Posted in Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, tagged evacuations, Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Francine, production shut-in on September 15, 2024| Leave a Comment »
BSEE data as of 12:30 p.m. ET on the specified date.
| date | 9/10 | 9/11 | 9/12 | 9/13 | 9/14 | 9/15 |
| oil s.i.(BOPD) % of total | 412,070 23.55 | 674,833 38.56 | 730,472 41.74 | 732,316 41.85 | 522,233 29.84 | 338,690 19.35 |
| gas s.i.(MMCFD) % of total | 494 25.56 | 904 48.77 | 991.68 53.32 | 973.2 52.3 | 755 40.6 | 514.8 27.64 |
| platform evacs % of total | 130 35 | 171 46 | 169 45.55 | 144 31.81 | 52 14 | 37 10 |
| rig evacs % of total | 2 40 | 3 60 | 3 60 | 2 40 | 0 0 | 0 0 |
| DP rigs moved % of total | 3 15 | 4 20 | 2 10 | 2 10 | 2 10 | 2 10 |
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, tagged evacuation, Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Francine, production shut-in on September 14, 2024| Leave a Comment »
BSEE data as of 12:30 p.m. ET on the specified date.
| date | 9/10 | 9/11 | 9/12 | 9/13 | 9/14 |
| oil shut-in (BOPD) % of total | 412,070 23.55 | 674,833 38.56 | 730,472 41.74 | 732,316 41.85 | 522,233 29.84 |
| gas s.i. (MMCFD) % of total | 494 25.56 | 904 48.77 | 991.68 53.32 | 973.2 52.3 | 755 40.6 |
| platforms evacuated % of total | 130 35 | 171 46 | 169 45.55 | 144 31.81 | 52 14% |
| rigs evacuated % of total | 2 40 | 3 60 | 3 60 | 2 40 | 0 0 |
| DP rigs moved % of total | 3 15 | 4 20 | 2 10 | 2 10 | 2 10 |
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, tagged evacuations, Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Francine, shut-in production on September 13, 2024| Leave a Comment »
BSEE data as of 12:30 p.m. ET on the specified date.
| date | 9/10 | 9/11 | 9/12 | 9/13 |
| oil shut-in (BOPD) % of total | 412,070 23.55 | 674,833 38.56 | 730,472 41.74 | 732,316 41.85 |
| gas s.i. (MMCFD) % of total | 494 25.56 | 904 48.77 | 991.68 53.32 | 973.2 52.3 |
| platforms evac. % of total | 130 35 | 171 46 | 169 45.55 | 144 31.81 |
| rigs evacuated % of total | 2 40 | 3 60 | 3 60 | 2 40 |
| DP rigs moved % of total | 3 15 | 4 20 | 2 10 | 2 10 |
Posted in California, Offshore Energy - General, tagged California Fire Marshall, production restart, Sable Offshore, Santa Barbara County, Santa Ynez Unit on September 13, 2024| Leave a Comment »
As previously posted, Santa Barbara County reached an agreement with current SYU operator Sable Offshore that will allow the installation of pipeline shutdown valves. Given that the valves are required by the State Fire Marshall, the County was not likely to win this dispute. The County wisely decided that the financial risks were too high:
“If we continued to fight this out in court, [Sable] likely would have sought to recover lost revenue from the pipeline not being in operation,” said Supervisor Steve Lavagnino. “That could amount to millions of dollars the County would be on the hook for.”
The Environmental Defense Center and others are calling for the County to retract their agreement with Sable and hold a public hearing on the matter. That appears to be unlikely.
Remaining hurdles for Sable include approval by the State Fire Marshall after the valves are installed and operational, State Lands Commission approval of lease assignments from Exxon to Sable, and approval of the oil spill contingency plan by the State Dept. of Fish and Wildlife.
Sable believes they can resume production this year. That seems unlikely, but a 2025 restart is now a distinct possibility.
Posted in energy, Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, tagged evacuations, Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Francine, production shut-in on September 12, 2024| Leave a Comment »
BSEE data for the past 3 days are tabulated below. Data are as of 12:30 p.m. ET on the specified date. Barring offshore or downstream infrastructure damage, production should begin to resume over the next few days.
