Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Anchor, Argos, bp, Chevron, deepwater platform, King's Quay, Murphy, Shell, simpler safer greener, Vito, Whale on February 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Last year, BOE featured 5 deepwater platforms that were under construction: Shell’s Vito and Whale, Murphy’s King’s Quay, bp’s Argos, and Chevron’s Anchor. These floating production units are noteworthy for their lighter, smaller designs. King’s Quay was the first to produce, beginning last April. The spotlight is now on Vito which began producing today. Vito’s peak production should reach 100,000 boe. The other 3 platforms are expected to begin production this year or next.
Posted in energy policy, Norway, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged Berliner Zeitung, Nord Stream, Seymour Hersh on February 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »
From a Hersh interview with Fabian Scheidler of the Berliner Zeitung:
Below is a very good Jeffrey Sachs interview (new) with appropriate pushback from the host Freddie Sayers. Nothing really new, but both Sachs and Sayers are informed and articulate. Worth viewing.
Posted in accidents, Canada, Offshore Energy - General, tagged 41 years ago, Newfoundland, Ocean Ranger on February 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Posted in climate, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged BOEM, GHG emissions, lease sales, methane, Nord Stream, OCS oil and gas program on February 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »
The Nord Stream sabotage likely released more methane than the complete lifecycle of a GoM lease sale (upstream and downstream). Also, the Nord Stream explosions may have released more methane than is emitted by all US offshore producers in an entire year. Here are the numbers:
| Source of Methane | CH4 emissions (1000s of tons) |
| Nord Stream (probable range) | 100-400 |
| Nord Stream (maximum) | 500 |
| Nord Stream – first 48 hrs (CAMS est) | 175 |
| all US offshore production in 2020 (EPA) | 193 |
| all US on- and offshore exploration in 2020 (EPA) | 12 |
| lifecycle upstream emissions from a typical GoM lease sale (BOEM) | 118 |
| lifecycle up- and downstream emissions from a typical GoM sale (BOEM) | 151 |
Finally, remember that offshore oil and gas leasing results in a net reduction in GHG emissions.
The No Leasing scenario results in roughly double the CO2e emissions for upstream activities compared to those of the Leasing scenario, given that, collectively, the substitute energy sources have higher GHG emissions per unit of production (also known as “GHG intensity”) compared to the forgone domestically produced OCS oil and natural gas of the Leasing scenario.
BOEM
Even when mid- and downstream emissions are included, leasing is preferable to no leasing. See the table below from the BOEM report:
Bottom line: we need more energy leasing and less military aggression!
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged CIA, Judge Napolitano, Nord Stream, Phil Giraldi, Seymour Hersh on February 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Posted in energy policy, Interviews, Norway, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged Nord Stream, sabotage, Seymour Hersh on February 13, 2023| 2 Comments »
Much of the discussion was about his career and the state of journalism. Some of Hersh’s comments on his Nord Stream story:
Posted in drilling, Offshore Energy - General, Uncategorized, tagged 1857, first oil production, oil and gas production, petroleum industry history, Trinidad and Tobago on February 13, 2023| 1 Comment »
The record shows that the Merrimac Company, registered in 1857, made attempts to produce oil by distillation of pitch, but furthermore in the same year they drilled a well to a depth of about 280 feet, which was a much greater depth than Drake’s well in Pennsylvania – and two years earlier – and produced oil therefrom
History of Trinidad’s Oil
Here is a list of historical facts for T&T’s petroleum industry.
Central bank of T&T data indicate dry natural gas production of 2.84 BCFD and crude oil production of 57,400 BOPD as of 9/2022.
The Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries is currently mulling bids on 4 deepwater blocks contrary to an erroneous press report that those bids had been rejected.
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Offshore Wind, tagged BOEM, NASEM, standing committee, wind energy and fisheries on February 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will establish a standing committee to provide ongoing assistance to the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in its efforts to manage development of the nation’s offshore wind energy resources and their potential effects on fisheries
NASEM
This seems to be a positive step and the committee members have excellent credentials, but how do you establish such a committee without any representation from the wind industry? Here are the 12 members of the committee.
Posted in California, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Exxon, Las Flores Canyon, OS&T, Santa Ynez Unit on February 7, 2023| Leave a Comment »
When Exxon was unable to get approval for an onshore oil processing facility, the company installed this offshore storage and treatment (OS&T) vessel and single anchor leg mooring (SALM) 3.5 miles from shore, just seaward of the State-Federal boundary. The OS&T, a converted tanker, operated from 1981 to 1994. By 1994, the onshore gas processing facility in Las Flores Canyon had been expanded to process Santa Ynez crude, eliminating the need for the OS&T. While the OS&T had a very good performance record, the highly visible vessel was less than endearing to most Santa Barbara County residents, and there was no apparent sadness when the OS&T and SALM were decommissioned in 1995.
Current Santa Ynez Unit facilities:
Posted in California, decommissioning, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Exxon, James Flores, Sable Offshore, Santa Ynez Unit on February 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Per our previous post on the complex status of the Santa Ynez Unit, Lars Herbst has brought this informative article to our attention. Here is the bottom line:
With this deal, Exxon is essentially lending Flame, Sable’s management team and PIPE investors the money to buy the facilities from itself. If they are able to get them back online, great, Exxon gets its $623 million loan paid back with 10% interest. If not, it presumably repossesses the facilities and their associated headaches.
This is what has been produced and what remains:
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 