BSEE statement:
BSEE’s report on the initial (7/13/2024) blade failure has still not been released.
Posted in accidents, Offshore Wind | Tagged blade failure, BSEE, lightning protection, lightning strike, Vineyard Wind, wind turbine | Leave a Comment »
The same Vineyard Wind turbine blade that failed last summer has now been struck by lightning:
“Lightning struck the fractured stub of Vineyard Wind’s broken turbine blade in the early morning hours on Friday (2/27), according to representatives from Vineyard Wind and the Coast Guard. It was the remnants of the broken blade that snapped this July that were still attached to the turbine.”
“It appears the town (Nantucket) was not informed of the lightning strike by Vineyard Wind until it received media inquiries about it, over 48 hours after it happened.”
Posted in accidents, Offshore Wind | Tagged blade failure, Groundhog Day, lightning strike, Nantucket, Vineyard Wind | 1 Comment »
At least 11 Baltic cables have been damaged in the last 15 months.
Politico.EU: “NATO will send around 10 ships to guard important underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea by the end of the week, Finnish newspaper Yle reported on Tuesday.
Why increase operating costs and expose platform operations to power disruption risks when there is no net environmental benefit?
Posted in accidents, energy policy, Norway, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged cables from shore, electric power, Johan Sverdrup field, loss of power risk, offshore platforms, sabotage risks | Leave a Comment »
Offshore Newfoundland, a particularly hostile operating environment (“North Sea plus icebergs“), continues to be the only producing area in the North American Atlantic, a distinction that is unlikely to change for at least the next decade.
Production is holding firm and there was a nice bounce in December when 7.5 million barrels were produced (242,000 bopd ave.). December’s production was the highest since May 2022 and and was a respectable 57% of the May 2007 peak.
Most impressively, according to CNLOPB data, no fatalities or significant injuries occurred over the past 3 years.
The pioneering Hibernia platform (pictured above), where Newfoundland offshore production began in Nov. 1997, keeps chugging along at 60 to 80,000 bopd. The Hibernia field has produced more than double the original resource estimate of 520 million barrels. Very impressive!
Hebron, the current top producer, continues to produce 100,000+ bopd
The Terra Nova field contributed ~40,000 bopd in Dec., the highest output since production resumed in late 2023 after extensive downtime to refurbish the FPSO.
Production remained offline at the White Rose project, which was shutdown at the end of 2023 for refurbishment of the SeaRose FPSO. Production is expected to resume during the first quarter of this year.
Newfoundland production data:
Posted in Offshore Energy - General, Canada | Tagged Newfoundland, Canada, Hibernia, offshore production, Terra Nova, White Rose, Hebron | Leave a Comment »
- A Venezuelan navy vessel approached Exxon’s Prosperity FPSO and other assets in Guyana’s EEZ
- The vessel transmitted a radio message declaring that the FPSO was operating in disputed international waters
- Recently, Guyanese soldiers were attacked by alleged members of a Venezuelan gang. (Sound familiar?)
- More on the Guyana-Venezuela dispute
- Prompt and forceful response from the US State Dept. (below)
Posted in Guyana, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged boundary dispute, Exxon, Guyana, incursion into EEZ, Navy vessel, Prosperity FPSO, US DOS, venezuela | Leave a Comment »
“Last month, we demonstrated millimeter wave drilling outside of the lab for the very first time.“
“Millimeter wave drilling is the keystone of superhot geothermal. It’s the only way to access the resource at scale while reaching economic and power parity with fossil fuels. Over the coming months, two more drilling field tests will pave the way to our first commercial developments.”
Posted in drilling, energy | Tagged gyrotron, melt rock, millimeter wave drilling, Quaise Energy, test drilling | Leave a Comment »
Actually, the latest data are for December 2024, so that was before the name change. It’s a nice story nonetheless, very patriotic.😉
Most likely, the jump in production is related to increased output from the new deepwater facilities we have been following.
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged December 2024, Gulf of America, large increase, new deepwater platforms, oil production | Leave a Comment »
BP has announced it will cut its renewable energy investments and instead focus on increasing oil and gas production.
The energy giant revealed the shift in strategy on Wednesday following pressure from some investors unhappy its profits and share price have been lower than its rivals.
BP said it would increase its investments in oil and gas by about 20% to $10bn (£7.9bn) a year, while decreasing previously planned funding for renewables by more than $5bn (£3.9bn).
It’s more than okay to be an oil and gas producer – no need to apologize or pretend to be something else. Oil and gas are, and will continue to be, essential to economies worldwide. Companies should focus on safely and cleanly achieving production objectives.
If a company thinks other types of energy investments make good business sense, they should engage in those activities. However, they should not do so to curry favor with anti-oil factions who can never be placated. Attempts to do so will only weaken your company.
BP is doing well in the Gulf of America – no. 2 producer in 2024.
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged Argos, beyond petroleum, bp, Gulf of America production, increase oil and gas investments | Leave a Comment »
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors tie vote on the transfer of permits from Exxon to Sable has both sides declaring victory! (And I thought I was the only one who was confused!)
Per Noozhawk:
“During Wednesday’s meeting of the county Planning Commission, Lisa Plowman, director of Planning & Development, expressed uncertainty about the future of the permits and said the split vote meant that the board took no action.
“We are in the process of (…) determining what that actually means in the long run for Sable and the opponents,” Plowman said.”
“The county has not in recent memory had a tie vote under this section. The county is looking into what happens next.”
Sables’ take: “Sable is pleased the appeals failed and the Planning Commission’s approval of the Santa Ynez Unit permit transfer to Sable stands. We look forward to continuing to work with the county to finalize the permit transfer and to safely restarting production as soon as possible.”
Environmental Defense Center’s take: “We applaud the Board of Supervisors’ decision to NOT transfer permits to Sable to operate a defective pipeline and dangerous processing facilities on our shores.”
Just when you thought this couldn’t get more complicated!😖😣
Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged Environmental Defense Center, Exxon, pipeline permits, Sable Offshore, Santa Barbara County, Santa Ynez Unit | Leave a Comment »
Although Rice’s Whale lease stipulations were deleted from Sale 261 leases by court order, similar NTL restrictions remained in effect for all oil and gas operations in the Gulf of America. Those NTL restrictions, some of which may be excessive and premature, have now been rescinded.
A previous post compared the Rice’s Whale restrictions applicable to Gulf oil and gas operations with the less onerous Right Whale restrictions for the Atlantic wind industry.
Of course, this is not the end of the Rice’s Whale dispute. A Federal judge in Maryland has ordered the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) to prepare a new biological opinion that better protects the Rice’s whale. The deadline for the new biological opinion was extended to May 21, 2025. After that date, no new Gulf leases may be issued and no new operating plans may be approved pending a new biological opinion that is acceptable to the Court.
Stay tuned.
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Offshore Wind | Tagged biological opinion, BOEM, court order, deadline, NTL, rescinded, Rice's whale | Leave a Comment »
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 