Prior to the shale boom, when our national production was lower and the OCS accounted for a larger share, these numbers would have had a more significant effect on oil and gas prices. That is not the case today with only a 2.4% rise in WTI prices.
| date | 9/10 | 9/11 | 9/12 |
| oil shut-in (BOPD) % of total | 412,070 23.55 | 674,833 38.56 | 730,472 41.74 |
| gas s.i. (MMCFD) % of total | 494 25.56 | 904 48.77 | 991.68 53.32 |
| platforms evac. % of total | 130 35 | 171 46 | 169 45.55 |
| rigs evacuated % of total | 2 40 | 3 60 | 3 60 |
| DP rigs moved % of total | 3 15 | 4 20 | 2 10 |
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Offshore Wind, tagged assignments, BOEM, Ocean Wind leases, Orsted, selling leases, suspension of operations on September 12, 2024| Leave a Comment »
A media report informs that, as expected, Orsted is marketing the suspended Ocean Wind 1 and 2 leases. BOEM should deny any request to assign these leases. Here’s why:
Suspensions of Operations are for the purpose of providing additional time, where necessary, for diligent operators to meet development milestones and initiate energy production. They are not for the purpose of waiting for improved economic conditions or providing time to sell your leases.
Any request by Orsted to assign these leases should be denied. If BOEM wants to reissue the leases, they may do so at a future sale in accordance with their regulations at 30 CFR Part 285.
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, Offshore Energy - General, tagged evacuations, Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Francine, production shut-in, rig movement on September 10, 2024| Leave a Comment »
| Total Shut-in (Percentage of GOM Production) | ||
| Oil, BOPD Shut-in | 412,070 BOPD | 23.55% |
| Gas, MMCFD Shut-in | 494 MMCFD | 25.56% |
| Evacuations and rig movements | total | % of GOM |
| Platforms Evacuated | 130 | 35% |
| Rigs Evacuated (non DP) | 2 | 40% |
| DP Rigs Moved-off | 3 | 15% |
Posted in climate, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Offshore Wind, Regulation, tagged Ocean City MD, Ocean City NJ, opposition to offshore wind, wind leasing pause, wind litigation on September 10, 2024| Leave a Comment »
To those of us from Philly, Ocean City is in New Jersey. To those living in the DMV, Ocean City is in Maryland. These popular beach resorts have distinct personalities, but both are heavily dependent on tourism. They are also aligned against offshore wind development.
OCNJ and surrounding Cape May County have been called the epicenter of resistance to offshore wind. They sued the Federal government over the approval of the Construction and Operations Plan and issuance of the Incidental Harassment Authorization for the Ocean Wind 1 project. Orsted has since elected not to pursue that project, but somehow the leases have remained in effect.
On Aug. 5, Ocean City MD Mayor Rick Meehan said the town has hired a law firm, and will join several local co-plaintiffs in suing BOEM if it issues a federal permit to US Wind to construct the US Wind project offshore Maryland. Exactly one month later (9/5/2024), BOEM approved the project. (The 2 US Wind leases have been consolidated, and the project is now known as the Maryland Offshore Wind project).
Halting Atlantic wind projects has been a difficult proposition for local governments, tribes, and grass roots environmental groups given that the wind industry, State and Federal govt, and the large environmental NGOs have been firmly aligned against them. Indeed, the Federal govt considers wind developers to be their partners.
Disputes between State and local governments regarding offshore wind policy are becoming increasingly strident. Such disconnects are not common for offshore oil and gas given that State and local govts are typically aligned either for or against.
The growing level of discord is neither in the best interest of wind developers nor their opponents. Unfortunately, election year politics probably stand in the way of a pause in wind leasing that would facilitate open and unpressured collaboration with coastal residents, power customers, tribes, and fishing organizations on the best path forward.
Posted in California, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, Regulation, tagged California Fire Marshall, Exxon, pipeline valves, Refugio pipeline spill, Sable Offshore, Santa Barbara County, Santa Ynez Unit on September 9, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Sable’s stock price soared after the company reached an agreement with Santa Barbara County that will allow them to comply with the California Fire Marshall’s requirement to install shutdown valves on the onshore pipeline that failed in 2015. That pipeline is necessary to transport production from the Santa Ynez Unit, which is currently operated by Sable.
