Not new, but a nice song and video about good people.
Archive for the ‘Gulf of Mexico’ Category
Good video
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Uncategorized, tagged music video, offshore workers on July 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Washington Post on the 5 Year leasing plan
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged 5 year leasing plan, nonproducing leases, Washington Post on July 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Given the differences in our views on energy policy, particularly with regard to oil and gas, this WP opinion piece is pretty reasonable. The Post acknowledges the continued need for oil and gas, and the importance of domestic production. That said, two statements in the paragraph pasted below warrant immediate comment.
“In reality, neither argument is convincing. The Biden administration’s proposal — which opens the door to up to 11 potential lease sales, 10 in the Gulf of Mexico and one off the coast of Alaska — would have little impact on current energy prices. It would take between five and 10 years to produce oil after a new offshore lease issuance, according to the Interior Department, while more than three-quarters of already-leased offshore federal waters are not in production.”
WP Opinion
Comments:
- The purpose of the 5 year leasing plan is to minimize future energy supply and security risks, not to reduce current prices. However, acknowledgement of the importance of offshore production and support for regular lease sales could influence market psychology.
- The old and tired arguments about non-producing leases have been frequently addressed on this blog. When you purchase leases, you are not buying oil and gas. You are buying only the opportunity, for a limited period of time, to explore for these commodities. The current percentage of producing leases is actually rather high by historical standards. For more on this topic, see this and this.
Has the President, VP, or any member of the cabinet ever visited an offshore platform?
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged deepwater platform, DOE, DOI, offshore visit, President's Cabinet on July 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »
In particular, the Energy and Interior Secretaries would benefit from a visit to a deepwater production facility. They would no doubt be impressed and would be better able to make informed decisions affecting US offshore leasing, exploration, and development.
The offshore workers would be respectful and would welcome the opportunity to discuss the technology, safety precautions, and environmental protection measures.
US offshore sector “leads” worldwide decline in oil reserves
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Uncategorized, tagged exploratory drilling, oil reserves, Rystad, US offshore on July 12, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Per Rystad’s independent and highly regarded global energy assessment:
“The (worldwide) drop in reserves is driven by the 30 billion barrels of oil produced last year, plus a significant reduction in undiscovered resources, to the tune of 120 billion barrels. The US offshore sector has contributed the largest total to that drop, where 20 billion barrels of oil will remain in the ground, largely thanks to leasing bans on federal land.“
The decline in reserves should come as no surprise to those who follow the US offshore sector. Note the sharp decline in exploratory drilling in the (updated chart below) and the calls for action on this blog a year ago and more recently.
The OCS oil and gas program requires a sustained, consistent commitment by government and industry. Such a consistent commitment, even though required by legislation, is difficult to achieve in our political system, .
The proposed 5-year leasing plan portends further declines in the OCS program. Those who are celebating the progam’s downfall may not be so smug 5-10 years from now.
The commitment by the oil and gas industry has also been uneven and in some cases disappointing. BOE continues to be troubled by the reduction in exploration by some companies and the decision by others, including leading US companies with a long history of Gulf of Mexico operations, to exit the US offshore sector completely (see the chart below). The exploration decline began before the leasing shutdown (now 600 days in duration). Inconsistent signals from the Federal government and corporate directors, market considerations, and competing investment opportunities are major factors, but there are no doubt other considerations. Constructive dialogue to address these issues is badly needed.
600 Days…
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged 600 days since the last US offshore lease sale, active oil and gas leases, producing leases on July 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »
… since the last US offshore oil and gas lease sale. As a result…
- the number of active leases has fallen below 2000 (1987 as of July 1, 2022) for the first time in at least 40 years
- 99.4% of the US OCS is closed to exploration
- exploration opportunities continue to dwindle negatively affecting reserves (more on this in an upcoming post)
Of the 1.7 billion acres on the US OCS, 10.6 million are currently open to exploration and development.
