Attached is a good update on the Walton Morant license offshore Jamaica. Note that the large Exxon deepwater block offshore Trinidad (7765 sq km) is only 1/3 the size of the massive Walton Morant license (22,400 sq km), and that the Walton Morant license is nearly 1000 times the size of a deepwater Gulf of America lease block.
Archive for the ‘Offshore Energy – General’ Category
Jamaica exploration update
Posted in Jamaica, Offshore Energy - General, tagged exploration, Jamaica, United Oil and Gas, Walton Morant License on August 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »
‘Piper Alpha disaster was the best and worst day of my life’ – Ed Punchard
Posted in accidents, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, UK, tagged best and worst day, BSEE, downhole commingling, Lord Cullen, Piper Alpha, safety case on August 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »
JL Daeschler shared a London Sunday Times piece about the Piper Alpha fire that killed 167 workers, the worst tragedy in the history of the offshore industry. We were troubled by the headline, because it seems inconceivable that any UK offshore worker could call July 6, 1988, the best day of their life. However, Punchard helped a number of workers escape the fire, so his mixed message is somewhat understandable.
Lord Cullen’s comprehensive inquiry into the Piper Alpha tragedy challenged traditional thinking about regulation and how safety objectives could best be achieved, and was perhaps the most important report in the history of offshore oil and gas operations. That report and the US regulatory response to the tragedy are discussed in this post.
BSEE’s new downhole commingling rule, which responds to a Congressional mandate, is contrary to Cullen’s Safety Case principles in that it puts the burden of proof on the regulator to conclusively demonstrate that a potentially hazardous operation is unsafe. This is exactly the opposite of the approach recommended by Cullen. It’s also the first time in the history of the OCS program that Congress has dictated approval of complex downhole operations. More on this in a later post.
JL shares this gem from the Scottish tapestry exhibition
Posted in Offshore Energy - General, UK, Uncategorized, tagged Great Tapestry, history, JL Daeschler, North Sea oil and gas, Scotland on August 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »
JL Daeschler, pioneering subsea engineer, artist, resident of Scotland, and BOE contributor, visited The Great Tapestry of Scotland exhibition in Galashiels. He shared this image of a tapestry tribute to North Sea workers.
JL reports that the Great Tapestry is 143 m long, and that more than 1000 people worked 50,000+ hours on the various historical panels!
Beneath the North Sea oil panel is some historical information and the names of those who did the stitching:
Daenerys project has an interesting mix of partners
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Cathexis, Daenerys, deepwater development, HEQ, Houston Energy, Red Willow, Shell, Southern Ute Tribe, Talos on August 21, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Talos announced successful drilling results at the Daenerys prospect (Katmai West #2) in the Gulf of America (Walker Ridge blocks 106, 107, 150, and 151).
Daenerys is a good example of the evolution of deepwater project ownership, which was once exclusively the domain of major international oil companies. Over the past 20 years, participation by independents increased gradually, followed by smaller independents and informed investment companies.
Impressively, the Daenerys partnership (table below) includes a tribe that has the same % ownership as a super-major, and a highly efficient investment company owned by a single person.
| Talos (operator) | large US independent | 27.0% share |
| Shell | international supermajor | 22.5% |
| Red Willow | private company owned by the Southern Ute Tribe | 22.5% |
| Houston Energy | private independent focused on deepwater energy resources | 10.0% |
| Cathexis | holding company owned by a single individual | 9.0% |
| HEQ | portfolio company focused on deepwater Gulf | 9. |
Important BSEE Safety Alert addresses “slips, trips, and falls”
Posted in accidents, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged BSEE Safety Alert, fires, incident tables, performance based inspections, performance data, safety management, slips trips falls on August 20, 2025| Leave a Comment »
I never liked the label “slips, trips, and falls” (STFs) because the words “slips and trips” trivialize the most common cause of serious offshore casualties. Perhaps, the name of this category should be simplified to “falls,” because that is the consequence of concern.
Unfortunately, STFs persist at an unacceptably high rate. In the attached Safety Alert, BSEE informs that between May 2024 and April 2025, 22% of all injuries were attributed to STFs. Many of these injuries were classified as major.
BSEE conducted focused inspections of 19 facilities (17 different operators) to better assess the STF problem. They found common deficiencies in training, hazard identification, and other preventive measures. These deficiencies and the associated safety management recommendations are listed in the Safety Alert.
Kudos to BSEE for their excellent Safety Alert program. Unfortunately, unacceptable delays in updating their incident tables and OCS performance measures data make it difficult to assess industry wide safety performance trends. The most recent data are for 2023, and some of those data raise concerns. For example, the number of fires (152) was the highest in the history of the performance measures data set (dates back to 1996) by some margin. What happened in 2024 and the first half of 2025? These data should be readily available and posted in a timely manner. No offshore facility fire is trivial.
OCS leasing schedule announced
Posted in Alaska, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged BOEM, Cook Inlet, Gulf of America, OCS leasing, US Dept. of the Interior on August 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Offshore Lease Sale Schedule
| Year | Cook Inlet Sale | Gulf of America Sales |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | — | Dec. 10 |
| 2026 | March | March, August |
| 2027 | March | March, August |
| 2028 | March | March, August |
| 2029 | — | March, August |
| 2030 | March | March, August |
| 2031 | March | March, August |
| 2032 | March | March, August |
| 2033–2039 | — | March, August |
| 2040 | — | March |
Premature end to production at Platform Esther, Huntington Beach landmark and destination for surfers
Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged California State Lands Commission, DCOR, decommissioning, historic platform, Huntington Beach, platform Esther, settlement agreement, surfers on August 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Eloquent eulogy by DCOR (platform operator) CEO Alan Templeton: “Last Sunday, August 10, I joined a small group of DCOR personnel on Platform Esther to witness her final moments of operation. At exactly 3:00 p.m., we pressed the ESD on the production deck, and one by one, the sounds of compressors and pumps faded until the platform fell silent — a profound and bittersweet moment in California’s energy history.
