In this case, it’s a State of Maine research project for up to 12 floating turbines. This type of project is not viable without large subsidies which are apparently not forthcoming. See the Notice below.
Posted in Offshore Wind | Tagged floating wind turbines, Maine, project paused, research lease | Leave a Comment »
JL Daeschler, pioneering subsea engineer, outstanding artist, and BOE contributor, lives in Scotland. He shared these concerns about the state of the UK offshore industry:
Since projects have been shelved, contractors have left the country – so no drill rigs, no exploration, no pipelines, and no crane barges. The list of disciplines put out of work is far longer.
The big international operators have left looking for better opportunities overseas with milder environments and cheaper manpower support. Air travel, modern communication systems, and immediate electronic access to information and support facilitate operations anywhere in the world.
So what is left in the UK sector of the North Sea are the few installations running towards the end of production. Their years are numbered.
The North Sea could have had a sustainable greener and safer project profile if the momentum had been kept. It’s like an oil & gas pandemic, except you do not work from home if you operate rigs and vessels. No research, no strategy, and no money !!!
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, UK | Tagged JL Daeschler, North Sea oil and gas, sad state of affairs, Scotland | Leave a Comment »
Scotsman letter
Industry sources tell us, authoritatively, that the North Sea could produce around half of all the oil and gas the UK will need up until at least 2050 – if new projects are developed. Meanwhile, as instead we shut down our existing wealth, China continues burning dirty coal and making us more dependent on their products.
As it stands, Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) says the UK is on track to produce just four billion of the 13-15bn barrels of oil and gas the country will need over the next 25 years.
It is time for those making decisions in London and Edinburgh to put away all the green zealotry nonsense and get the UK powerhouse moving again. Given 25 years they could make a good start on installing small, clean, nuclear plants dotted across the UK to help in great part to pick up the load.
We need planning, not zealotry. It is now even more clear the green emperor is not wearing clothes. When will Energy Secretary David Miliband be convinced?
Alexander Mckay
Edinburgh
And from an offshore worker @Deano9981:
As someone who actually works in the North Sea on oil rigs I have heard almost all my life how the oil and gas will be gone in 10 years. 35 years in this industry and the first time I am likely to be unemployed is because of the government. Not the end of oil fields.
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, UK | Tagged energy policy, North Sea, offshore oil and gas, Scotland, UK | Leave a Comment »
The organization Friends of Oceano Dunes is determined to preserve the long history of off-road vehicle use on Pismo-Oceano beach. See the video below and the historic photos from Bob2000.com.
The Coastal Commission, which dislikes off-road vehicles as much as they dislike offshore oil and gas operations (well maybe not quite that much! 😉) lost a court case with some similarities to the suit filed by Sable Offshore.
Noozhawk: In an opinion filed Monday, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals found that the commission’s attempt to ban off-road vehicles at the Dunes contradicts the language of the Local Coastal Plan put in place by San Luis Obispo County.
The Court ruled that the decision to open or close the Dunes to vehicles fell under the jurisdiction of the county, not the Coastal Commission.
Sable’s dispute with the Commission is similar in that Sable contends that their pipeline repair and maintenance activities are in compliance with Santa Barbara County’s Coastal Zoning Ordinance, Local Coastal Program (LCP), and the Coastal Act. Will Sable also be victorious in Court?
Posted in California, Regulation | Tagged California Coastal Commission, Friends of Oceano Dunes, Pismo Beach, Sable Offshore, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara County | Leave a Comment »
Excerpt from the expedition summary:
The northeast coast of the United States is perhaps the best understood example of an offshore freshwater system, and multiple studies have been undertaken to determine the origin and volume of offshore freshwater. Coring and sampling the subseafloor offshore Massachusetts, USA, will provide data for understanding the processes driving emplacement of freshwater lenses offshore New England and elsewhere globally, and lead to a better understanding of this worldwide hydrogeological phenomenon. This is essential for protection and sustainable management of offshore freshwater systems and for better understanding biogeochemical and elemental cycling in continental shelf environments.
