For more information about the UG Petroleum Engineering program.
Posted in Guyana, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged first graduates, Petroleum Engineer, University of Guyana | Leave a Comment »
Each annual licensing round will only take place if key tests are met that support the transition to net zero. The first test is that the UK must be projected to import more oil and gas from other countries than it produces at home.
The second is that the carbon emissions associated with the production of UK gas are lower than the equivalent emissions from imported liquefied natural gas.
If both these tests are met, the NSTA will be required to invite applications for new licences annually.
The “key tests” would seem to ensure annual licensing rounds for the foreseeable future. The charts below are from UK EiTi. The first chart illustrates the sharp decline in UK production over the past 20 years. The second and third charts illustrate the large projected gaps between supply and demand, particularly for natural gas.
In 2050, total production of oil and gas is estimated at ~10 million tonnes of oil equivalent. The projected 2050 demand is estimated at ~35 tonnes. For domestic production to exceed imports over the next 20-30 years, resource licensing and field development would have to be very successful and efficient.
With regard to the second test, carbon emissions from the production of UK gas should maintain their advantage over imported LNG given the energy required to liquefy and transport that gas.
It would have perhaps been more transparent to simply stipulate annual licensing rounds, but that would probably not have been politically acceptable.
Posted in climate, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, UK | Tagged annual licensing rounds, North Sea, North Sea Transition Authority, UK, UK EiTi | Leave a Comment »
Per our post about the threat from Venezuela, Guyana has acquired its ninth patrol boat.
The Metal Shark vessels are built in Franklin, Louisiana.
Chris Allard, chief executive officer of Metal Shark, said in August “We believe this formidable, American-made patrol craft will be a game-changer for regional security.
OilNow
Posted in Guyana | Tagged Guyana Navy, Metal Shark, patrol boat, venezuela | Leave a Comment »
From the Amsterdam News:
“Encouraged by the Guyana Suriname finds, several other regional bloc member nations, including Barbados and Jamaica, have been ramping up efforts to attract companies to explore offshore acreages. The most determined of them seems to be Grenada, which is just north of oil and gas producers Trinidad and Venezuela.”
“Officials there say they are preparing to put out bids to attract some of the world’s largest exploration companies, but the 14-month new administration has said the previous government secreted away all the documents and data obtained from a 2018 exploration campaign by a little-known Russian firm, the Global Petroleum Group (GPG).”
“The group had told the previous administration that it had found commercial quantities of oil and gas in a well labeled Nutmeg 2, in about 400 feet of water, and that there were other promising prospects right nearby. But as the current Dickon Mitchell government gets ready to assess the island’s prospects, it has said there is nothing to work with.”
Grenada will no doubt be more careful about whom they issue future exploration licenses to and how they manage the data.
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged Global Petoleum Group, Grenada, missing data, oil and gas exploration | Leave a Comment »
Having severely damaged their own oil industry, the government of Venezuela is intent on taking control of Guyana’s offshore resources. Venezuela seeks to annex 2/3 of Guyana and the adjacent offshore territory. The existing boundary was settled in accordance with international law in 1899.
Venezuela’s next step is to hold a referendum on assuming control of the contested territory. How thoughtful 🙄
“Question 5 proposes the creation of Venezuelan state of Guyana Essequibo and an accelerated plan for giving Venezuelan citizenship and identity cards to the Guyanese population.”
I suspect that very few Guyanese are interested in Venezuelan citizenship.
Ambassador Brian A. Nichols, Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, emphasized that “efforts to infringe upon Guyana’s sovereignty are unacceptable.”
Venezuela’s referendum is scheduled for December 3.
Posted in Guyana, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged Guyana, referendum, territory claim, venezuela | Leave a Comment »
In light of the 5th Circuit’s order, holding the sale on 11/8 would have been messy for all sides in the Rice’s whale dispute. Seemingly, the only option for holding the sale prior to the Court’s decision on the injunction would have been the following:
- Allow, but not accept, bids on the tracts in the Rice’s whale expanded area.
- Add the Rice’s whale stipulations while providing notice that they might subsequently be removed.
Because the RIce’s whale stipulations would affect the value of all deepwater leases, bidders would be rolling the dice on the outcome of the case.
Also, absent legislative action, there will be no lease sale in 2024. This adds to the importance of Sale 261, and making sure the terms are understood.
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged 5th Circuit, delay, Lease Sale 261, Rice's whale | Leave a Comment »
Gig Kocher recently retired from BSEE after an amazing 57 years of Federal service. Nine of those years were served in the US Air Force, and the remaining 48 were at the US Dept. of the Interior, mostly in the offshore oil and gas program.
Gig is a native New Yorker and a huge Yankees fan (tough year in that regard). However, it’s only fitting that a guy named Gig would eventually become a Texas A&M Aggie (“Gig ’em!”), where he earned a master’s degree in computer science back in the mainframe and punch card era.
Gig was a strategic planning wiz who excelled at concisely outlining the steps and tactics needed to achieve desired objectives. He managed major updates to the documents and information technology systems critical to the success of our offshore energy programs.
Gig will be greatly missed by the troops at BSEE. His retirement event went something like this: 😉
Posted in Offshore Energy - General, Uncategorized | Tagged 57 years, DOI, Gig Kocher, retirement, Texas A&M, USAF, Yankees | Leave a Comment »
As a result of the order issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on October 26, 2023, in Louisiana v. Haaland (Case No. 23-30666), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is postponing Lease Sale 261, which was originally scheduled for September 27, 2023, and later scheduled for November 8, 2023, in response to judicial orders. Until the court rules, BOEM cannot be certain of which areas or stipulations may be included in the sale notice.
Potential bidders in Lease Sale 261 should not submit bids until BOEM provides additional instruction. BOEM will hold any bids already received and will hold the sale after it receives further direction from the Court of Appeals.
BOEM
Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General | Tagged 5th Circuit, BOEM, Lease Sale 261, postponement | Leave a Comment »
Deputy Secretary of the Interior Tommy Beaudreau was “disrupted” (perhaps a euphemism for the thuggish behavior demonstrated in the video clip below) by climate ultras in New York on Sept. 21. On Oct. 4, Mr. Beaudreau announced that he would be leaving the Dept. of the Interior.
The official announcement provides no reasons for his departure. By all accounts, Beaudreau was highly regarded by career employees in the Department. Was he troubled by his experience in NYC and the absence of a response from DOI? Was it difficult being a lone advocate for a more balanced energy policy?
Posted in climate, energy policy, Uncategorized | Tagged climate ultras, Department of the Interior, resignation, Tommy Beaudreau | Leave a Comment »
NJ Governor Murphy, an offshore wind promoter, is not pleased:
“Today’s decision by Orsted to abandon its commitments to New Jersey is outrageous and calls into question the company’s credibility and competence,” the Democratic governor said. “As recently as several weeks ago, the company made public statements regarding the viability and progress of the Ocean Wind I project.”
6ABC NJ
Perhaps the Governor’s credibility and competence is also taking a hit, as is staking the State’s energy future on highly uncertain, intermittent, and facility-intensive power systems. .
Posted in energy policy, Offshore Wind, Wind Energy | Tagged Governor Murphy, New Jersey, Ocean Wind 1, Ocean Wind 2, Offshore Wind, Orsted | Leave a Comment »
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 