No tropical storm production shut-ins in 2023 YTD.
Archive for the ‘Gulf of Mexico’ Category
August Gulf of Mexico oil production was stable at 1.9 million bopd
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged 2023, EIA, Gulf of Mexico, oil production on November 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »
IRF Country Performance Data published for 2021 and 2022
Posted in accidents, Gulf of Mexico, IRF, Offshore Energy - General, tagged 2022 fatalities, 4 fatalities, helicopter crash, IRF performance data, US data on October 31, 2023| Leave a Comment »
International Regulators’ Forum Country Performance data for 2021 and 2022 have now been posted. Unfortunately, the US fatalities data for 2022 are incorrect. Four workers died as a result of a helicopter crash at the West Delta 106 A platform on 12/29/2022. However, the IRF summary table indicates only one fatality for the year.
Per the IRF guidelines, “Helicopter operations at or near an Offshore Installation” are supposed to be counted. The fatal 12/29/2022 incident clearly happened at the platform’s helideck (photos below).
Update on the 5th Circuit decision on Sale 261
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged 5th Circuit, Gulf of Mexico, Lease Sale 261, Rice's whale on October 27, 2023| Leave a Comment »
I take it that since the 5th Circuit stayed both the 9/21 and 9/25 orders, the mandate to hold the sale by 11/8 is also stayed. Ergo, it is assumed that the sale will be delayed pending a decision on the merits of the injunction. Oral arguments are scheduled for 11/13.
If the 5th Circuit’s decision facilitates timely resolution of the Rice’s whale deletions and stipulations, delaying the sale is probably the best outcome. Otherwise, the level of uncertainty would be unacceptable for many bidders.
5th Circuit stays Judge Cain’s order to reinstate Sale 261 acreage and remove Rice’s whale stipulation
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged 5th Circuit, appeal, DOI, injunction stayed, Lease Sale 261, Rice's whale on October 27, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Not a lawyer, but I take this to mean that the Judge’s injunction has been suspended and DOI may delete acreage and include the Rice’s whale stipulations in Sale 261 leases. The sale will be held on Nov. 8.
ORDER:
IT IS ORDERED that the preliminary injunction entered by the Memorandum Order of September 21, 2023, as amended by the motions panel’s order of September 25, 2023, is STAYED pending the merits panel’s decision on appeal.
LYLE W. CAYCE, CLERK
United States Court of Appeals
Preliminary thoughts on Chevron’s acquisition of Hess
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Guyana, Offshore Energy - General, Uncategorized, tagged Chevron, deepwater development, Gulf of Mexico, Guyana, Hess, merger, Stampede on October 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »
- Most importantly, both companies have excellent safety and compliance records as evidenced by their Honor Roll achievements.
- Hess is an attractive company with impressive assets. Were there other suitors?
- Chevron is currently a partner on the Stampede, Esox, and Tubular Bells deepwater projects that are operated by Hess. There is thus an established deepwater development relationship.
- The acquisition of Hess means that Exxon and Chevron will now be partners in Guyana. That should be interesting.
- Chevron’s CEO Mike Wirth is quoted as saying “We’ve got too many CEOs per BOE, so consolidation is natural.” That comment seems a bit self-serving, but makes sense from the perspective of an acquiring CEO. Employees of the companies being acquired may have a somewhat different view.
- In the Gulf of Mexico, will the combined company be greater than the sum of the parts in terms of lease acquisition, exploration, and development?
- Will combining the companies limit the diversity of geological assessments and exploration strategies?
- Consolidation affects participation in workshops and on committees engaged in assessing technology and developing standards. More limited participation in these activities, which are critical to offshore safety, was a justified concern of my former boss, the late Carolita Kallaur.
- Add Hess to the list of important offshore operators that, for all intents and purposes, no longer exist. This list includes (among others): Amoco, Arco, Texaco, Getty, Gulf, Unocal, Sun, Anadarko, BHP, Mobil, Phillips (or Conoco), Noble Energy, Pennzoil, Kerr-McGee, and Newfield.
Senator Bob Menendez and the Macondo hearing
Posted in accidents, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Uncategorized, tagged Deepwater Horizon, macondo, Senate Energy Committee, Senator Menendez on October 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »
I was on the first panel to appear before a Senate committee during the Macondo blowout. All of the senators were respectful and professional with two exceptions, one of whom was Bob Menendez. Perhaps Senator Menendez’s penchant for political grandstanding was an indication of more significant character flaws.
Robert Menendez Allegedly Agreed to Use His Official Position to Benefit Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, Fred Daibes, and the Government of Egypt in Exchange for Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars of Bribes to Menendez and His Wife Nadine Menendez, Which Included Gold Bars, Cash, and a Luxury Convertible
Dept. of Justice
Last week, Sen. Menendez was cited for additional charges accusing him of accepting bribes from a foreign government and conspiring to act as a foreign agent.