With regard to the potential freshwater resources (from the Nantucket Current):
“I’m just excited about the science, and that finally, after all these years, someone’s trying to get the truth,” said Nantucket Water Department director Mark Willett. “Computers predicted it. Everybody thinks it’s there. These guys are the first ones in the world who are going to go drill a hole and prove it.”
Willett and (lead scientist Brandon) Dugan are particularly intrigued by the possibility that the offshore freshwater aquifer could be connected to a lower, untapped aquifer beneath Nantucket that Willett calls “ancient glacier lake Nantucket.”
“If it is connected and it’s young water that’s being recharged actively today, that’s really exciting, because it’s a renewable source,” Dugan said.
Posted in drilling, Uncategorized | Tagged Brandon Dugan, freshwater lenses, IODP, Mark Willett, Nantucket, NSF, offshore freshwater, shelf hydrogeology | Leave a Comment »
In February, EPA Region 2 asked the agency’s Environmental Appeals Board to remand Atlantic Shores’ air emissions permit back to the Region for reconsideration. That remand (attached) was granted on 14 March over the objections of Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind.
Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind still exists despite the exit of 50% partner Shell and a $940 million write down by the remaining owner EDF. The diagram depicts Atlantic Shores South (0499) and North (0549) lease areas.
EDF intends “to preserve the company and its future development.” Whether or not they can hold the leases indefinitely without pursuing development remains to be seen. BOEM’s diligence regulations for offshore wind projects are vague, and neither the Construction and Operations Plans nor BOEM’s Record of Decision (Atlantic Shores South) include work schedules.
Does EDF have the right to sit on the lease until the financial and regulatory environment is attractive? That is not allowed for oil and gas leases, and rightfully so. (See a related post on Total’s wind lease.)
Meanwhile, ACK for Whales has petitioned EPA Region 1 to reopen and reanalyze the air permits for permits for the New England Wind 1 and 2 projects asserting that:
- The analysis does account for emissions related to and resulting from blade failures, which would warrant emergency repairs or replacement activities.
- The decision to group Vineyard Wind 1, New England Wind 1 and New England Wind 2, as a single stationary source is both legally questionable and could have the effect of masking localized emission spikes.
- Insufficient consideration of cumulative vessel emissions could lead to 1-hour NO₂ exceedances.
- The emissions from pile driving are not adequately modeled in isolation or synergistically.
Posted in Offshore Wind, Regulation | Tagged Ack for Whales, air emissions, Atlantic Shores, Atlantic wind, EPA, New England Wind, Vineyard Wind | Leave a Comment »
Contrary to alarmist forecasts that climate change could cause the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) to collapse as soon as 2025, an important Woods Hole study found that the AMOC has not declined in the last 60 years.
“Based on the results, the AMOC is more stable than we thought,” co-author Linus Vogt said. “This might mean that the AMOC isn’t as close to a tipping point as previously suggested.”
Of course, the usual caveat about past performance not necessarily being predictive applies:
Co-author Nicholas Foukal: “That doesn’t say anything about its future, but it doesn’t appear the anticipated changes have occurred yet.”
Perhaps the urgent warnings about the collapse of the AMOC, if not unfounded, were at least premature.
Posted in climate | Tagged AMOC collapse, AMOC has not declined, climate change, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute | Leave a Comment »
Attached is a recent Sable Offshore presentation for investors. Notably, Sable is now projecting to resume Santa Ynez Unit production in Q2 2025 (see slide below). John Smith thinks this is unrealistic, and I have to agree.
It’s tough for an offshore producer to succeed in California, but Sable is making a strong effort. Exxon must agree, because they have extended Sable’s first production deadline to 3/1/2026, which reflects a more plausible Q1 2026 restart. Additional extensions seem likely if necessary given that Exxon’s other options aren’t very attractive.
Posted in California, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, Regulation | Tagged Exxon, investor presentation, production forecast, Sable Offshore, Santa Ynez Unit | Leave a Comment »
Exercising authority granted in the Congressional Review Act (Chapter 8 of Title 5 of the United States Code), Congress passed Joint Resolution 11 nullifying the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management rule titled “Protection of Marine Archaeological Resources” (Sept. 3, 2024).
