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Archive for the ‘pipelines’ Category

Sable restarts production!!!

Posted in California, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged , , , , on May 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »

05/19/2025

HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)— Sable Offshore Corp. (“Sable,” or the “Company”)(NYSE: SOC) today announced that as of May 15, 2025, it has restarted production at the Santa Ynez Unit (“SYU”) and has begun flowing oil production to Las Flores Canyon (“LFC”). Additionally, with the completion of the Gaviota State Park anomaly repairs on the Las Flores Pipeline System (the “Onshore Pipeline”) on May 18, 2025, Sable has now completed its anomaly repair program on the Onshore Pipeline as specified by the Consent Decree, the governing document for the restart and operations of the Onshore Pipeline.

Seven of the eight sections of the Onshore Pipeline have been successfully hydrotested. Sable will complete the final hydrotest in order to meet the final operational condition to restart the Onshore Pipeline as outlined in the Consent Decree. Sable expects to fill the ~540,000 barrels of crude oil storage capacity at LFC by the middle of June 2025 and subsequently recommence oil sales in July 2025.

Production Restart

  • On May 15, 2025, Sable initiated the flow of oil production from six wells on Platform Harmony of the SYU to LFC at a rate of ~6,000 barrels of oil per day.
  • Sable has been testing wells on Platform Harmony throughout May 2025 and the well tests have performed consistently stronger than they did at the time of shut-in on May 19, 2015 when the SYU produced approximately 45,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
  • Approximately 30% of the 32 producing wells at Platform Harmony have been tested as of May 18, 2025 with the remaining Platform Harmony wells projected to be tested over the course of the next several days.
  • Sable expects to initiate production from the additional 44 wells on Platform Heritage and the additional 26 wells on Platform Hondo in July 2025 and August 2025, respectively.

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Straight talk about the Coastal Commission

Posted in California, energy policy, pipelines, Regulation, tagged , , , on April 17, 2025| Leave a Comment »

The Santa Barbara Independent doesn’t pull any punches in this article about the once invincible California Coastal Commission. I recommend that you read the entire article, but here are some choice excerpts (emphasis added):

Lastly, it’s totally unprecedented for members of the commission to verbally eviscerate energy planners with Santa Barbara County at a public hearing for refusing to provide them requested planning documents having to do with Sable no fewer than seven times. While the county has denied this charge, no one from the county showed up for last week’s meeting to explain their actions. One commissioner termed this absence a “dereliction of duty.”

What actions and outcomes ultimately emerge from this rancor remain far from obvious. That’s in part because the political support enjoyed by the Coastal Commission — long regarded as one of California’s many “third rails” of state politics — has never been so uncertain. By “uncertain,” I mean rarely has any state agency been so reviled by such a wide swath of political players and stakeholder groups.

The question has become not so much who hates the Coastal Commission — it’s who doesn’t. Donald Trump has hated the commission since it objected to a 70-foot flagpole Trump planted on a beachfront golf course he owned back before he became president.

Elon Musk, Trump’s alter ego, sued the Coastal Commission — and lost — over the commission’s outspoken refusal to grant him the “consistency determination” he needed to increase the number of SpaceX rocket launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base from 35 to 50. Although a federal judge would rule in the commission’s favor, Governor Gavin Newsom, a noted Democrat, announced he was siding with Musk on this one. 

So, what happens if Sable doesn’t pay the fine? Or keeps on working despite three cease-and-desist orders? The key question — still loudly unanswered — is what Attorney General Rob Bonta will do. Will Bonta throw his considerable heft behind the commission? He hasn’t yet. And it’s been several months. Does the governor want to pick his battles with the Trump-Musk White House for causes that enjoy more broad public support?

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SYU restart: Mission Impossible for Sable?

Posted in California, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , on April 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

It’s starting to look that way.

“The State Fire Marshal stated on February 25 — during a packed-house meeting at La Cumbre Junior High School — that he would not issue Sable authorization to restart production at the Santa Ynez Unit until all outstanding permit issues between Sable and the eight state agencies with oversight authority are resolved.“

Although Sable has a good defense against the Coastal Commission’s accusations, that statement by the Fire Marshal is ominous.

More bad news for Sable: The Center for Biological Diversity suit challenging the Federal government’s extension of the 16 Santa Ynez Unit leases is not going well. The government requested a voluntary remand of BSEE’s 2023 approval because “BSEE plans to reconsider its decision in light of Plaintiffs’ claims and conduct additional analysis, as warranted, under OCSLA and NEPA.”