For over half a century, Esther stood off the coast of Orange County, first installed in the early 1960s as one of California’s iconic man-made oil islands. She blended into the horizon while quietly producing oil and gas, surviving storms, and later being rebuilt in 1985 into the platform we know today. More than just steel and pilings, Esther was a proving ground for innovation, a dependable asset, and a source of pride for the men and women who worked safely on her decks.
While she has now been permanently shut in, her legacy remains — a testament to the ingenuity, resilience, and dedication that have defined California’s offshore industry for generations.“
Litigation prematurely ended production at Esther, which would have had an estimated 15 more years of operative life. The attached settlement agreement, shared by John Smith, ends a dispute between the State Lands Commission and DCOR over repurposing a pipeline to transport oil from state Platform Eva to Federal Platform Edith (diagram above).
In exchange for relinquishing its mineral rights and decommissioning Platform Esther, the settlement grants DCOR a $10 million royalty credit on future oil produced from Platform Eva. This credit is significantly less than the value of remaining production from Esther.
Platform Esther, is one of three remaining oil production platforms in California state waters.
Trinidad is all in on deepwater exploration; sweet deal for Exxon
Posted in energy policy, Guyana, Offshore Energy - General, tagged deepwater development, energy policy, Exxon, Kamla Persad Bissesar, Prime Minister, Trinidad and Tobago on August 15, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Trinidad’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissesar: “Trinidad will not wait for the end of any energy era,” she said. “Our principle is simple: investment goes where it is welcomed and stays where it is well treated.”
The PM of a country with an oil production history that predates the Drake well in Pennsylvania leaves no doubt about her support for deepwater development. Her candid and clear messaging is most refreshing.
Consistent with her policy guidance, T&T signed a Production Sharing Contract with Exxon for a massive deepwater tract (Block Trinidad and Tobago Ultra Deep 1, map below). Per Ms. Persad Bissessar:
“Today’s signing underscores our government’s commitment to strengthening national energy security and to unlocking the full value of our hydrocarbon resources through discipline, policy, competitive terms and trusted partnerships.”
The contract is an impressive achievement for Exxon, which was awarded the block non-competively through direct negotiation rather than bid rounds. The spectacular deepwater results offshore Guyana were a major selling point for Exxon, which promoted its leadership in understanding Caribbean offshore geology.
Although another Guyana is unlikely, the enormous lease block presents a great opportunity for Exxon. The consolidated block spans 7,765 square kilometers in the Eastern Tobago Basin in water depths exceeding 2,000 meters. By comparison, Trinidad and Tobago’s total surface area is about 5,128 square kilometers and a typical Gulf of America lease block is only 23 sq km. (Think about that! The size of US offshore lease blocks, which are the world’s smallest, needs to be reconsidered.)
Based on press reports, Exxon will carry out seismic acquisition within 12 months, followed by geological and geophysical studies, and drill up to 2 exploratory wells during the initial phases of the contract. (Reports differ as to whether one of those wells is mandatory, but presumably that won’t be an issue.)
Does this impressive deal reduce the likelihood that America’s largest oil company, which has essentially abandoned the Gulf of America except for its (fading?) carbon disposal ambitions, will participate in the upcoming Gulf lease sale? Politically, failure to participate would not seem to be very astute given the Administration’s promotion of domestic production and energy dominance.
Rigs-to-Remission: cancer treatment from the oceans
Posted in Offshore Energy - General, rigs-to-reefs, tagged deepwater bacteria, deepwater platforms, destroy cancer, rigs to reefs, Rigs to Remission on August 13, 2025| 1 Comment »
We have a new addition to the World Famous Rigs-to-Reefs +++ list – Rigs-to-Remission.
Scientists have discovered a sugar compound from deep-sea bacteria that can destroy cancer cells in a dramatic way. This natural substance, produced by microbes living in the ocean, causes cancer cells to undergo a fiery form of cell death, essentially making them self-destruct. In lab tests and in mice with liver cancer, the compound not only stopped tumors from growing, but also activated the immune system to fight back. This finding could pave the way for entirely new cancer treatments based on sugars from marine organisms.
Deepwater production platforms would be excellent bases for further studying and recovering these microbes.
Legal sharks smell Sable’s blood in SYU waters
Posted in California, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged BSEE, class action, litigation, production restart, Sable Offshore, Santa Ynez Unit, securities fraud on August 12, 2025| Leave a Comment »
In addition to the Johnson filing, at least 7 other law firms (links below) have announced class action litigation alleging that Sable Offshore made false or misleading statements regarding the restart of Santa Ynez Unit production.
- Levi & Korsinsky
- Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC
- The Rosen Law Firm
- The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz
- Faruqi & Faruqi
- The Gross Law Firm
- The DJS Law Group
Perhaps working in Sable’s favor is the fact that the Federal government (BSEE) made a similar production restart announcement nearly 2 months after Sable, declaring victory and seemingly taking credit for the achievement:
“This is a significant achievement for the Interior Department and aligns with the Administration’s Energy Dominance initiative, as it successfully resumed production in just five months.“
Will the Dept. of Justice intervene on behalf of Sable?
Meanwhile, Sable’s share price rebounded in mid-July and is holding up surprisingly well (see below). Perhaps investors don’t see the class action suits as a significant incremental threat given the risks associated with decisions by 8 California agencies, Santa Barbara County, and various judges, and the persistent challenges by well-organized opponents of offshore production.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 