The significance of a resumption of SYU production is illustrated in the chart below. The 3 SYU platforms accounted for more than 2/3 of Pacific OCS production before the Refugio pipeline spill in June 2015.
This agreement with the County is a major step forward, but there are still regulatory and legal hurdles to clear before production resumes.
In the SEC filing that announces the agreement with Santa Barbara County, Sable affirms their 2024 restart expectations. However, a resumption of production in 2024 is highly unlikely given the administrative challenges that remain. A restart in 2025 would be a major accomplishment and a very good outcome for Sable.
Pasted below is the full text of the SEC filing (emphasis added):
Santa Barbara County (the “County”), on August 30, 2024, acknowledged that the County does not have jurisdiction over Pacific Pipeline Company’s (“PPC”) installation of 16 new safety valves in the County along PPC’s Las Flores Pipeline System (the “Pipeline”) in accordance with Assembly Bill 864. The County’s acknowledgement was delivered in the form of a conditional settlement agreement dated August 30, 2024 (the “Safety Valve Settlement Agreement”) among the County, PPC and PPC’s parent company Sable Offshore Corp. (“Sable”), and a subsequent acknowledgement by the County’s planning and development staff.
The Safety Valve Settlement Agreement is predicated upon a prior settlement agreement between PPC’s predecessor in interest, Celeron Pipeline Company, and the County in a federal case styled Celeron Pipeline Company of California v. County of Santa Barbara (Case No. CV 87-02188), which was executed in 1988.
Pursuant to the Safety Valve Settlement Agreement, PPC agreed to the following additional surveillance and response enhancements in the County:
i. PPC will create a Santa Barbara County-based Surveillance and Response Team, trained in PPC’s Tactical Response Plan, which will be responsible for timely initial incident response and equipped with key resources to deploy in early containment, particularly for those regions of the Pipeline between Gaviota and Las Flores Canyon;
ii. PC will provide Santa Barbara first responders with additional training and equipment to assist in PPC’s incident response efforts; and
iii. PPC will undertake the following Pipeline system enhancements: (1) install and operate and maintain primary and secondary Operations Control Centers in Santa Barbara County, and (2) refurbish the Gaviota pump in its existing station.
PPC, Sable and the County have further agreed, in the Safety Valve Settlement Agreement, to file a stipulation to dismiss the pending lawsuit, Pacific Pipeline Company and Sable Offshore Corp. v. Santa Barbara County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors (Case No. 2:23-cv-09218-DMG-MRW) within 15 days of final installation of all 16 underground safety valves in the County.
Sable affirms that initial restart of production from Sable’s Santa Ynez Unit is expected in fourth quarter 2024.
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Guyana, Offshore Energy - General, well control incidents, tagged BSEE, Chevron, deepwater technology, Exxon, HPHT, JPT, Lars Herbst, research, well capping on September 6, 2024| Leave a Comment »
A new JPT article features comments from BOE contributor Lars Herbst on advances in HPHT technology, control systems, sensors and transmitters, and automation that are facilitating the next era of deepwater development.
Well capping technology, which provides a tertiary well control capability, is an essential element of post-Macondo exploration and development. Lars points to the importance of BSEE’s unannounced drill program to verify that capping stacks can be transported and installed in a timely manner. Chevron expresses pride in leading a team that deployed and installed a capping stack in 6,200 feet of water in a drill monitored by BSEE. During that drill, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) closed 10 valves to shut in a simulated well.
Exxon’s Jayme Meier aptly characterizes the challenge and excitement of deepwater development:
“You are floating on a surface, and you have to be able to pinpoint exactly where you’re going to land subsea hardware, exactly where you’re going to moor an FPSO and hit target boxes that are a few feet by a few feet, and they’re 6,000 ft below you,” she said. “It is the most exciting thing that I’ve ever been involved in. And it involves technology, technical know-how, and an ability to really plan the base plan and the contingency plan.”
Advances in deepwater technology are indeed impressive, but continuous improvement must always be the objective. In that regard, Lars rightfully emphasizes the importance of sustaining research through the industry’s up and down cycles.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 