In the attached decision, shared by John Smith, the judge denied the Federal government’s request. This does not bode well for the Federal government’s case going forward.

Court Denies BSEE Motion for Remand of SYU Lease extensions 032125Download

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Sable revises projected SYU restart date; still unrealistic?

Posted in California, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, Regulation, tagged , , , , on March 21, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Attached is a recent Sable Offshore presentation for investors. Notably, Sable is now projecting to resume Santa Ynez Unit production in Q2 2025 (see slide below). John Smith thinks this is unrealistic, and I have to agree.

It’s tough for an offshore producer to succeed in California, but Sable is making a strong effort. Exxon must agree, because they have extended Sable’s first production deadline to 3/1/2026, which reflects a more plausible Q1 2026 restart. Additional extensions seem likely if necessary given that Exxon’s other options aren’t very attractive.

Sable-Offshore-Corp-Investor-Presentation_March-2025_v20_exportDownload

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Why would Germany oppose Nord Stream 2 gas flow as part of a Ukraine peace agreement?

Posted in energy policy, pipelines, tagged , , , , , , on March 6, 2025| Leave a Comment »

One of the two Nord Stream 2 pipelines was undamaged during the sabotage attack. Discussions to sell Nord Stream 2 to an American group have been reported.

Is Germany taking energy masochism to a new level?:

MSN: “Germany is exploring levers to prevent the resumption of Nord Stream 2. The pipeline may allegedly be restarted under an agreement between the US and Russia as part of the settlement of the war in Ukraine, Bild reports.“

“According to Bild and the Financial Times, secret talks have been going on between representatives of Russia and the United States for several weeks now about American investors buying the damaged Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea.“

Good questions by Swedish engineer and independent Nord Stream investigator Erik Andersson:

“Wow! Why on earth would Germany stop gas through Nord Stream 2 if the war ends and USA approves it?“

“Richard Grenel who was involved in sanctioning NSP2 in 2019 is mentioned as a player in the article. After the explosions 2022, Grenel said the first Trump admin was against NS2 but not NS1 which was delivering an acceptable amount of gas without making Germany too dependent on Russia. I wonder if the current Trump admin still think that two out of the four Nord Stream pipelines could be opened without creating a dangerous dependency on Russia?“

The Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, supports a Nord Stream restart. Despite the AfD’s strong second place finish in the recent national elections, the leading CDU party is trying to keep the AfD out of the governing coalition.

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Big day for Sable Offshore and the SYU

Posted in California, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged , , , , , , on February 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »

The Santa Barbara Independent has published a long, balanced article on Sable’s Santa Ynez Unit production restart which has reached a critical juncture. Today (2/25/2025), the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors will be asked to approve the transfer of the project from Exxon to Sable.

This will be the Board’s “first and last chance to have any influence over restarting the pipeline, and thus allowing the three offshore platforms to begin drilling again.” (Expect initial production to be from existing wells supplemented over time with new drilling, well workovers, and recompletions.)

The Board has limited authority in this matter: “The county’s legal advisors and energy planners have told the supervisors that there are no grounds to say no. It is not up to them to determine whether Sable’s liability insurance is enough to cover the costs of a reasonable worst-case oil-spill scenario; it’s only up to them to ascertain whether Sable has filed a certificate of insurance with the proper state agency.“

“All the essential questions regarding the pipeline’s safety measures are in the hands of California state agencies, headquartered in cities far away, with names so confusing that even people working there can’t tell you what the acronyms mean.” (see Regulatory fragmentation)

Interesting tidbits: “Danielson (the Sable representative) let me know that he would not be answering these questions. He was cordial, but he was not happy about a recent Independent story featuring attorney Linda Krop of the Environmental Defense Center perhaps Sable’s most implacable and formidable opponent, expounding in an unchallenged format on what a threat the pipeline still posed. Interviewing Krop was Victoria Riskin, herself a committed anti-oil advocate. Actress and Montecito resident Julia Louis-Dreyfus — of Seinfeld and Veep fame — apparently liked the article enough to send it to her social media followers.“

Below are the pros and cons of the SYU restart as cited by the Independent. (Clarification: The 10 billion bbl oil reserves number (“pros” slide) is at least an order of magnitude too high and is perhaps a typographical error. BSEE’s June 2023 data sheet (excerpt pasted at the end of this post) indicates remaining oil reserves of 190 million bbls for the 3 SYU fields. Adding the gas reserves ups the total to 243 million bbls of oil equivalent (boe). Additional reserves could likely be confirmed with new extended reach wells, but anything more than 1 billion bbls would be highly unlikely. Sable’s investor presentation (p.5) indicates 646 million bbl of Remaining Total Net Estimated Contingent Resources.)

