Per EIA, February production averaged 1.832 million bopd vs. 1.911 in January.
Archive for the ‘Gulf of Mexico’ Category
Small dip (4.1%) in Feb. 2023 GoM oil production
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged 2023 oil production, Gulf of Mexico oil production on May 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Happy for Guyana, but this statement is misleading
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Guyana, Offshore Energy - General, tagged 2035, BOEM, Guyana vs. Gulf of Mexico, oil production on April 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Industry consultancy Rystad Energy estimates Guyana will be pumping 1.7 million barrels per day by 2035, which is higher than other major offshore basins including the Gulf of Mexico, ranking the country as the world’s fourth largest offshore oil producer.
OilPrice.com
The GoM is currently producing >1.8 million bopd. If Rystad/OilPrice intended to say that Guyana production will exceed GoM production in 2035, that could be the case. However, sustained GoM production in 2035 could easily be >1.7 million bopd with proper resource management by government and industry. In fact, BOEM’s latest forecast (table below) calls for production >1.8 million bopd in 2031, the last year in their forecast.
Gulf of Mexico rig count is showing some life
Posted in drilling, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Beacon, bp, Chevron, deepwater drilling, Diamond Offshore, Gulf of Mexico, Kosmos, LLOG, Murphy, Noble, Oxy, QuarterNorth, Shell, transocean, Valeris, Woodside on April 27, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Based on drilling contractor rig activity reports, the table below lists 19 deepwater MODUs under or soon to begin contracts in the GoM. (Further details are pasted at the end of this post.) Per the Valeris report, platform rigs are operating on bp’s Thunder Horse and Mad Dog platforms. Per the BSEE borehole file, Arena and Cantium continue to drill development wells on the GoM shelf.
| Rig Name | Operator |
| Deepwater Titan | Chevron |
| Deepwater Atlas | Beacon |
| Deepwater Poseidon | Shell |
| Deepwater Pontus | Shell |
| Deepwater Proteus | Shell |
| Deepwater Conqueror | not disclosed |
| Deepwater Thalassa | Shell |
| Deepwater Asgard | Murphy |
| Deepwater Invictus | Woodside |
| Globetrotter I | Shell |
| Globetrotter II | Shell |
| Faye Kozack | QuarterNorth LLOG Kosmos |
| Stanley Lafosse | Murphy |
| Valaris DS-18 | Chevron |
| Valaris DS-16 | Oxy |
| Ocean BlackHornet | bp |
| Ocean Black Lion | bp |
| Auriga | bp |
| Vela | bp Beacon |
Excerpts from rig activity reports:
Decommissioning certainty? How so?
Posted in California, decommissioning, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Offshore Wind, tagged BOEM, BSEE, decommissioning, regulations on April 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »
“BSEE will continue to evaluate the process for issuing decommissioning orders and will continue to issue decommissioning orders to jointly and severally liable parties on a case-by-case basis.“
Final decommissioning rule (preamble). 4/18/2023
Although the news release for BSEE’s final decommissioning rule asserts that the regulations “provide the certainty requested by industry,” that does not seem to be the case. The main change in the final rule was to delete the reverse chronological order (RCO) provision which called for issuing decommissioning orders to the most recent predecessor first. Instead, BSEE may continue to issue decommissioning orders arbitrarily.
While deleting the RCO provision may be advantageous for the regulator, and in some cases for the public, claiming that the decision provides certainty for industry is quite a stretch. BSEE may continue to issue a decommissioning order to anyone in the ownership chain, whether the company was a recent lessee or one that had owned the lease decades ago. Original or early lessees may be held liable for decommissioning old facilities regardless of subsequent damage, modifications, or neglected maintenance.
The absence of a defined procedure for issuing decommissioning orders may also expose BSEE to new legal challenges, particularly in cases where a company has not held the lease for decades. A 1988 letter from the Director of the Minerals Management Service to Amoco (attached below) explicitly relieves the assignor (predecessor) of decommissioning liability after the lease has been assigned. A revised bonding rule published on May 22, 1997 reversed that policy, but decommissioning liability for leases assigned prior to the 1997 rule may still be very much in question.
Another concern is the split jurisdiction for decommissioning between BSEE and BOEM. The financial, land management, operational, and environmental aspects of decommissioning are inextricably intertwined and attempts to divide these responsibilities between two bureaus with separate regulations is a prescription for gaps, overlap, inconsistency, inefficiency, disputes, and confusion. Decommissioning should be regulated holistically, not with separate “BOEM-only” and “BSEE-only” regulations.
Finally, wind facility decommissioning may prove to be even more challenging given the higher facility density and economic uncertainties. The regulatory regime needs to be clearly established early in the development phase.
Related posts:
- The troubling case of Platforms Hogan and Houchin
- Taxpayer funded decommissioning – troubling precedent for the US offshore program
- California decommissioning – the band plays on
- Programmatic EIS for Pacific OCS platform decommissioning presents 4 alternatives, none of which are workable
- Old disputes prevent common sense solutions
- Decommissioning update 😀
Excellent video on the geology of the Gulf of Mexico
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, tagged Gulf of Mexico, marine geology, salt on April 24, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Macondo: On the 13th anniversary, a tribute to the 11 heroes
Posted in accidents, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, well control incidents, tagged 4/20/2010, Deepwater Horizon, macondo, Trace Atkins on April 20, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Sharing this touching tribute to the 11 men who died on the Deepwater Horizon on April 20, 2010. These American heroes gave their lives exploring for energy to power our economy. The video is introduced by singer Trace Atkins, a former Gulf of Mexico rig worker. Please take a moment to watch.