Kudos for Kosmos!
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged civil penalties, compliance, deepwater discovery, Equinor, Gulf of Mexico, Kosmos Energy, Oxy, Tiberius on October 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Kosmos Energy announces deepwater GoM discovery. Oxy and Equinor are partners in this venture.
The Tiberius exploration well tested a four-way structural trap in the outboard Wilcox trend, located in Keathley Canyon Block 964. The well encountered approximately 250 feet (~75 meters) of net oil pay in the primary Wilcox target. Wireline logging has been completed and casing is currently being run to the target depth to enable the well to be used as a future oil producer. The Tiberius well is located in approximately 7,500 feet (2,300 meters) of water and was drilled to a total vertical depth of approximately 25,800 feet (7,800 meters).
BSEE data indicate that Kosmos has an excellent compliance record, having been cited for only 3 violations during 44 facility inspections (83 inspection types) since 1/1/2018.
Per the latest available BSEE summaries, Kosmos did not pay any civil penalties from 2019 through 2022.
One quibble: the Kosmos news release does not name the drilling unit or drilling contractor. The rig crew is the group most responsible for safely drilling the well.
Letter from House Committee on Small Business to BOEM on the Rice’s whale restrictions
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged 5th Circuit, House Committee on Small Business, Lease Sale 261, Rice's whale, Roger Williams on October 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »
The letter is attached.
Item 5 (ouch!):
- Is it accurate to describe BOEM’s agreement with the Sierra Club as a “sue and settle” arrangement?
a. If so, does BOEM intend to continue making decisions through “sue and settle” tactics?
b. How can the Committee attain confidence that the BOEM is considering the interest of small businesses in its decision-making when its decisions are made behind closed doors with special interest groups?
Last week, the 5th Circuit heard arguments on the appeal by Earthjustice et al of Judge Cain’s decision to remove the Rice’s whale restrictions from Sale 261 leases. The sale is to be held on Nov. 8 per the 5th Circuit’s order.
Exxon’s acquisition of Pioneer is impressive, but their business strategy seems a bit hypocritical
Posted in climate, energy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged carbon intensity, carbon sequestration, Exxon, Gulf of Mexico, hypocrisy, Permian, Pioneer on October 12, 2023| 2 Comments »
Impressive acquisition:
- Exxon has acquired Pioneer’s 850,000+ Permian acres, which increases their Permian holdings by approximately 150%.
- The acquisition will increase their Permian resource to an estimated 16 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
- Exxon’s Permian production volume will more than double to 1.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, and is expected to increase to approximately 2 MOEBD in 2027.
- Pioneer appears to be a responsible operator from an HSE standpoint.
Hypocrisy?
- Exxon is clearly intent on maximizing production in the Permian. This makes good business sense and is good for the US economy.
- Contradictorily, Exxon intends to establish a CO2 disposal business (“carbon sequestration”) in the Gulf of Mexico. Is their goal to profit from emissions resulting from the consumption of the production that they are maximizing?
- If Exxon believes the consumption of oil and gas is harmful to society, as suggested by their CO2 disposal plans, perhaps they should be curtailing their oil and gas production business rather than expanding it.
- Deepwater Gulf of Mexico production, which Exxon has shunned, has much lower carbon intensity than Permian production, but Exxon’s sole GoM interest is CO2 disposal. Shouldn’t a company that is intent on reducing upstream GHG emissions be active in the leading offshore region in that regard, the region that is adjacent to their world headquarters?
How NOT to manage our oil and gas leasing program
Posted in Alaska, climate, energy policy, Florida, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged CCS, OCS Leasing Program, SPR depletion on October 11, 2023| 1 Comment »
- Eliminate 96.3% of the nation’s offshore lands from consideration for even limited oil and gas leasing.
- Administer the program such that active leases comprise <1% of the nation’s offshore lands.
- Ignore the significant oil and gas potential of arctic and subarctic Alaska, the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Eastern Gulf of Mexico (where the best prospects are >125 miles from the coast of Florida).
- Ignore the national security implications of the diminished leasing program while concurrently depleting the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
- Discount the economic risks associated with international hostilities.
- Despite compelling evidence to the contrary, assume declines in oil and gas demand are imminent. .
- Irrationally believe that offshore wind is a replacement for, rather than a complement to, oil and gas.
- On the basis of speculative endangered species information, impose severe restrictions on oil and gas operations (but not on any other commercial activities).
- Defer to the climate office on critical leasing policy decisions.
- Only hold lease sales that are (per legislation) required precursors to offshore wind leasing.
- To justify reduced leasing, contend that more leasing would not decrease oil prices. Take the opposite position (Sale 257) to argue that leasing will decrease prices and thus increase demand and GHG emissions.
- Contrary to the regulations and without public comment, issue oil and gas leases to a company that is solely interested in developing them for carbon sequestration purposes.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 