Wind, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , on May 5, 2026| Leave a Comment »

The comment period for BOEM’s proposed revisions to decommissioning financial assurance requirements closes on Friday, May 8th.

John Smith’s comments have been officially submitted to Regulations.gov, and are attached for your convenience. Nice work by John.

My comments are being finalized and will be submitted and posted soon.

042926 JB Smith Comments on Proposed Changes to Bonding RulesDownload

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Upon further review, 2019 retains the Gulf oil production record. Jump in California OCS production upcoming.

Posted in California, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , on May 4, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Update: Another EIA revision to Gulf of America oil production for Dec. 2025 (1.994 to 1.985 million bopd) means that 2019 retains the production record by the narrowest of margins – 1.898 to 1.897 million bopd. Stay tuned because this may not be the final word 😉.

Per EIA, Feb. 2026 production dipped a bit to 1.931 million bopd (chart below).

Meanwhile, California OCS oil production for FEB continued at about 10,000 bopd. This number may increase a bit for March, and more for April data when the first Sable sales are included. A big increase, by as much as 500%, should be apparent in the June report barring a court ordered shutdown.

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RIP Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Interior, 2006-2009

Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , , , , on April 28, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Dirk Kempthorne participating in Lease Sale 206 which garnered a record $3.7 billion in high bids!

I was saddened to learn about the passing of Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Interior from 2006-2009. He was a supporter of responsible offshore oil and gas development, and oversaw six lease sales and the continued growth of the deepwater sector.

One of those lease sales generated a record $3.7 billion in high bids (photo above). Lars Herbst was the Minerals Management Service’s Regional Director at the time.

I had the pleasure of briefing the Secretary on a couple of occasions and found him to be very personable, attentive, and intelligent. My colleagues were similarly impressed.

The Secretary was also known to ride his motorcycle to the Interior building on occasion. He is pictured on his Harley below, but this photo was taken in Idaho, not Washington. 😀

The organizers of the 2007 IRF Offshore Safety Conference were most pleased when Secretary Kempthorne agreed to participate as a keynote speaker. Our many international guests were impressed by his remarks and his interaction with the conference delegates. His conference bio and those of the other speakers are attached.

RIP Mr. Secretary! You served the country well. Enjoy cruising on that big motorcycle in the sky!

Speaker-BiosDownload

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“Back to the Future”- 1947 Oil and Gas is the Gulf’s newest operator

Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 22, 2026| Leave a Comment »

1947 Oil and Gas is a great name choice given that the first offshore oil well beyond the sight of land was completed in 1947 (see photo). The numeric name choice is reminiscent of historically important team names like the San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia 76ers.

The name is especially fitting given that 1947’s first acquisition, Renaissance Offshore, operates entirely on the Gulf shelf (map below). Renaissance is a significant shelf producer ranking 19th among all Gulf operators in both oil (791,572 bbls) and gas (1,335,009 mcf) production in 2025. Renaissance ranked 6th in oil production and 7th in gas production among companies that focus on the shelf.

A challenge for 1947 will be improving Renaissance’s compliance and safety record:

  • In 2025, Renaissance was one of only four companies that operated more than 10 shelf platforms and had INC/facility inspection ratios >1.0.
  • Renaissance has averaged 0.93 violations (INCs) per inspection since 1/1/2020, trailing only Cox legacy Array in INC frequency.
  • In 2019, a worker fell to his death at the Renaissance Eugene Island 331 B platform. BSEE’s investigation found that Renaissance failed to maintain all of its walking and working surfaces in a safe condition, that supervisors failed to promptly correct or prevent employees from accessing the uncorrected and uncontrolled walking and working surface hazard area, and that Renaissance and its contractors failed to follow the agreed upon terms and conditions within their respective Safety and Environmental Management Systems (SEMS) bridging arrangements. (Renaissance incurred a seemingly modest $105,292 civil penalty for this incident. There is no public information on any settlement with the victim’s family.)

“Between 2012 and 2014 Renaissance grew substantially with the acquisition of sixteen Gulf of Mexico producing fields, fifteen of which are operated and most are 100% owned.” 1947’s financial strength is unclear. Hopefully, BOEM will verify that satisfactory decommissioning financial assurance arrangements are in place before any lease assignments are approved.

Renaissance operations being acquired by 1947 Oil and Gas

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Jason Mathews: Deepwater Horizon – Be The Difference

Posted in accidents, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged , , , , , on April 20, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Jason’s message, pasted in full below, is important for all who are associated with offshore oil and gas operations, in the US and internationally.

Be The Difference

On the Outer Continental Shelf, BSEE (or MMA) annually oversees ~70 million manhours of offshore personnel, production of >650 million barrels oil, and activities on ~1300 platforms and 75-90 rig / rig units. We all have a profound respect for the men and women who work offshore and put their lives on hold for 14-28 days to deliver much needed OCS production to meet the US demand, and that could not be clearer today.

Last month, Lou Holtz, a legendary coach and person passed away, and it reminded me of the rules of life he lived by and often promoted to others – 1) Do the right thing, 2) Do the best you can, and 3) Always show people you care.

Since February, BSEE has lost two great engineers, Tom Meyer and Bobby Nelson, who were both men of conviction. Tom and Bobby made a difference in all of us as they constantly worked with integrity, moral clarity, and high standards, choosing to act based on principles rather than preference or ease. While at BSEE, I have no doubt both of these men acted from internal motivation to adhere to their principles, not based on external applause or convenience. During their careers, both Tom and Bobby personified Lou Holtz’s rules of life.

Sixteen years ago, to this day, a phone call took place from the Deepwater Horizon to BP’s onshore office. The phone call discussed the anomalies encountered in the negative pressure test, and it was between the Well Site Leader and the lead drilling engineer. BP drilling engineer, Mark Hafle, allowed the temporary abandonment operations on the Deepwater Horizon to proceed even though he told Donald Vidrine, the Deepwater Horizon well site leader, that “you can’t have pressure on the drill pipe and zero pressure on the kill line in a [negative] test that is properly lined up.” Furthermore, Hafle did nothing to investigate or resolve the pressure differential issue even though he remained in BP’s office until 10:00 p.m. the evening of April 20 and had access to real‐time well data (which he logged out of at 5:27:35 p.m.). Hafle’s failure to investigate or resolve the negative test anomalies noted by Vidrine was a possible contributing cause of the kick detection failure that resulted in the Macondo blowout and 11 fatalities (Jason Anderson, Aaron Burkeen, Donald Clark, Stephen Curtis, Gordon Jones, Wyatt Kemp, Karl Kleppinger, Jr., Blair Manuel, Dewey Revette, Shane Roshto, Adam Weise).

Every day your actions, no matter how small, have a profound impact on others at the platform, in the company, and in industry. If you know something is not right, something is not possible, or even if you have doubt, consider being the difference.

For the remainder of the year, I challenge all of us, as regulators, to urge individuals on our teams to use their personal strengths to influence change rather than waiting for others to take initiative – including yourself. Also, promote the idea that one does not have to follow the crowd and can take a unique, personal stance to improve the offshore workplace. Be the difference just like Tom and Bobby.

Be The Difference and do whatever it takes to ensure the people offshore return from work the same way they arrived.

Respectfully, 

Jason P. Mathews

Petroleum Engineer

Field Operations – OSM

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