Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Finnestad, iceland, volcano on April 23, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Volcanic Ash Solution
While we have been intently focused on the Macondo well, BOE Europe Chief Odd Finnestad has been addressing the air transport issues associated with that really big blowout in Iceland! Odd must miss his boss, who has been stranded in Rio (a likely story :))
Posted in Uncategorized on April 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Uncategorized on April 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Uncategorized on April 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Uncategorized on March 27, 2010| 2 Comments »
We owe it to all those who died or have suffered to do our best to prevent anything like the Kielland accident from happening again. Magne Ognedal, Director General, Petroleum Safety Authority Norway
Section from a brace that failed on the Alexander Kielland, Stavanger Oil Museum
Thirty years ago today, 123 workers died when the Alexander Kielland capsized in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The Kielland was a converted semisubmersible drilling rig that was functioning as a floating quarters facility in the Ekofisk field. The capsizing was triggered by a failure in one of the structural braces during a storm. 212 workers were aboard. More information on this tragedy can be found at the Stavanger Oil Museum site.
We join our friends and colleagues in Norway and throughout the world in remembering this tragedy. The best way to honor the dead is to make sure similar accidents don’t occur in the future, and that is our commitment.
Posted in Uncategorized on March 24, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Because of prior commitments and allegations of unfair labor practices by our overworked staff :), we regret that we must temporarily suspend coverage of the Montara hearings. We will resume coverage on 31 March, just in time for the Easter break that the Commission announced today. On well, at least we’ll have time to catch up on what we missed.
Thank you for the supportive email messages and calls.
Posted in natural gas, Uncategorized, tagged biomethane, natural gas, renewables on February 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Those who don’t think natural gas is a renewable energy resource haven’t paid much attention to biomethane. Biomethane can be collected from sewage sludge, landfills, grass, food waste, and agricultural waste. Biomethane collection has 2 major benefits: (1) greenhouse gases emissions are prevented and (2) relatively clean energy is provided. See this great article in Renewable Energy World.
Kudos to the city of Olso, which plans to fuel buses with biomethane. The Oslo program has generated some clever headlines:
The city’s two sewage plants have enough biomethane to provide fuel for the 80 buses, and if the trial is successful Oslo city council plans to convert all 400 of the public buses to run on biogas.
Posted in accidents, Uncategorized, well control incidents, tagged accidents, Australia, blowouts, well control on February 5, 2010| Leave a Comment »
BOE has reviewed reports and comments submitted to the Australian Commission of Inquiry. Submissions by the operator, PTTEP, and the drilling contractor, Atlas, confirm the “street talk” about cementing issues and the absence of a second barrier in the suspended well. BOE is troubled by a number of issues associated with this incident and has provided comments to the Commission. We will continue to track reports on this and other offshore incidents.
Posted in energy, natural gas, Uncategorized, tagged energy, natural gas, shale gas on February 4, 2010| Leave a Comment »
In 1973, while a graduate student at Penn State, I wrote a paper entitled “The Use of Natural Gas in Improving Air Quality.” My professor, Richard Gordon, a terrific economist who greatly influenced my thinking about energy, liked the paper but thought I was too optimistic about the availability of natural gas. The sense at the time was that natural gas was a premium energy source in short supply.
Fast forward to 2010. Another Penn State professor, Terry Englander, estimates recoverable natural gas resources of 500 tcf for the Marcellus shale alone. Annual gas consumption for the entire US is only about 23 tcf. The whole world consumed about 113 tcf in 2008.
Dan Yergin is calling it the natural gas revolution. Boone Pickens has called the US the “Saudi Arabia of natural gas.” In addition to the shale gas, we have huge Alaskan gas reserves awaiting a pipeline (the economic viability of which may be threatened by the major discoveries in the lower 48). Prospects for ultra-deep gas in the Gulf of Mexico are also looking brighter in the wake of McMoRans major deep gas discovery. There is excellent natural gas potential in the eastern Gulf near major gas markets, and at least one Atlantic state (Virginia) has expressed interest in renewed exploration in the Atlantic.
Given the dearth of good economic news, why isn’t more attention being given to this natural gas bonanza? Boone Pickens and others are doing their part, but there should be a national dialogue on how we can use these resources to improve our economy, energy security, and the environment.
How about a parade down Constitution Avenue to celebrate our good fortune?
Celebrating the Natural Gas Revolution?
Posted in Uncategorized on February 3, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Duly chastened by Tom Readinger’s cynical comment about my renewable energy snow removal “machine,” pictured below is the “real man’s” version (courtesy of Clarence “More Power” Kershaw).
454 cubic-inch Chevy V8 snow blower
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 