Nullification of a final rule is not common. Since its Enactment in 1996, the CRA has been used to overturn only 20 rules. This is the first time an OCS energy rule has been nullified.
Enactment of a CRA resolution of disapproval is unlikely in most circumstances, because a President would be expected to veto a joint resolution disapproving a rule issued by the President’s own Administration.
There are also time limitations for nullifying a rule. The joint resolution must be introduced during a 60-days- of-continuous-session period beginning when the rule has been published in the Federal Register and been received by Congress. However, if within 60 session days after a rule is submitted, Congress adjourns its session, the periods to introduce and act on a disapproval resolution reoccur in their entirety in the next session of Congress.
It’s also noteworthy that a CRA resolution cannot be filibustered if the Senate acts on the resolution during a 60-days-of-Senate-session period beginning when the rule has been received by Congress.
Most of the 20 nullifications involved rules finalized at the end of a previous administration that were nullified at the beginning of a new administration with a majority in both chambers of Congress. That is the case for the Marine Archaeology Rule, which was published at the end of the Biden administration and nullified at the beginning of the Trump administration. .
The nullified OCS rule required operators to submit an archaeological report identifying potential archaeological resources with any exploration or development plan. The rule modified regulations that only required such a report only when a BOEM regional director had reason to believe that an archaeological resource may be present in the lease area.
Archaeological survey requirements have been somewhat contentious since they were introduced in the 1970s. There were concerns about decisions to require the protection of speculative, low probability sites that could significantly alter operating plans.
A reasonable balance and an apparent consensus was achieved by limiting the report requirements to areas where studies and other information indicated the potential for such resources. BOEM’s new rule tightened the requirement considerably, which led to opposition and ultimately nullification.
Resolution Timeline
| 2/4/2025 | Senate | Resolution Introduced by Sen. Kennedy |
| 2/25/2025 | Senate | Passed by Yea-Nay Vote 54 – 44 |
| 3/6/2025 | House | Passed by Yea-Nay vote: 221 – 202, 1 Present |
| 3/13/2025 | President | signed |
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation | Tagged BOEM, Congressional Review Act, Joint Resolution, Marine Archaeological Resources, Regulation, Sen. Kennedy | Leave a Comment »
Juergen Maier, chairman of GB Energy, “a planned British government-owned renewable energy investment body,” is promising to revive Aberdeen with “green energy” jobs, and to create “something special for the years ahead.”
Maier: “Floating offshore wind, green hydrogen, and carbon capture should be as synonymous with Aberdeen’s future as oil and gas have been with its past.” This is an interesting comment given that the success of the industries he is promoting is far from assured; nor is the continuation of government edicts and subsidies on which they are dependent.
How many times have we been told that the government driven energy transition would create thousands of jobs? How many workers in economically important industries have been told to transition to politically favored professions? How many Keystone Pipeline workers found the promised “green energy jobs?” Why were coal miners condescendingly told to “learn to code?”
Perhaps Mr. Maier should broaden his message by showing support for development of the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields, and for sustaining production of oil and gas, on which the UK will be dependent for many years. As Louise Gilmour wisely opined in her column in the Scotsman:
“We need more of it because even the most ardent supporters of renewable energy, the most vocal proponents of net zero, quietly admit oil and, especially, gas will be needed for a couple of decades at least. That obvious truth, that inarguable necessity, is not, apparently, enough for ministers to encourage UK production, however, or temper their rhetoric around renewables.“
“Allowing our rigs and refineries to power down and relying on other countries to keep the lights on still seems a little, well, counter-intuitive. We will import oil and gas but not produce it while happily exporting contracts, skills and jobs overseas? The practical impact of Labour’s refusal to grant new exploration licences in the North Sea might remain unclear but the message it sent was absolutely crystal.“
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Offshore Wind, UK | Tagged Aberdeen, carbon capture, energy jobs, GB Energy, hydrogen, Juergen Maier, Keystone Pipeline, Louise Gilmour, North Sea oil and gas, Offshore Wind, the Scotsman | Leave a Comment »
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 