April GoM production, BOEM’s production forecast, and the proposed OCS leasing program
Posted in climate, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged 2022 production forecast, 5 year leasing plan, BOEM, EIA, Gulf of Mexico oil production, King's Quay on July 7, 2022| Leave a Comment »
April production increased from March by 72,000 BOPD to 1.763 million BOPD. The increase is associated, at least in part, with Murphy’s King’s Quay field which began producing in early April. 2022 GoM production remains below the levels reached in the first 7 months (pre-Hurricane Ida) of 2021, and is well below BOEM’s forecasted 2022 production rate of 1892 MBOPD. Perhaps BOEM was assuming earlier startup dates for other projects that will begin production later this year or next year. The 2022 YTD dip in production points to the importance of sustained exploration and development.
BOEM’s short-term production forecast is considerably more optimistic than EIA’s. This optimistic forecast, along with unrealistic expectations regarding the “energy transition” are reasons for proposing so few lease sales in the new 5 year leasing program. The logic for this minimalist leasing program seems to be that future production is neither necessary nor desirable. Indeed the program implies that the long-term nature of offshore production is a liability and is justification for limiting OCS oil and gas leasing:
“BOEM’s short-term (20-year) production forecast for existing leases shows steady growth from 2022 through 2024 and declining thereafter (see Section 5.2.1). The long-term nature of OCS oil and gas development, such that production on a lease can continue for decades makes consideration of future climate pathways relevant to the Secretary’s determinations with respect to how the OCS leasing program best meets the Nation’s energy needs.“
5 Year Leasing Program, p.3
Basing leasing decisions on “future climate pathways” would seem to be a considerable stretch of the Secretary’s authority under the OCS Lands Act and may be inconsistent with the recent SCOTUS decision in West Virginia vs. EPA. A strategic shutdown of the offshore oil and gas program would dramatically increase energy supply and security risks going forward, and should be authorized by Congress.
EIA production reports continue to be delayed due to “systems issues”
Posted in energy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged EIA, Gulf of Mexico production, systems issues on July 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »
The April oil production figure for the Gulf of Mexico has thus not yet been released.
These ongoing issues must be rather embarrassing for a data driven agency.
Proposed 5-Year OCS Leasing Program issued
Posted in Alaska, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged 5 year leasing plan, BOEM, Cook Inlet, DOI, Gulf of Mexico on July 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »
- Maximum of 11 lease sales
- Maximum of one sale (Cook Inlet) outside the Gulf of Mexico
- Maximum of one GoM sale in 2023
- Issued late Friday on 4th of July weekend
- Press release
- Details
- EIS and other information
- GoM production forecast
- highly optimistic
- inconsistent with the more realistic EIA forecast
- “forecast” for 2022 is not achievable
The June 30, 2022 deadline for releasing the Proposed OCS Leasing Program has been missed without explanation
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged 5 year leasing plan, DOI, offshore oil and gas on July 1, 2022| Leave a Comment »
WASHINGTON (May 19, 2022) — During testimony before the U.S Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources today, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland confirmed that, despite delays in implementation from the previous Administration, the Interior Department will release the Proposed Program – the next step in the five-year offshore energy planning process – by June 30, 2022, which is the expiration of the current program. A Proposed Program is not a decision to issue specific leases or to authorize any drilling or development.
DOI
SCOTUS: West Virginia 6, EPA 3. These statements should resonate with regulators and industry.
Posted in climate, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged climate, GHG emissions, Justice Gorsuch, Lease Sale 257, SCOTUS, West Virginia vs. EPA on June 30, 2022| Leave a Comment »
When Congress seems slow to solve problems, it may be only natural that those in the Executive Branch might seek to take matters into their own hands. But the Constitution does not authorize agencies to use pen-and-phone regulations as substitutes for laws passed by the people’s representatives.
Justice Gorsuch in concurrence
Capping carbon dioxide emissions at a level that will force a nationwide transition away from the use of coal to generate electricity may be a sensible “solution to the crisis of the day.” New York v. United States, 505 U. S. 144, 187 (1992). But it is not plausible that Congress gave EPA the authority to adopt on its own such a regulatory scheme in Section 111(d). A decision of such magnitude and consequence rests with Congress itself, or an agency acting pursuant to a clear delegation from that representative body.
Justice Roberts for the majority
At first glance, the SCOTUS decision would seem to affect the regulation of GHG emissions on the OCS and possibly the Lease Sale 257 decision (now being appeal), which was based on BOEM’s failure to estimate the effect of reduced OCS production on GHG emissions outside the US.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 