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Archive for the ‘Offshore Energy – General’ Category

“The oil and gas industry is crucial for Norway and for Europe.”~ Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre

Posted in energy policy, Norway, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged , , , , , on May 12, 2026| Leave a Comment »

North Sea, Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea licensing area has been expanded by 70 blocks.

In announcing its annual licensing round, Norway expresses strong support for offshore exploration and production:

The oil and gas industry is crucial for Norway and for Europe. The government is today announcing new exploration areas in the APA (Allocations in Predefined Areas) to further develop the petroleum sector, so that it can continue to create great value for the community, lay the foundation for good jobs throughout the country, ensure our common welfare and contribute to Europe’s energy security and safety, says Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

Kudos to Norway for the strong, unequivocal announcement. Consistent acreage offerings are important in sustaining offshore production:

Allocations in Predefined Areas (APA) are an annual licensing round that covers the best-known exploration areas on the continental shelf. Through the APA scheme, oil companies gain predictability regarding access to exploration acreage, which is important for a long-term industry such as the petroleum industry. After more than 50 years of exploration activity, the APA scheme today covers the majority of the area that is opened and available on the Norwegian continental shelf.

This is what it takes to sustain oil production at about 2 million barrels/day and gas production at over 10 billion cu ft/day.

Norway also has an exemplary risk and performance-based regulatory regime administered by Havtil.

Perhaps less pragmatic, in the opinion of this observer, are these policies:

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Business as usual for Sable as AG Bonta sues Energy Secretary Chris Wright

Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, Regulation, tagged , , , , , on May 8, 2026| 1 Comment »

Rob Bonta
Chris Wright

California Attorney General Bonta asks the Court to stay Energy Secretary Wright’s Order directing Sable, under the Defense Production Act to restart production and preliminarily enjoin Defendants, and all those acting in concert with Defendants (i.e. Sable), from enforcing or relying on it. See the attached Federal Court filing.

The AG’s irreparable harm and public interest arguments seem particularly weak, and this may not be the best time to attempt to halt a 20+% increase in California oil production.

Sable PIDownload

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My comments on BOEM’s proposed revisions to decommissioning financial assurance requirements

Posted in California, decommissioning, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , , on May 6, 2026| 1 Comment »

Attached are my comments on BOEM’s proposed revisions to the decommissioning financial assurance regulations. These comments were submitted to Regulations.gov yesterday (3 days early 😀). Bud

Concluding Remarks

  1. MMA’s highest priority must be assuring that facilities are safely decommissioned without public funding. Supplemental financial assurance determinations and lease assignment approvals must be consistent with that priority.  
  2. Predecessor liability is an important financial assurance principle, but legal boundaries and administrative procedures must be clearly established. 
  3. Safety and compliance are inextricably related to financial performance, and must be considered in determining supplemental assurance requirements. 
  4. Using reserve estimates to reduce supplemental assurance exposes taxpayers to geologic and accounting risks. 
  5. Unacceptable public risks have resulted from financial assurance decisions intended to advance offshore wind development.
Comments – BOEM financial assurance ruleDownload

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John Smith’s comments on BOEM’s proposed revisions to decommissioning financial assurance requirements

Posted in California, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Offshore Wind, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , on May 5, 2026| Leave a Comment »

The comment period for BOEM’s proposed revisions to decommissioning financial assurance requirements closes on Friday, May 8th.

John Smith’s comments have been officially submitted to Regulations.gov, and are attached for your convenience. Nice work by John.

My comments are being finalized and will be submitted and posted soon.

042926 JB Smith Comments on Proposed Changes to Bonding RulesDownload

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Upon further review, 2019 retains the Gulf oil production record. Jump in California OCS production upcoming.

Posted in California, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , on May 4, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Update: Another EIA revision to Gulf of America oil production for Dec. 2025 (1.994 to 1.985 million bopd) means that 2019 retains the production record by the narrowest of margins – 1.898 to 1.897 million bopd. Stay tuned because this may not be the final word 😉.

Per EIA, Feb. 2026 production dipped a bit to 1.931 million bopd (chart below).

Meanwhile, California OCS oil production for FEB continued at about 10,000 bopd. This number may increase a bit for March, and more for April data when the first Sable sales are included. A big increase, by as much as 500%, should be apparent in the June report barring a court ordered shutdown.

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Updated Sable PowerPoint plus CEO’s compensation is raising eyebrows

Posted in California, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , on May 2, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Sable’s updated PowerPoint presentation is attached.

Also, the 2025 compensation package for Sable CEO Jim Flores is attracting attention. Flores received $76 million in total compensation. The bulk of his pay came from more than $69 million in stock awards, alongside a $1.3 million salary and a $3.9 million bonus. 

Sable powerpointDownload

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Ørsted investors worried about Equinor’s change in emphasis. Implications for US wind leases?

Posted in Norway, Offshore Energy - General, Offshore Wind, tagged , , , , , , on May 1, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Equinor’s Atlantic wind leases

Equinor has cut planned investments in renewable energy by roughly EUR 3.5bn for 2026–2027, while the company maintains and expects growth in oil and gas production.

