As a result of the order issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Nov. 14, 2023, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has scheduled Lease Sale 261 for Dec. 20, 2023.
The Gulf of Mexico oil and gas lease sale was originally scheduled for Sept. 27, 2023, and later scheduled for Nov. 8, 2023, in response to judicial orders.
Pursuant to direction from the Court, BOEM will include lease blocks that were previously excluded due to concerns regarding potential impacts to the Rice’s whale population in the Gulf of Mexico. BOEM will also remove portions of a related stipulation meant to address those potential impacts from the lease terms for any leases that may result from Lease Sale 261.
A Final Notice of Sale will be published in the Federal Register on Nov. 20, 2023, and will be available for public inspection on Nov. 17, 2023.
BOEM will live stream the opening of bids at 9 am CDT on Dec. 20, 2023. All terms and conditions of the lease sale are listed in the FNOS. For more information, go to: www.boem.gov/sale-261.
BOEM
Archive for the ‘Offshore Energy – General’ Category
Sale 261 will be held on Dec. 20th, one day ahead of the deadline!
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged BOEM, Gulf of Mexico, Lease Sale 261 on November 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »
BSEE issues guidance about fundamental helicopter loading procedures
Posted in accidents, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged BSEE, helicopter safety alert, helideck safety, loading procedures on November 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »
BSEE shouldn’t have to issue guidance about helicopter loading precautions that every worker and visitor should be taught before going offshore, but apparently they do. See the safety alert that is attached below.
In this alarming near-miss event, a helicopter was stationed on the facility’s helideck and a crew member approached the aircraft from the rear, entering the rotor arc area before the rotor blades had come to a complete stop. This unsafe action posed a significant threat to the safety of all personnel involved. An offshore helideck assistant repeated the unsafe behavior by approaching the helicopter from the rear, entering the vicinity of the tail rotor, and positioning themselves within the main rotor’s danger zone immediately after the helicopter had landed on the facility’s helideck.
Meanwhile, we are still awaiting the final report on the tragic crash at the West Delta 109 A platform last December. Why is this taking so long?
Per the 5th Circuit ruling, Sale 261 must be held by Thursday, December 21, 2023 (37 days from the date of their order)
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged 5th Circuit, BOEM, Christmas, Lease Sale 261, sale date on November 15, 2023| 2 Comments »
The sale could be held sooner. However, since BOEM asked for 37 days, I’m assuming that the sale will be on December 21.
In the 70 year history of the oil and gas leasing program, this will be the sale date that is closest to Christmas. Yet another major milestone for the offshore program! 😀
5th Circuit rules against intervenors. Lease Sale 261 must be held in 37 days. Deleted tracts must be included. Rice’s whale stipulations must be deleted.
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged 5th Circuit, API, BOEM, court ruling, Lease Sale 261, Louisiana, Rice's whale on November 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Order is pasted below and attached.
IT IS ORDERED and ADJUDGED that the Intervenors’ appeal is DISMISSED. As for BOEM’s limited appeal as to the timing of the sale, we hereby AMEND the district court’s preliminary injunction only to the extent that the deadline for conducting Lease Sale 261 shall now be thirtyseven days from the date of the issuance of the mandate in this appeal.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that each party bear its own costs on appeal.
Background information and related posts.
5th Circuit hears arguments on Lease Sale 261 appeal
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged 5th Circuit, BOEM, DOI, injunction, Lease Sale 261, Rice's whale on November 13, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Today, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the appeal of the District Court’s injunction against the Rice’s whale tract deletions and operating stipulations for Sale 261.
If you want to listen to a recording of these arguments, you can do so at this link. The hearing was brief – only about 45 minutes.
Judging by the comments, it sounds like the Court will reach a decision soon. The Department of the Interior is asking for 37 days after the ruling to organize and hold the sales. The industry attorney seemed comfortable with that, so the sale should be prior to Christmas.
Jamaica update from United Oil and Gas as license expiration nears
Posted in Jamaica, Offshore Energy - General, tagged farmout, Jamaica, license extension, United Oil and Gas, Walton Morant License on November 13, 2023| Leave a Comment »
For the past 2 years, BOE has been following the news releases on the Walton-Morant license offshore Jamaica. While the updates from United Oil and Gas are consistently upbeat, a repeating theme has been the need for more time to secure a partner and prepare for exploratory drilling.
Per the most recent update (below), United announces that they have identified a “preferred potential partner” and are seeking an extension on their license. So far, we have only heard from United. As the expiration date of the license approaches, an update from the Jamaican government’s perspective would seem to be appropriate.
