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Here’s a festive North Atlantic Atlantic tune (2010) that you may enjoy:

Raphael is a highly regarded offshore safety leader and a positive force for continuous safety achievement in Brazil and internationally.

Exxon is now producing >360,000 bopd from just two Guyana FPSOs. So these two FPSOs are producing about 20% as much oil as the Gulf of Mexico or Norway. A third FPSO will add 220,000 bopd in 2023.

Guyana’s oil output is expected to increase significantly in 2023, as both projects maintain steadier production at capacity throughout the year, and as the third project, Payara, comes on stream in the second half of the year. Payara will add another 220,000 bpd of production capacity to Stabroek Block output, taking it to 580,000 bpd.

Oil Now

Love this Northern Lights photo from Norway (V. Belov)

I met him when he was a freshman at Penn State (1968). He was wise beyond his years. The rest is history. RIP Franco.

Perhaps most fitting is that the indelible image of him reaching down to make that catch, to save the day, is symbolic of a big man reaching down to lift others he could help.

Sue Paterno

“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

In October, the President announced a plan to replenish the SPR using updated authorities that allow for fixed-price purchases of crude oil. Relative to conventional purchase contracts that expose producers to volatile crude prices, this new approach, when used at scale, can give producers the assurance to make investments today, knowing that the price they receive when they sell to the SPR will be locked in place. Today’s notice will pilot this new approach by starting with a purchase of up to 3 million barrels of crude oil.  

DOE

Note that these pilot deliveries will not begin until Feb. 2023 and will total < 3 million barrels. The reserve is 349 million bbls below capacity, and 216 million bbls have been withdrawn this year.

Lars Herbst analyzed GoM permitting and drilling activity from 2011 to 2021. His data and observations are summarized below.

  • Shelf (shallow water) exploratory drilling is at historic low levels with only a single exploration well drilled in both 2020 and 2021. That trend appears to have continued into 2022, as only one shelf exploration well (drilled by Contango) has been spudded YTD.
  • 2021 also saw a significant drop in deep water development wells.
  • Over the time period examined, deep water development is led by deepwater exploration. The same cannot be said for the development of shallow water leases where prospects are more mature and data are more available.
  • The only shelf well drilled in 2021 (Walter Oil and Gas) was in relatively deeper water (566 feet). That well was drilled with a deepwater semisubmersible (the Valaris 8503). This is the shallowest water depth for a GoM semisubmersible drilling operation in recent history. The rig had a modified DP/moored configuration with explosive disconnects on the mooring lines so the rig could move off location if needed during an emergency disconnect scenario. That mooring disconnect would also let the rig evade hurricanes without the need for anchor handling vessels. 
  • The 2012 spike in deepwater permit approvals is the result of the Macondo drilling moratorium backlog.
GOM OCS New Drilling Well Permits and Well Spuds 2011-2021
YearNew Shallow Water Drilling Well Permits ApprovedShallow Water Expl.; New Well SpudsShallow Water Dev.; New Well SpudsNew Deep Water Drilling; Well Permits ApprovedDeep Water Exp.;
New Well Spuds
Deep Water Dev.;
New Well Spuds
201171155438326
20126717471125932
2013722834575518
2014651652685220
201512115695714
20161027654814
2017133952449
201818413654124
201925317623823
20201016543617
2021181734295
TOTAL38190261676491182
Note: Only includes new wells not sidetrack or bypass boreholes.

… this New York state legislation is perfect.

NY State Senate Bill S9612 (proposed)

§ 328-a provides that no fossil fuel industry member, as that term is defined in the bill, shall knowingly or recklessly create or contribute to a condition that endangers the safety or health of the public by
extracting, storing, transporting, refining, importing, reporting, producing, manufacturing, distributing. compounding, marketing, or sale of a "qualified product".

328-b declares that a violation of the new article that results in any harm shall be deemed climate negligence regardless of when the underlying conduct occurred.

328-c prohibits governmental enforcement. (i.e. prohibits govt intervention on behalf of the accused company)

328-d provides that any person, firm, corporation, or association that has been damaged as a result of a fossil fuel industry member's acts or omissions in violation of this article shall be entitled to bring an
action for recovery of damages.

This non-attorney suspects that the legislation might conflict with the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3), which gives Congress the power “to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.” New York produces little oil, gas, or coal, so the legislation would largely affect operations that are conducted in other states, on Federal lands, or in foreign countries.