Posted in conferences | Tagged IRF, offshore oil, safety, vancouver | Leave a Comment »
Salazar and Bromwich also announced that they are establishing a permanent advisory body through which the nation’s leading scientific, engineering, and technical experts will provide input on improving offshore drilling safety, well containment, and spill response. Secretary Salazar has asked former Sandia National Laboratory Director Tom Hunter to lead the body, which will be called the Offshore Energy Safety Advisory Committee (Safety Committee).
The new Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will be responsible for managing development of the nation’s offshore resources in an environmentally and economically responsible way. Functions will include: Leasing, Plan Administration, Environmental Studies, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Analysis, Resource Evaluation, Economic Analysis and the Renewable Energy Program.
The new Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) will enforce safety and environmental regulations. Functions will include: All field operations including Permitting and Research, Inspections, Offshore Regulatory Programs, Oil Spill Response, and newly formed Training and Environmental Compliance functions.
Posted in Offshore Energy - General, Regulation | Tagged BOEM, BOEMRE, BSEE, Department of the Interior, MMS | Leave a Comment »
Our vision on the Rigs-to-Reefs ++ page is becoming a reality (only without the rigs :)). BOE’s Cheryl Anderson sent us an update from an undisclosed location. Hmmm…..
A Florida couple is making plans to live in the first permanent undersea colony. Fox.com
This suite has been reserved for you!
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Super-geologist Paul Post is tracking Cuban and Bahamian activity and sent this map and update.
click on image to enlarge
Two thousand and eleven could be a key year for oil minnow Bahamas Petroleum Company. The AIM-quoted explorer has hired the Osprey Explorer seismic vessel, owned by Norway’s SeaBird Exploration, to shoot close-grid 2D over its four licences to the south of the Bahamas with a view to firming up a prospect for drilling in Q4. This would be the first well in Bahamian waters since 1986 and will be an acid test of BPC’s claim to be holding first mover advantage in waters that could be home to billions of barrels of oil. OilBarrel.com
Note that the area of interest is adjacent to Cuban waters, so the Cuban findings will be of great interest to the Bahamas. I don’t know if the two countries have an information sharing agreement. Perhaps the Scarabeo 9 semisubmersible will move to Bahamian waters after drilling one or more wells off Cuba.
Posted in cuba, Florida, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged Bahamas, cuba, drilling, Florida, offshore oil | Leave a Comment »
Apache said a hydrocarbon sheen was discovered in the water near its production platform in East Cameron Block 278 as the company was permanently plugging and abandoning nearby by non-producing wells. Apache said its workers saw bubbling in the water Sunday, followed by the sheen on Monday.
Posted in accidents | Tagged accidents, Gulf of Mexico, offshore oil, safety | Leave a Comment »
The International Energy Agency (IEA) said preliminary data showed oil demand hit a record high of 87.7 million barrels per day over the past 12 months.
Related Wall Street Journal story:
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Monday said demand for its oil in 2011 will be stronger than it previously forecast owing to the recovery in the global economy.
BOE Comment: The deep water sector is the only option for significant near and intermediate-term increases in US oil production. Ditto for many other non-OPEC producers. We better get our act together soon.
Posted in energy, Offshore Energy - General, oil | Tagged IEA, offshore oil, oil demand | Leave a Comment »
One of the better paragraphs I have read since Macondo:
The Deepwater story shows the fight against complacency is a continuous struggle, not a single battle. An executive at another oil major told me the default setting for safety managers should be “chronic unease”. That’s easy to see if you’re a prison governor or lighthouse-keeper. But it should be part of any executive’s attitude. Constant vigilance against, say, new competition, supply chain disruption, or unforeseen technological change is a must for modern managers.
Posted in accidents, well control incidents | Tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, macondo, offshore oil, safety, well control | 1 Comment »
Great Australian Bight
Our energy security will be greatly enhanced by opening up new geological frontiers and reducing our dependence on imports. Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson
Posted in Offshore Energy - General | Tagged Australia, bp, drilling, Great Australian Bight, Martin Ferguson, offshore oil | Leave a Comment »
No government regulatory structure alone can guarantee safety in an industry that must constantly adapt new technology to natural variations in drilling sites and unexpected natural phenomena. Oversight must improve, as the Obama administration has made clear, but also every company involved in oil drilling – not just BP – must individually and in concert with others evaluate industry standards and safety research programs. And none should assume that BP’s mistakes could not occur elsewhere. Washington Post
Well said!
Posted in accidents, well control incidents | Tagged accidents, blowouts, Deepwater Horizon, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, macondo, offshore oil, safety, well control | Leave a Comment »
Jokes about national disasters are not very funny to most of us, so I think Dave Barry’s flip comments about the blowout were ill advised. Perhaps Dave, like many others, never noticed or has forgotten that the blowout killed eleven workers. Despite the continuous coverage of oil flowing into the Gulf, this reality show wasn’t for amusement purposes.
That said, one comment in Dave’s review did make me smile. This line has been recycled for years in various forms, but always draws a reaction:
Meanwhile, Congress holds televised hearings that establish, beyond any reasonable doubt, that Congress is very upset about, and totally opposed to, large oil spills.
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Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 