Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Uncategorized, tagged Earth Day 2023, energy and the environment, offshore platforms on April 22, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Posted in energy, Jamaica, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Envoi, farm-in, Jamaica, offshore drilling, United Oil and Gas on April 21, 2023| Leave a Comment »
In addition to the details previously provided, some interesting insights from Envoi, agent for United Oil and Gas, follow:
Posted in accidents, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, well control incidents, tagged 4/20/2010, Deepwater Horizon, macondo, Trace Atkins on April 20, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Sharing this touching tribute to the 11 men who died on the Deepwater Horizon on April 20, 2010. These American heroes gave their lives exploring for energy to power our economy. The video is introduced by singer Trace Atkins, a former Gulf of Mexico rig worker. Please take a moment to watch.
Posted in accidents, Offshore Energy - General, Uncategorized, tagged macondo, Offshore Safety Day, safety leadership on April 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »
BOE continues to call for an International Offshore Safety Day each year on April 20th.
Proposal: Let’s make April 20th International Offshore Safety Day to honor those who have been killed or injured, to recognize the many workers who provide energy for our economies and way of life, and to encourage safety leadership by all offshore operators, contractors, and service companies.
BOE
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Anchor, Argos, bp, Chevron, King's Quay, Murphy, Shell, Vito, Whale on April 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »
With the announcement of first oil at Argos, 3 of the 5 next generation deepwater platforms (simpler, safer, and greener) are now producing oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico. The other 2 platforms are expected to begin production in 2024.
Prior to the installation of these platforms, the last deepwater platform addition was Shell’s Appomattox in 2018. That gap in deepwater platform installations was the longest since Bullwinkle was installed in 1988.
The 5 new structures will increase the deepwater platform count by 9% from 56 to 61, and in the next few years should account for approximately 1/4 of GoM oil production.
| platform | operator | water depth (feet) | first production | design production (boe) |
| King’s Quay | Murphy | 3725 | April 2022 | 100,000 |
| Vito | Shell | 4000 | Feb 2023 | 100,000 |
| Argos | bp | 4500 | April 2023 | 140,000 |
| Anchor | Chevron | 5000 | 2024 (est.) | 80,000 |
| Whale | Shell | 8600 | 2024 (est.) | 100,000 |
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Offshore Wind, tagged advocacy, BOEM, BSEE, Offshore Wind, Regulation, safety, Save LBI on April 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »
This comment from Save LBI (Long Beach Island, NJ) on BOEM’s Renewable Energy Modernization Rule (proposed) highlights an important regulatory policy consideration:
Promoting the offshore wind program is a very high BOEM priority. The bureau is charged with deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030, which requires extensive advocacy. However, BOEM is also a core regulator for offshore wind projects, and the concern is that their regulatory role could be compromised by their advocacy priorities.
Per Notice to Lessees 2023 N-01, which arguably should have been published for public comment given its regulatory significance, BOEM has retained important responsibilities for wind project development and operations. These include review and approval of construction and operations plans, site assessment plans, and general activities plans. BOEM may also exercise enforcement authority through the issuance of violation notices and the assessment of civil penalties.
BOEM exists because in 2010 the Administration wanted to separate the OCS program’s leasing (sales/advocacy) and safety (regulatory/enforcement) functions. The intent was to avoid conflicting missions (or the appearance thereof) in the post-Macondo era. (More on this in an upcoming post.)
Ironically, the Save LBI comment describes BSEE as “a distinct unit within BOEM.” That may seem to be the case, but BSEE is actually a separate bureau in the Department of the Interior.
Posted in accidents, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged bp, Gulf of Mexico, listing, Thunder Horse on April 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »
This picture was posted by MaritmePhoto. The”Blue Marlin” heavy lift vessel is arriving in Texas (2005) with the massive semisubmersible production platform “Thunder Horse” on board.
Above (from BOE archives): Pre-commissioning inspection of Thunder Horse
Thunder Horse has a most interesting history. The project was initially named Crazy Horse, but the name was changed out of respect for concerns raised by the Lakota nation. The massive structure is 136 m in length and 113 m in width, and is located in 6300′ of water in the Mississippi Canyon area of the Gulf of Mexico.
Many of you no doubt remember the near disaster during Hurricane Dennis (2005) when the platform was being commissioned. In light of the extensive pre-production hype for the “world’s largest production platform,” this was a costly and embarrassing incident for BP and the OCS program.
Per the findings of the MMS investigation team led by my former colleague David Dykes:
Findings indicate that failures associated with the hydraulic control system and its isolation on evacuation led to the partial opening of multiple hydraulically actuated valves in the ballast and bilge systems of the vessel. This allowed ballast water migration to take place, causing the initial listing (to approximately 16 degrees) of the vessel shortly after the hydraulic system was isolated.
The findings also indicate that ballast water migrated into manned spaces in the lower hull, via faulty and improperly installed check valves in the integrated ballast/bilge piping system. As the degree of list increased beyond the 16 degree mark, downflooding of seawater occurred, initially through overboard discharge lines and/or vents, and possibly later through the deck box as it entered the water. Since the PDQ was already listing at a 16 degree angle prior to the passage of Hurricane Dennis, wave action associated with the passage of the hurricane may also have contributed to the downflooding of seawater.
Although not an initiating event, failed Multiple Cable Transits (MCTs) and two unintended openings in the bulkheads allowed water transfer between watertight compartments, which led to extensive flooding and water damage in the lower hull.
Fortunately, there were no injuries. Repairs were made and production was finally initiated in June 2008.
After recent subsea tieback expansions, Thunder Horse is reported to be producing 200,000+ boe/d. OPEC’s Monthly Market Report for April 2023 cites the Thunder Horse expansion as a key driver in the January 2023 GoM production increase (see excerpt below).
Posted in climate, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged air emissions, BOEM, carbon intensity, excess methane, flaring, GOADS, Gulf of Mexico, ONRR, PNAS article, venting on April 11, 2023| Leave a Comment »
An interesting study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) was brought to my attention by leading offshore energy historian Tyler Priest. The study used airborne observations and emissions reports to measure the carbon intensity (CI) of Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production. Their CI measure is grams of CO2 equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions per megajoule of energy produced.
The authors conclude that inventory emissions of CO2 (as reported to BOEM) “are generally consistent with observations from our aircraft survey, suggesting that combustion is well represented in the federal inventory.“
However, that is not the case for methane (CH4) emissions which are underestimated by the Federal inventories. As summarized in the chart below, deepwater facility methane emissions are consistent with the reported inventories, but shelf emissions in State and Federal waters differ significantly.
Comments:
Posted in drilling, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Arena Offshore, BOEM, bp, Cantium, deepwater drilling, Gulf of Mexico drilling, shelf drilling on April 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »
| DW expl | DW dev | shelf expl | shelf dev | |
| Anadarko | 5 | 1 | ||
| Arena | 22 | |||
| BOE | 1 | 4 | ||
| BP | 2 | 3 | ||
| Byron | 2 | |||
| Cantium | 20 | |||
| Chevron | 3 | |||
| Contango | 2 | |||
| Cox | 2 | |||
| Eni | 2 | 5 | ||
| EnVen | 5 | |||
| Greyhound | 2 | |||
| Hess | 2 | |||
| Kosmos | 1 | |||
| LLOG | 3 | 1 | ||
| Murphy | 4 | |||
| QuarterNorth | 2 | |||
| Shell | 25 | 9 | ||
| Talos | 2 | 8 | ||
| Walter | 1 | |||
| Woodside | 3 | 1 |
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 