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Sable Offshore sues the California Coastal Commission!

Posted in California, energy policy, pipelines, tagged , , , , , , on February 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »

John Smith forwarded Sable’s court filing (attached) and highlighted important text.

The Coastal Commission has asserted that anomaly repair work on Sable’s onshore pipeline, which was required by the California Fire Marshall and approved by Santa Barbara County, constitutes a violation of the Coastal Act.

Santa Barbara County had confirmed in writing that Sable’s repair work is authorized by the pipeline’s existing coastal development permits and, consistent with the County’s past practices, no new or separate Coastal Act authorization is required.

John and I believe Sable has a strong case, but you can be the judge. For the Commission and County to have such divergent opinions is rather surprising.

Among other assertions, Sable argues (par. 115) that the Coastal Commission violated the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as incorporated by the Fourteenth Amendment, which prohibits the temporary or permanent taking of private property for public use without prior, just compensation. This could lead to significant liability costs for the State.

Much more on Sable’s Santa Ynez Unit challenges.

Sable Suite CCC 021825 highlightedDownload

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Sable cleared to repair pipeline, Santa Ynez Unit production one step closer but still a steep climb

Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged , , , on February 17, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Sable’s stock soared on Thursday following a favorable Santa Barbara County decision (letter pasted below).

Sable’s path is still rocky. Decommissioning specialist John Smith notes that “Sable faces a number of permitting obstacles not to mention litigation by the Environmental Defense Center and others who are committed to trying to stop the SYU restart.  The next hurdle will be a Feb 25 Santa Barbara County hearing on an appeal of the ownership transfer from XOM to Sable.  And we should not overlook the OCS related litigation on ownership transfer, SYU Development and Production Plan updates, and Court ordered prohibition on fracking absent a Fracking EIS and consultation.”

The County’s letter is pasted below. Note the diverse responsibilities of this SBC division: Energy, Minerals, Compliance & Cannabis 😀

Background on the SYU

Santa Ynez Unit posts

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Nord Stream update

Posted in accidents, energy policy, pipelines, tagged , , , , , , , on February 11, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Germany’s national elections are on 23 FEB. The Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, which has gained strength in the polls, supports a Nord Stream restart.

–Denmark’s energy agency granted Nord Stream AG permission to conduct preservation work on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea (Reuters). One of the two Nordstream 2 lines is undamaged.

-An Equinor executive stated on February 5, 2025, that the Nord Stream 1 pipeline is “permanently destroyed.”

-The Swiss canton of Zug extended the moratorium on debt restructuring for Nord Stream AG until May 9. The moratorium is seen as a way for the German government to preserve its influence over the future of the pipeline. If the company is liquidated, investors, including the German state-owned energy firm Uniper, would lose control over the pipeline and the considerable funds invested by German taxpayers in its construction.

-Consideration is being given to transporting hydrogen from Finland via the undamaged Nord Stream 2 string. (The H2 might have to be mixed with methane to prevent embrittlement.)

-Resumption of Nord Stream flow could be part of a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire deal (along with Ukraine’s rare minerals).

-American investor Stephen Lynch continues his pursuit of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

–Chat GPT was asked what the likelihood was of the US orchestrating the Nord Stream sabotage. Response (see below): 60-80%

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Preview of “Day One” Executive Orders related to energy

Posted in climate, energy policy, Offshore Wind, pipelines, tagged , , , , on January 20, 2025| Leave a Comment »

A senior administration official who is familiar with the executive actions and authorized to brief Fox News Digital said Trump on day one will end “Catch and Release;” pause all offshore wind leases; terminate the electric vehicle mandate; abolish the Green New Deal; withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord; and take several major steps to assert presidential control over the federal bureaucracy.

The senior official told Fox News Digital that the energy executive order deals with “every single energy policy,” and addresses liquid natural gas, ports, fracking, pipelines, permitting and more, while also terminating President Biden polices he said “have constrained U.S. energy supply.” 

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