Colette Hirstius, currently Executive Vice President, Gulf of America, will take on the responsibility of President, Shell USA, in addition to her current role as Executive Vice President, Gulf of America, effective August 1, 2025.
In a city where high school ties tend to be strong and enduring, Ms. Hirstius is a graduate of St. Mary’s Dominican HS. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, whose father was an attorney for Shell, and my former Minerals Management Service colleague Kathy Swiler, are also St. Mary’s Dominican graduates.
Ms. Hirstius stayed in New Orleans as an undergraduate, receiving a B.S. degree in geology from Tulane.
Shell is the no. 1 oil and gas producer in the Gulf of America. In 2024, the company produced 171.7 million bbls of oil (26.2% of the GoA total) and 167.4 bcf of gas (24.4% of the GoA total).
On May 26 in London a three-judge International Chamber of Commerce panel will finally begin considering the Exxon claim that the Stabroek joint operating agreement grants them the right-of-first-refusal in Chevron’s acquisition of Hess’s 30% share of the massive field (>11 billion boe) offshore Guyana.
Exxon’s rather unlikely ally in this case is state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp. How did CNOOC get a stake in Stabroek and why is their position on the Hess acquisition hypocritical?
CNOOC became a 25% Stabroek partner by acquiring Canadian Nexen in 2013. Their Nexen acquisition, which included Canadian, US, and international assets, was only reluctantly approved by the Canadian and U.S. governments, and probably would not be approved today.
CNOOC’s Stabroek acquisition is thus very similar to Chevron’s. In both cases, the entire company, not just the Stabroek asset, was acquired.
The Stabroek acquisition has proven to be most fortuitous for CNOOC, not only because of the oil and gas resources, but also through the deepwater development expertise that has been gained. Now CNOOC is trying to further leverage their Stabroek position by joining Exxon in challenging the Chevron acquisition.
It would be great if the arbitration proceedings were streamed, but that will not be the case. It also appears unlikely that media will be allowed to attend or that transcripts will be made available.
As previously noted, I would have liked the Guyanese government to be more assertive in this dispute. Stabroek is Guyana’s offshore gem, their most important economic asset. This lengthy dispute has to affect partner teamwork and communication. From safety, environmental, and production standpoints, do you want feuding partners managing such an important national asset?
“David is small, semi-nomadic and works across a vast sea area; Goliath is massive and growing rapidly.”
Energy Voice describes the challenges offshore wind poses for the small but culturally important UK commercial fishing industry, highlighting the findings of a fisheries research lab report.
Per Elspeth Macdonal of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation:
“How it often feels to us is that government says all the right things, has this blue economy vision and all of those great things but, at the end of the day, it actually feels like government is picking winners and losers and, at the moment they seem unable to see past the wind industry as the only game in town.“
This comment on the evolution of the relationship between the fishing and oil industries in the North Sea also aptly describes the US offshore experience:
“The fishing industry eventually learned to live with Big Oil, which is now on the wane, but living with territory-guzzling offshore wind farms – fixed and floating – may prove a lot more challenging.”
John Smith shared an outstanding paper (attached) that was presented by co-author Robert Byrd at the SPE Regional Meeting in Garden Grove, CA last week.
John Smith: “My objective in writing the paper is to hopefully spur legislators to recognize the benefits of reefing and the legislative fixes required to facilitate reefing and the removal of aging infrastructure. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife Habitat Lead was very complimentary of the paper and has distributed it to the Interagency Team which is developing a California Artificial Reefing Plan.”
John adds: “They are in the process of creating a statewide artificial reef plan and you can sign up for updates and get more information. The California Artificial Reef Program (CARP) Plan won’t discuss the specifics of Rigs-to-Reefs but will be compliant with the National Fisheries Enhancement Act and National Artificial Reef Plan and meet the BSEE requirement of having an adopted state artificial reef plan. The intent is to add an addendum to the plan when resources become available to move Rigs-to-Reefs forward in California. You can check out the latest program update that further discusses the CARP Plan and Rigs-to-Reefs.”
Coast Guard photo. Thanks to Lars Herbst for bringing this incident to my attention.