Cheap shot from panicked Ørsted investor:

“From a sustainability perspective, it’s certainly sad that one of the most ‘green’ fossil fuel companies now turns out to have merely been a ‘tourist’ in the green sector, but unfortunately, that’s just the way things are these days,” says Anders Schelde, investment chief at AkademikerPension, according to Finans.

Perhaps the premium for climate virtue signaling has shrunk, and Equinor, like other energy giants, is making a prudent business decision for its shareholders, which include the Norwegian govt.

Meanwhile, what are the implications for Equinor’s offshore wind investments in the US? Equinor’s embattled Empire Wind project is probably too far along to reverse course. Their Central Atlantic (Lease 0557) and California (Lease 0563, Atlas Wind) may be a different story. However, buyback negotiations would be complicated by the Empire Wind situation, and perhaps by the Norwegian government’s 2/3 ownership. On the other hand, Equinor is a significant oil and gas leaseholder in the Gulf of America, so they would have ample options for investing wind lease rebates.

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Update on the transition to the Marine Minerals Administration

Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged , , , , , on April 30, 2026| Leave a Comment »

From the Dept. of the Interior:

Why This Change Is Happening  

The transition reflects more than a decade of operational experience managing offshore resources. By consolidating the planning, permitting, inspection, and enforcement responsibilities currently divided between BOEM and BSEE, the Department aims to:  

  • Improve coordination and consistency  
  • Reduce duplication of efforts  
  • Strengthen oversight and environmental safeguards  
  • Modernize organizational structure  

All current regulatory responsibilities and protections will remain in place throughout the transition. There will be no disruption to permitting, environmental reviews, or enforcement activities.

What to Expect

  • Phased Transition: Internal alignment activities begin soon.
  • No Regulatory Rollbacks: Existing requirements remain in full effect.  
  • New Website and Branding: The Marine Minerals Administration’s full digital presence will launch in the coming months.  
  • This page will be updated regularly

previous posts on this merger

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Jamaica update – optimism tempered by frontier exploration realities. Who will step forward to fund a drilling program?

Posted in Jamaica, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 30, 2026| Leave a Comment »

United’s 22,400 sq km offshore Walton-Morant exploration license offshore Jamaica. Typical US offshore leases are only 23.3 sq km. The Jamaican license is thus nearly 1000 times larger than a US offshore lease!

United Oil & Gas commented on the results from their recent piston coring program. Excerpts follow:

“United has undertaken a geochemical analysis on the 42 piston cores acquired across the Walton-Morant Licence. The analysis has identified C4 and C5 hydrocarbons, including butanes and pentanes, in select piston cores within the headspace gas dataset. United note that these higher order hydrocarbons are not typically associated with biogenic gas systems and are therefore consistent with a potential thermogenic contribution. (This is true.)

There is an established body of evidence for an active petroleum system in Jamaica in general, and on the licence in particular, including repeat satellite slick anomalies, thermogenic hydrocarbon geochemistry from existing onshore and offshore wells, onshore and offshore oil seeps, and onshore surface outcrops. Furthermore, petroleum systems modelling suggests the presence of oil-mature source rocks. The 2026 SGE survey is the first on the licence to be optimally positioned using 3D seismic, multibeam echosounder (MBES) seabed mapping, and satellite-derived slick anomaly data. Taken together, the data are interpreted as consistent with an active petroleum system offshore Jamaica.“

United estimates that the piston coring results boost the Geological Chance of Success (i.e. the source rock, reservoir, trap, and seal—are present and working) for the flagship Colibri prospect from 19% to 32%, which is quite good for frontier exploration.

diagram from Alan Foum on linkedin

Will these new data help entice majors to fund exploratory drilling? In the video below (ignore the click-bait title cover 😉), Energy Minister Daryl Vaz does a good job of adding perspective.

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RIP Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Interior, 2006-2009

Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged , , , , , , , on April 28, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Dirk Kempthorne participating in Lease Sale 206 which garnered a record $3.7 billion in high bids!

I was saddened to learn about the passing of Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Interior from 2006-2009. He was a supporter of responsible offshore oil and gas development, and oversaw six lease sales and the continued growth of the deepwater sector.

One of those lease sales generated a record $3.7 billion in high bids (photo above). Lars Herbst was the Minerals Management Service’s Regional Director at the time.

I had the pleasure of briefing the Secretary on a couple of occasions and found him to be very personable, attentive, and intelligent. My colleagues were similarly impressed.

The Secretary was also known to ride his motorcycle to the Interior building on occasion. He is pictured on his Harley below, but this photo was taken in Idaho, not Washington. 😀

The organizers of the 2007 IRF Offshore Safety Conference were most pleased when Secretary Kempthorne agreed to participate as a keynote speaker. Our many international guests were impressed by his remarks and his interaction with the conference delegates. His conference bio and those of the other speakers are attached.

RIP Mr. Secretary! You served the country well. Enjoy cruising on that big motorcycle in the sky!

Speaker-BiosDownload

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