The Company is currently engaged in discussions with a preferred potential partner that has been identified through the farmout process, to participate alongside United in the Walton Morant Licence in Jamaica. Furthermore, the Company is engaging with the Jamaican authorities to secure an extension to the current licence period which expires at the end of January 2024, so as to provide sufficient time to progress additional technical work on the block to support the drilling of an exploration well. Additional updates on both the farmout process and licence extension will be provided in due course.
We are encouraged by the continued progress in relation to the farmout process in Jamaica, as we look to unlock the material value contained in this block and deliver value to our stakeholders, including the people of Jamaica. We are entering a critical stage in the farm-out process and will provide an update to the market as this progresses.
United Chief Executive Officer, Brian Larkin
The Hamilton brothers, JL Daeschler, and the first production in the UK North Sea
Posted in Offshore Energy - General, UK, tagged Argyll field, first production, Hamilton Brothers, JL Daeschler, North Sea, UK on November 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »
JL Daeschler, a pioneering subsea engineer who lives in Scotland, has fond memories of his interactions with Fred and Ferris Hamilton, the brothers whose company was the first to produce oil in the UK sector of the North Sea (1975). Their small company aced the super-majors by initiating production at the Argyll Field with subsea wells and the Transworld 58, a converted semi-submersible drilling rig. Their rig conversion was an early predecessor to the modern floating production units that have become the surface facilities of choice for deepwater development.
JL recalls that Ferris and Fred took time to discuss any problem with any employee. Should there be arguments, they were often followed by more relaxed discussions about sailing, cars, cooking, and other topics of mutual interest. The brothers would travel from Denver for the annual Christmas dinner in Aberdeen, and invited everyone from the warehouse crew to the production manager. There was a great sense of community among the employees and contractors.
As JL notes, there were no satellite positioning systems, and real time communications with the rig were short and limited to the normal marine radio channels. This was a remarkable era of achievement for the North Sea and the offshore industry, as operations expanded and technology advanced to support them. I have much respect for these offshore pioneers and their contributions to societies around the world.
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Congratulations! They will no doubt have great job opportunities.
Posted in Guyana, Offshore Energy - General, tagged first graduates, Petroleum Engineer, University of Guyana on November 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »
For more information about the UG Petroleum Engineering program.
New UK legislation provides for annual North Sea licensing rounds
Posted in climate, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, UK, tagged annual licensing rounds, North Sea, North Sea Transition Authority, UK, UK EiTi on November 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Each annual licensing round will only take place if key tests are met that support the transition to net zero. The first test is that the UK must be projected to import more oil and gas from other countries than it produces at home.
The second is that the carbon emissions associated with the production of UK gas are lower than the equivalent emissions from imported liquefied natural gas.
If both these tests are met, the NSTA will be required to invite applications for new licences annually.
The “key tests” would seem to ensure annual licensing rounds for the foreseeable future. The charts below are from UK EiTi. The first chart illustrates the sharp decline in UK production over the past 20 years. The second and third charts illustrate the large projected gaps between supply and demand, particularly for natural gas.
In 2050, total production of oil and gas is estimated at ~10 million tonnes of oil equivalent. The projected 2050 demand is estimated at ~35 tonnes. For domestic production to exceed imports over the next 20-30 years, resource licensing and field development would have to be very successful and efficient.
With regard to the second test, carbon emissions from the production of UK gas should maintain their advantage over imported LNG given the energy required to liquefy and transport that gas.
It would have perhaps been more transparent to simply stipulate annual licensing rounds, but that would probably not have been politically acceptable.
Grenada and the missing data mystery
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Global Petoleum Group, Grenada, missing data, oil and gas exploration on November 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »
From the Amsterdam News:
“Encouraged by the Guyana Suriname finds, several other regional bloc member nations, including Barbados and Jamaica, have been ramping up efforts to attract companies to explore offshore acreages. The most determined of them seems to be Grenada, which is just north of oil and gas producers Trinidad and Venezuela.”
“Officials there say they are preparing to put out bids to attract some of the world’s largest exploration companies, but the 14-month new administration has said the previous government secreted away all the documents and data obtained from a 2018 exploration campaign by a little-known Russian firm, the Global Petroleum Group (GPG).”
“The group had told the previous administration that it had found commercial quantities of oil and gas in a well labeled Nutmeg 2, in about 400 feet of water, and that there were other promising prospects right nearby. But as the current Dickon Mitchell government gets ready to assess the island’s prospects, it has said there is nothing to work with.”
Grenada will no doubt be more careful about whom they issue future exploration licenses to and how they manage the data.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 