The plan was for SCS Energy’s PurGen One plant in Linden, NJ to burn coal to generate electricity and produce fertilizer. SCS proposed to inject 90% of the CO2 into subsurface reservoirs 70 miles offshore. The project faced strong opposition and was ultimately nixed by the State. The plan had been presented to the Federal offshore regulator (MMS), but the company was advised that there was no legal framework for disposing CO2 beneath the OCS.
Posted in CCS, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation | Tagged Atlantic OCS, CCS, New Jersey, PureGen One | Leave a Comment »
Posted in CCS, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged CCS, Lease Sale 257 | Leave a Comment »
Posted in CCS, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged BOEM, CCS, Exxon, Lease Sale 257 | Leave a Comment »
Excerpt from SEC. 40307. GEOLOGIC CARBON SEQUESTRATION ON THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF:
(b) Leases, Easements, or Rights-of-way for Energy and Related Purposes.--Section 8(p)(1) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(1)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``or'' after the semicolon;
(2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; or''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(E) provide for, support, or are directly related to the injection of a carbon dioxide stream to sub-seabed geologic formations for the purpose of long-term carbon sequestration.''.
(c) Clarification.--A carbon dioxide stream injected for the purpose of carbon sequestration under subparagraph (E) of section 8(p)(1) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(1)) shall not be considered to be material (as defined in section 3 of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 1402)) for purposes of that Act (33 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.).
(d) Regulations.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall promulgate regulations to carry out the amendments made by this section.
This will be an interesting challenge for the DOI folks (BSEE/BOEM?) charged with writing the regulation given the jurisdictional issues related to capturing onshore CO2 and transporting it to the OCS. Also, when was this provision added to the infrastructure bill and did its apparent obscurity and delayed enactment give certain parties some type of competitive advantage at the sale?
Posted in CCS, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged CCS, Exxon, infrastructure bill, Lease Sale 257 | Leave a Comment »
Absent Exxon’s surprise activity, this was a pretty typical sale of recent vintage: $177 million in high bids on 214 tracts. Even with all of the Exxon bids included, only tracts totaling 1.7 million acres received bids. (See previous post.)
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged Exxon, Lease Sale 257 | Leave a Comment »
U.S. To Sell Area the Size of New Mexico For Offshore Drilling Just 5 Days After COP26
Newsweek
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged Gulf of Mexico, Lease Sale 257, oil and gas leases | Leave a Comment »
Q Can I just ask one more on oil and gas? So, we just saw President Biden take action now in terms of the — protecting oil and gas development on Native lands and Tribal lands. But later this week, the U.S. government will open up for auction many, many acres — an area larger than several states, actually — to oil and gas leasing because of this legal situation.
So there are critics who say that you should have done more to avert this action. And I wonder if you can just say, you know, what action could potentially be done. Is there — are there any last-minute steps that could be taken to prevent those auctions from going forward?
MS. PSAKI: Well, you know, the President did — as you know, Andrea, but just to get others up to speed — issue an executive order pausing oil and gas leasing on public lands and in offshore waters to facilitate the identification and implementation of long-needed permitting and leasing reforms.
Shortly thereafter, the Interior Department cancelled the pending offshore oil and gas lease in the Gulf of Mexico known as Lease Sale 257.
So, what you’re referring to, I believe, is the fact that, in June, a federal district court in Louisiana stopped the President’s leasing pause and ruled that the Interior Department is legally required to go through with the sale of the Lease Sale 257, which is what you’re refer- — what Andrea is referring to in terms of putting up a bunch of lease sales — oil and gas lease sales.
We believe the decision is wrong, and the Justice Department is appealing it. So it’s in the courts; it’s in a legal process. We’re required to comply with the injunction. It’s a legal case and legal process, but it’s important for advocates and other people out there who are following this to understand that it’s not aligned with our view, the President’s policies, or the executive order that he signed.
Go ahead.
Q So there’s no more la- — so, you can’t take any last-minute action to prevent that from going forward?
MS. PSAKI: I would point you to the Justice Department. They, of course, are appealing this, and I would point you to them for any legal action or what their options are.
White House
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged Lease Sale 257, White House | Leave a Comment »
Posted in energy policy, Regulation, Uncategorized | Tagged reorganization | Leave a Comment »
Not much news regarding the suit to block Sale 257. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss had previously authorized Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry to join the case as a defendant alongside the Department of the Interior (DOI), meaning that at least one party is sincerely interested in defending the sale. This comment by Judge Moss was telling:
Moss said he agreed to the state’s request to join the case because he harbored sufficient doubts that the state’s interests would be adequately represented by the federal government.
Reuters
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged Judge Moss, Lease Sale 257, Louisiana | Leave a Comment »
Which platform is pictured in the International Space Station photo (re-posted below)? It is clearly a spar (basically a large vertically floating cylinder), and like most GoM spars appears to be the truss type (see diagram below depicting spar types). There are currently 18 GoM spars (list in table below). Looking at photos of these spars, my guess is that the SpaceX Dragon is pictured above Perdido (bottom photo).
| Name | Operator | Water Depth | Spar Type | Installed |
| Horn Mountain | Anadardo | 5400′ | truss | 2002 |
| Front Runner | Murphy | 3330′ | truss | 2004 |
| Gunnison | Anadarko | 3150 | truss | 2003 |
| Constitution | Anadarko | 4970 | truss | 2005 |
| Neptune | Fieldwood | 1930 | classic | 1996 |
| Boomvang | Anadarko | 3650 | truss | 2002 |
| Devil’s Tower | Eni | 5610 | truss | 2004 |
| Tahiti | Chevron | 4000 | truss | 2008 |
| Genesis | Chevron | 2590 | classic | 1998 |
| Holstein | Anadarko | 4340 | truss | 2004 |
| Hoover | Exxon | 4825 | classic | 2000 |
| Perdido | Shell | 7835 | truss | 2009 |
| Lucius | Anadarko | 7000 | truss | 2014 |
| Medusa | Murphy | 2223 | truss | 2003 |
| Mad Dog | BP | 4420 | truss | 2004 |
| Nansen | Anadarko | 3675 | truss | 2001 |
| Gulfstar | Hess | 4600 | classic | 2014 |
| Heidelberg | Anadarko | 5300 | truss | 2016 |
Posted in energy, Offshore Energy - General, Uncategorized | Tagged Gulf of Mexico, Perdido, SpaceX Dragon, spars | 2 Comments »