In what the Coast Guard is describing as an “uncontrolled discharge” (euphemism for blowout), an 82-year-old oil well has been spewing oil, gas, and water into the coastal marshes of southern Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, for more than a week.
In hopes of future production, prior and current owners had elected not to permanently plug the well, apparently with the State’s acquiescence.
The Coast Guard has taken over the response and has accessed the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.
We don’t need relaxed decommissioning and financial assurance requirements. We need a cooperative Federal, State, and industry effort to ensure that wells are plugged in a timely manner and that financial assurance is provided to protect the public interest.
Those who are concerned about minimizing the Federal government’s decommissioning risk exposure should closely monitor this process. Some companies and their political allies have sought to minimize the financial risks associated with plugging wells and removing facilities. As a result, it has been necessary to defend BOEM from unwarranted commentary about decommissioning issues and the financial assurance rule. Stay tuned!
Pending a final decision in the Guyana-Venezuela dispute, the Court ordered Venezuela to refrain from conducting elections or preparing to conduct elections in the disputed territory administered by Guyana.
Farther in the past, there were noteworthy failures (below) like Mobil’s acquisition of Montgomery Ward, Exxon’s investment in Reliance Electric, and Gulf’s real estate ventures.
Mobil – Montgomery WardExxon – Reliance ElectricGulf Land – Reston
Finally, don’t expect the carbon sequestration boom that some are forecasting. As wind investors have discovered, industries dependent on mandates and subsidies are risky.
Not much unites climate activists and skeptics, but they are largely aligned in their opposition to carbon sequestration (euphemism for disposal), as are fiscal conservatives. The word chutzpah comes to mind when companies seek public funds to dispose of emissions associated with the combustion of their products.
199 oil and gas leases were wrongfully acquired at Sales 257, 259, and 261 with the intent of developing these leases for carbon disposal purposes. Repsol was the sole bidder at Sale 261 for 36 nearshore Texas tracts in the Mustang Island and Matagorda Island areas (red blocks at the western end of the map above). Exxon acquired 163 nearshore Texas tracts (blue in map above) at Sales 257 (94) and 259 (69).
… and shared a mineral water toast! 😉 (Weak joke, but at least it’s original and topical!)
NOAA and TMC, a Canadian company, are working together to bypass the stifling UN deep sea minerals bureaucracy.
NOAA raises a glass: Yesterday, President Trump signed an Executive Order establishing a framework for American companies to identify and retrieve offshore critical minerals and resources. The Executive Order prioritizes U.S. leadership in seabed mapping and mineral exploration, ensuring reliable access to critical minerals like manganese, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements.
In support of the Executive Order, NOAA is committed to an expeditious review of applications for exploration licenses and commercial recovery permits. The agency will provide the necessary resources for license and permit reviews to ensure that those reviews go forward without undue delays.
TMC is positioned to play a central role in supporting an American industrial ecosystem underpinned by deep-seabed minerals, and poised to mobilize tens of billions in private investment in the U.S. across shipbuilding, ports, mineral processing, and advanced manufacturing
The Company through its U.S. subsidiary expects to file license and permit applications under the U.S. Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRA) in the second quarter of 2025
China boos: “The US authorization… violates international law and harms the overall interests of the international community,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Friday.
TMC and other companies like Impossible Metals (see below) have had enough of the endless delays at the United Nations’ International Seabed Authority, which is still developing regulations. Mining companies and others have spent years gathering data and providing input.
Meanwhile in US waters:
San Jose, CA – Impossible Metals, a pioneering US-based deep-sea mining company, has submitted a request to commence a leasing process for exploration and potential mining of critical minerals in the deep sea off the coast of American Samoa. Impossible Metals is the first company to request a lease of critical minerals under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953, which is regulated by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), part of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Impossible Metals has developed the only autonomous underwater robot (AUV) for selective harvesting. The novel underwater robot uses advanced robotics, AI, and a buoyancy engine to hover above the seabed, accurately identifying and avoiding nodules with visible life while minimizing disruption to the habitat and native biodiversity. This method will have the lowest environmental impact and cost among land and deep-sea mining approaches, setting a new standard for responsible resource collection.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 