The corporate media is disinterested (which is a story by itself), but independent journalists like Briahna Joy Gray are coming to the fore.
Archive for the ‘pipelines’ Category
Nord Stream: Nothing new, but a good overview by Briahna Joy Gray (The Hill)
Posted in energy policy, pipelines, tagged Briahna Joy Gray, Nord Stream, Seymour Hersh, the Hill on February 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Huntington Beach pipeline spill: another settlement but still no investigation report
Posted in accidents, California, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged Amplify, Beta Unit, cargo ships, Huntington Beach, law suits, pipeline spill on February 17, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Per the LA Times, companies linked to the cargo ships accused of dragging anchors over Amplify Energy’s pipeline have agreed to pay $45 million to settle lawsuits. The ships were identified by Sky Truth (see above image) shortly after the spill (October 1, 2021).
Meanwhile, Amplify is suing the vessel owners for damaging the pipeline and failing to notify the authorities after the damage occurred. Amplify would seem to have a good case given that inspection reports indicate that the pipeline was in good shape prior to the anchor damage and that the Beta Unit platforms had a good safety and compliance record.
Finally, when will we see the investigation report for this spill? It has now been nearly 17 months since the incident.
More Nord Stream from Seymour Hersh and Jeffrey Sachs
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:
- 8 “bombs” were placed near the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea, six of which exploded in a rather flat area. The explosives destroyed three of the four Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines. (This explains why one of the four pipelines wasn’t damaged. Presumably, concerns about the unexploded ordinance have been addressed by Sweden.)
- Norway identified a relatively shallow area (80m water depth) near Bornholm.
- It only took a few hours to place the explosives
- No one in Congress was informed of the plan
- In response to criticism about his reliance on unidentified sources, Hersh said that many of his articles were dependent on such sources. If his sources were named, they would be fired or worse.
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.
Will the Nord Stream Pipeline Blasts ever be Investigated?
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 »
First Seymour Hersh interview since his Nord Stream article
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:
- He will protect his sources as he always has
- The Nord Stream Pipeline sabotage was “stupid beyond belief”
- “Pipeline industry knows what happened”
- Only one major news show (Tucker Carlson) has contacted him and Hersh chose not to be interviewed
- He was shocked that no other news organization pursued the story
- He has received 1600 emails in 2.5 days since the article was published
Seymour Hersh: “How America Took Out The Nord Stream Pipeline”
Posted in energy policy, Norway, pipelines, Russia, Uncategorized, tagged NATO, Nord Stream, pipelines, sabotage on February 8, 2023| 1 Comment »
I’m posting this link without comment.
Last June, the Navy divers, operating under the cover of a widely publicized mid-summer NATO exercise known as BALTOPS 22, planted the remotely triggered explosives that, three months later, destroyed three of the four Nord Stream pipelines, according to a source with direct knowledge of the operational planning.
Seymour Hersch
Was the Nord Stream attack the first ever offshore pipeline sabotage?
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, natural gas, pipelines, Russia, tagged Nord Stream, offshore safety, pipelines, Victoria Nuland on February 3, 2023| Leave a Comment »
I do not recall any other such incidents.
Victoria Nuland’s glee over the Nord Stream damage (video clip below) is particularly galling to those responsible for offshore production, worker safety, and environmental protection. Does she realize that the Gulf of Mexico has more than 13,000 miles of active offshore pipeline that could be similarly targeted, and that the US has 2.6 million miles of onshore pipelines?
Whether or not the US was involved in the Nord Stream sabotage, Ms. Nuland’s schadenfreude is disturbing given the economic and security implications of the attack.
Guyana gas for Guyana’s future
Posted in Guyana, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged Exxon, flaring, gas to energy, Guyana oil and gas production, Hess on January 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Only 3 years after first oil, Guyana’s offshore production has soared to nearly 400,000 BOPD, and that rate should triple by 2027. If you want to see the production details, Guyana is doing a good job posting their oil and gas production data.
The startup and compressor issues that contributed to high gas flaring volumes seem to have been resolved, and the recent flaring record is exceptional. Over the month of November 2022, the volume flared averaged less than 0.2% of the gas produced, better than the 1.0-1.5% flaring/venting rate for oil-well gas in US GoM from 2015-2021. Using the World Bank’s flaring intensity metric (m3/bbl), the current flaring intensity for Guyana is a remarkable ~0.07 m3 flared per bbl of oil produced.
The next step is to use the associated offshore gas to power Guyana. The two videos embedded below, while promotional, provide good information on plans to use natural gas for onshore power generation, new industry, and other beneficial purposes. This step will only use 50 million cu ft/day, leas than 1/8 the volume that is currently being reinjected. Increased use of the associated gas resource will be dependent on expanded pipeline and power generation capabilities, and LNG facilities to provide for gas exports.
Washington Post: No conclusive evidence Russia is behind Nord Stream attack
Posted in energy, pipelines, tagged NordStream, Russia, sabotage on December 21, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“There is no evidence at this point that Russia was behind the sabotage,” said one European official, echoing the assessment of 23 diplomatic and intelligence officials in nine countries interviewed in recent weeks.
Washington Post
MEP Mick Wallace on Nord Stream sabotage
Posted in climate, energy policy, pipelines, tagged Mick Wallace MEP, Nord Stream on December 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 