As a result of the order issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on October 26, 2023, in Louisiana v. Haaland (Case No. 23-30666), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is postponing Lease Sale 261, which was originally scheduled for September 27, 2023, and later scheduled for November 8, 2023, in response to judicial orders. Until the court rules, BOEM cannot be certain of which areas or stipulations may be included in the sale notice.
Potential bidders in Lease Sale 261 should not submit bids until BOEM provides additional instruction. BOEM will hold any bids already received and will hold the sale after it receives further direction from the Court of Appeals.
BOEM
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged 5th Circuit, BOEM, Lease Sale 261, postponement | Leave a Comment »
Deputy Secretary of the Interior Tommy Beaudreau was “disrupted” (perhaps a euphemism for the thuggish behavior demonstrated in the video clip below) by climate ultras in New York on Sept. 21. On Oct. 4, Mr. Beaudreau announced that he would be leaving the Dept. of the Interior.
The official announcement provides no reasons for his departure. By all accounts, Beaudreau was highly regarded by career employees in the Department. Was he troubled by his experience in NYC and the absence of a response from DOI? Was it difficult being a lone advocate for a more balanced energy policy?
Posted in climate, energy policy, Uncategorized | Tagged climate ultras, Department of the Interior, resignation, Tommy Beaudreau | Leave a Comment »
NJ Governor Murphy, an offshore wind promoter, is not pleased:
“Today’s decision by Orsted to abandon its commitments to New Jersey is outrageous and calls into question the company’s credibility and competence,” the Democratic governor said. “As recently as several weeks ago, the company made public statements regarding the viability and progress of the Ocean Wind I project.”
6ABC NJ
Perhaps the Governor’s credibility and competence is also taking a hit, as is staking the State’s energy future on highly uncertain, intermittent, and facility-intensive power systems. .
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Wind, Wind Energy | Tagged Governor Murphy, New Jersey, Ocean Wind 1, Ocean Wind 2, Offshore Wind, Orsted | Leave a Comment »
No tropical storm production shut-ins in 2023 YTD.
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged 2023, EIA, Gulf of Mexico, oil production | Leave a Comment »
International Regulators’ Forum Country Performance data for 2021 and 2022 have now been posted. Unfortunately, the US fatalities data for 2022 are incorrect. Four workers died as a result of a helicopter crash at the West Delta 106 A platform on 12/29/2022. However, the IRF summary table indicates only one fatality for the year.
Per the IRF guidelines, “Helicopter operations at or near an Offshore Installation” are supposed to be counted. The fatal 12/29/2022 incident clearly happened at the platform’s helideck (photos below).
Posted in accidents, Gulf of Mexico, IRF, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged 2022 fatalities, 4 fatalities, helicopter crash, IRF performance data, US data | Leave a Comment »
The North Sea Transition Authority (perhaps the transition is a bit more complicated than changing the name of the licensing agency) has announced the awarding of 27 new oil and gas licenses in the UK sector of the North Sea. Summary bullets:
- Quicker-to-production areas chosen to aid UK energy security
- First to be awarded from 115 applications – the highest number since 2016/17 29th Licensing Round (see map below)
- More blocks will be offered subject to additional environmental checks
These licences are in the Central and Northern North Sea, and West of Shetland. There are currently 284 offshore fields in production in the UK North Sea and an estimated 5.25 billion boe in total projected production to 2050.
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, UK | Tagged 27 new licenses, energy security, NSTA, UK | Leave a Comment »
An excellent paper by John Smith and Bob Byrd is attached.
The authors recommend the operators of large OCS platforms offshore California and in the Gulf of Mexico who propose to partially remove platform jackets prepare Comparative Assessments to support their decommissioning applications. The Comparative Assessments can also be prepared to support the case for allowing partial removal of smaller platform jackets and allowing pipelines and drill muds and cuttings to remain in-situ.
Posted in California, decommissioning, Offshore Energy - General, UK | Tagged assessment, California, decommissioning, John B. Smith, Robert Byrd | Leave a Comment »
I take it that since the 5th Circuit stayed both the 9/21 and 9/25 orders, the mandate to hold the sale by 11/8 is also stayed. Ergo, it is assumed that the sale will be delayed pending a decision on the merits of the injunction. Oral arguments are scheduled for 11/13.
If the 5th Circuit’s decision facilitates timely resolution of the Rice’s whale deletions and stipulations, delaying the sale is probably the best outcome. Otherwise, the level of uncertainty would be unacceptable for many bidders.
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation | Tagged 5th Circuit, Gulf of Mexico, Lease Sale 261, Rice's whale | Leave a Comment »
Not a lawyer, but I take this to mean that the Judge’s injunction has been suspended and DOI may delete acreage and include the Rice’s whale stipulations in Sale 261 leases. The sale will be held on Nov. 8.
ORDER:
IT IS ORDERED that the preliminary injunction entered by the Memorandum Order of September 21, 2023, as amended by the motions panel’s order of September 25, 2023, is STAYED pending the merits panel’s decision on appeal.
LYLE W. CAYCE, CLERK
United States Court of Appeals
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation | Tagged 5th Circuit, appeal, DOI, injunction stayed, Lease Sale 261, Rice's whale | Leave a Comment »
Good article in OilPrice.com on the “notably politicized” IEA World Energy Outlook 2023.
The IEA’s assessments face criticism, particularly in terms of the agency’s optimistic outlook on the growth and impact of renewable energy worldwide. The report suggests that renewables will meet half of the world’s power demand by 2030, based on optimistic scenarios, including the proliferation of electric vehicles (EVs) and substantial investments in offshore wind, solar, green hydrogen, and ammonia. The IEA emphasizes the idea that consumers worldwide are enthusiastic about changing their heating systems to electricity or heat pumps.
Simultaneously, the ongoing contentious relationship between the IEA and OPEC is poised to reach new levels of disagreement. The release of the IEA’s report shortly after OPEC’s relatively optimistic oil market report gives the impression that Paris is attempting to alarm markets without substantial grounds. It’s worth noting that, despite its inherent bias, OPEC’s reports have historically demonstrated a higher level of accuracy compared to the IEA reports from the early 21st century. Even OPEC’s most optimistic scenarios regarding hydrocarbon demand growth have been realized sooner than expected. The current IEA report appears to resemble a modern-day version of “Crying Wolf.” It’s possible that the underlying strategy of Paris and its supporters is to induce significant fear among investors, including clients, in the hope that their biased outlook becomes a reality. However, at present, such a scenario appears unlikely. It’s essential to keep in mind that the IEA will need to present a doomsday scenario for hydrocarbons, as it faces a different audience in Dubai in the coming weeks.
Cyril Widdershoven for Oilprice.com
Major media outlets will, of course, run with the IEA assessment, as did the Washington Post when criticizing Chevron’s acquisition of Hess.
Posted in energy policy | Tagged Chevron, Hess, IEA, OPEC, World Energy Outlook 2023 | Leave a Comment »