Deepwater GoM platforms: the next generation has arrived
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Anchor, Argos, bp, Chevron, King's Quay, Murphy, Shell, Vito, Whale on April 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »
With the announcement of first oil at Argos, 3 of the 5 next generation deepwater platforms (simpler, safer, and greener) are now producing oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico. The other 2 platforms are expected to begin production in 2024.
Prior to the installation of these platforms, the last deepwater platform addition was Shell’s Appomattox in 2018. That gap in deepwater platform installations was the longest since Bullwinkle was installed in 1988.
The 5 new structures will increase the deepwater platform count by 9% from 56 to 61, and in the next few years should account for approximately 1/4 of GoM oil production.
| platform | operator | water depth (feet) | first production | design production (boe) |
| King’s Quay | Murphy | 3725 | April 2022 | 100,000 |
| Vito | Shell | 4000 | Feb 2023 | 100,000 |
| Argos | bp | 4500 | April 2023 | 140,000 |
| Anchor | Chevron | 5000 | 2024 (est.) | 80,000 |
| Whale | Shell | 8600 | 2024 (est.) | 100,000 |
Thunder Horse has an interesting history
Posted in accidents, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged bp, Gulf of Mexico, listing, Thunder Horse on April 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »
This picture was posted by MaritmePhoto. The”Blue Marlin” heavy lift vessel is arriving in Texas (2005) with the massive semisubmersible production platform “Thunder Horse” on board.
Above (from BOE archives): Pre-commissioning inspection of Thunder Horse
Thunder Horse has a most interesting history. The project was initially named Crazy Horse, but the name was changed out of respect for concerns raised by the Lakota nation. The massive structure is 136 m in length and 113 m in width, and is located in 6300′ of water in the Mississippi Canyon area of the Gulf of Mexico.
Many of you no doubt remember the near disaster during Hurricane Dennis (2005) when the platform was being commissioned. In light of the extensive pre-production hype for the “world’s largest production platform,” this was a costly and embarrassing incident for BP and the OCS program.
Per the findings of the MMS investigation team led by my former colleague David Dykes:
Findings indicate that failures associated with the hydraulic control system and its isolation on evacuation led to the partial opening of multiple hydraulically actuated valves in the ballast and bilge systems of the vessel. This allowed ballast water migration to take place, causing the initial listing (to approximately 16 degrees) of the vessel shortly after the hydraulic system was isolated.
The findings also indicate that ballast water migrated into manned spaces in the lower hull, via faulty and improperly installed check valves in the integrated ballast/bilge piping system. As the degree of list increased beyond the 16 degree mark, downflooding of seawater occurred, initially through overboard discharge lines and/or vents, and possibly later through the deck box as it entered the water. Since the PDQ was already listing at a 16 degree angle prior to the passage of Hurricane Dennis, wave action associated with the passage of the hurricane may also have contributed to the downflooding of seawater.
Although not an initiating event, failed Multiple Cable Transits (MCTs) and two unintended openings in the bulkheads allowed water transfer between watertight compartments, which led to extensive flooding and water damage in the lower hull.
Fortunately, there were no injuries. Repairs were made and production was finally initiated in June 2008.
After recent subsea tieback expansions, Thunder Horse is reported to be producing 200,000+ boe/d. OPEC’s Monthly Market Report for April 2023 cites the Thunder Horse expansion as a key driver in the January 2023 GoM production increase (see excerpt below).
PNAS article: “Excess methane emissions from shallow water platforms elevate the carbon intensity of US Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production”
Posted in climate, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged air emissions, BOEM, carbon intensity, excess methane, flaring, GOADS, Gulf of Mexico, ONRR, PNAS article, venting on April 11, 2023| Leave a Comment »
An interesting study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) was brought to my attention by leading offshore energy historian Tyler Priest. The study used airborne observations and emissions reports to measure the carbon intensity (CI) of Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production. Their CI measure is grams of CO2 equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions per megajoule of energy produced.
The authors conclude that inventory emissions of CO2 (as reported to BOEM) “are generally consistent with observations from our aircraft survey, suggesting that combustion is well represented in the federal inventory.“
However, that is not the case for methane (CH4) emissions which are underestimated by the Federal inventories. As summarized in the chart below, deepwater facility methane emissions are consistent with the reported inventories, but shelf emissions in State and Federal waters differ significantly.
Comments:
- As previously discussed, the lower CI for deepwater production is entirely consistent with expectations. When the most modern 5% (57) of GoM platforms are producing 93% of the oil and 76% of the gas, their CI should be impressive (which indeed it is).
- As summarized using ONRR data, more gas-well gas was vented from 2015-2021 than was flared, which is not what you want from a GHG standpoint. Gas wells are predominantly at shallow water facilities, many of which are not equipped with flare booms.
- Oil-well gas, most of which is produced at deepwater platforms, is flared rather than vented by a ratio of approximately 4 to 1.
- About 15 years ago, the Federal government (MMS) considered requiring that older production platforms be retrofitted with flare booms, but safety, space limitations, and cost considerations precluded such a regulation. Instead, additional flaring/venting limits, and measurement and reporting requirements were imposed.
- One bad actor may have been a major contributor to the shelf methane emissions observed during the study’s observational flights. That company entered into bankruptcy proceedings. Presumably those issues have been resolved and more rigorous monitoring and enforcement practices have been implemented. I’ll be looking at the 2022 ONRR flaring and venting data for evidence of such improvement. The remainder of the 2022 data should be available in May.
- The subject study’s only observational measurements were in August 2020. Followup airborne measurements would be helpful.
- The study only considered production emissions. Shelf facilities are primarily natural gas producers and would thus have a lower relative CI when consumed.
- When will updated BOEM GOADS flaring and venting data be available? The latest data are for 2017 (cover below)? Are GOADS data being compared with ONRR and World Bank data?
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 