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Posts Tagged ‘BSEE’

Buckle up! Sable is selling SYU production!

Posted in California, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged , , , , , on March 31, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Sable Offshore photo

Sable Offshore Corp. (3/30/2026) today announced that on March 29, 2026, Sable initiated oil sales. The Santa Ynez Pipeline System was filled from Las Flores Canyon to Pentland Station at a rate in excess of 50,000 barrels of oil per day.

At the Santa Ynez Unit, Platform Harmony is currently producing approximately 22,000 gross barrels of oil per day. Additionally, the United States Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has completed its final pre-restart inspection of Platform Heritage. Sable plans to commence production restart at Platform Heritage today at an expected total rate of over 30,000 gross barrels of oil per day. We expect Platform Hondo to be online by the end of the second quarter of 2026 at a rate in excess of 10,000 barrels of oil per day.

Sable Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Jim Flores, said “Sable is proud to announce oil sales through the Santa Ynez Pipeline System to Chevron. In doing so, we are providing American oil from American soil through an American pipeline to an American refinery for American consumers and the United States military.

A wild month in the 50 year Santa Ynez Unit saga is ending with a flourish. The wind is at Sable’s back, but storm clouds are on the horizon.

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The offshore world has lost a rising star 😢

Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on March 27, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Robert August Nelson 47921313

Robert “Bobby” Nelson, a beloved father and husband, and a highly respected engineer, died suddenly last Saturday.

Jason Mathews, a Supervisory Petroleum Engineer with the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, had this to say about his admired colleague:

“A legacy is not just what you leave for others; it’s the impact of your presence, the influence of your actions, and the memories you create.

Bobby was an exceptional engineer, father, husband and friend who had a lasting impact on many of us. In fact, I would argue Bobby was one of the most impactful engineers in my tenure on developing and transforming younger engineers on how to think critically on complex offshore systems and processes.

Bobby’s legacy in my industry will push on for many years, and we are forever grateful for the time we had with him.”

More from his colleagues:

Bobby dedicated much of his professional life to BSEE, where he served as a Technical Advisor since January 2020, and for the previous seven years as Well Operations Section Chief and Drilling Engineer in the Houma District.

His expertise in well control, drilling engineering, and offshore regulatory compliance was invaluable. He contributed significantly as a subject matter expert and assistant content writer for the BSEE Well Control Rule Revision Team, helping shape post-Deepwater Horizon reforms, and provided technical insights on critical projects ranging from tropical cyclone risk assessments for floating rigs to hydrate pressure coring expeditions and incident investigations.  

Bobby’s commitment to safety and environmental stewardship on the Gulf of America’s Outer Continental Shelf left a lasting impact on his colleagues and the industry.

He is survived by his loving wife, Amber, whom he met at BSEE, and their young daughter. In this time of grief, please keep Bobby’s family in your thoughts and prayers.

Obituary

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Santa Ynez Unit – no production but great theater!

Posted in Offshore Energy - General, California, Regulation, energy policy, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 22, 2026| Leave a Comment »

“The Santa Barbara Channel has been dubbed the Galápagos of North America” ~ Maggie Hall, Environmental Defense Center attorney. (comments: 1. clever branding ala calling ANWR “America’s Serengeti!;” 2. no natural oil seeps in the Galapagos Islands; 3. 130 years of oil production history in the Channel)

Sable opponents organize entertaining rallies featuring famous celebrities:

Ted Danson
Jane Fonda
Julia-Louis Dreyfus

Meanwhile, Sable has some starpower of its own with strong public support from golfer Phil Mickelson.

Senior Federal officials and key agencies are outspoken Sable supporters:

“Only in California! Newsom is blocking oil production off California’s coast from reaching their own refineries, driving gasoline prices even higher for Californians! Now, this oil production will have to be shipped elsewhere, lowering gas prices for other areas— just not for California! This is the opposite of common sense!” ~ Energy Secretary Chris Wright

BSEE declared victory 6 months ago: “This is a significant achievement for the Interior Department and aligns with the Administration’s Energy Dominance initiative, as it successfully resumed production in just five months.”

on December 23, 2025, the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) declared jurisdiction over and issued an emergency special permit for the Santa Ynez Pipeline System.

Perhaps most entertaining are the exchanges on X between Sable bulls and short-sellers. A few examples are embedded below:

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Gulf of America – violations decline on level inspection numbers

Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , , on January 8, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Observations after reviewing publicly available 2025 BSEE inspection data:

  • The number of BSEE inspections in 2025 (first chart) remained relatively constant despite the extended government shutdown.
  • The decline in the number of Incidents of Noncompliance (INCs) in 2025 is encouraging (chart 2).
  • Given that BSEE’s tables have yet to be updated to include 2024 incidents, let alone 2025, it’s difficult to assess whether there have been similar declines in the number and severity of incidents. We do know that there were no occupational fatalities in 2025. (Note that OCS incident tables were once updated within 30 days at the end of each quarter. The public has a right to timely information on the type of incidents that are occurring, the operating companies, and the resulting casualties, pollution, and property damage.)
  • Chart 3 shows the decline in INCs by type – warnings, component shut-ins, and facility shut-ins
  • As is typically the case, a few companies accounted for a disproportionate number of violations, most notably the Cox legacy operators. More on this in a subsequent post.
  • The top 6 oil producers all had excellent compliance records, as did a leading shelf operator. More to follow.
  • Sable Offshore, California’s most notorious operator, fared well during 77 inspections of their three platforms in the Santa Barbara Channel.

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Zero fatalities during oil and gas operations on the US OCS in 2025! Kudos to the offshore industry, BSEE, and the Coast Guard!

Posted in accidents, Offshore Energy - General, Offshore Wind, tagged , , , , , on January 6, 2026| Leave a Comment »

BOE is pleased to report that there were no occupational fatalities during oil and gas operations on the US OCS in 2025!

There were also zero fatalities in 2023. Two of the past three years were thus fatality free. One fatality occurred during decommissioning operations in 2024.

One fatality was associated with US offshore wind development in 2025. A crew member died while conducting vessel maintenance on a ship working for Equinor on the Empire Wind project.

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Offshore energy chief leaves Interior

Posted in energy policy, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 26, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Leslie Beyer, Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management (ASLM), has stepped down from her post as the leader of the Dept of the Interior’s offshore energy programs. She was the senior official at this month’s BGG1 lease sale, and made strong remarks about the importance of the offshore oil and gas program. Ms. Beyer was confirmed by the Senate in September.

Lanny Erdos, Director, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, has been named Acting ASLM.

This leaves the offshore energy program without a confirmed Asst. Secretary and with Acting Directors at both BOEM (Matthew Giacona) and BSEE (Kenny Stevens).

Lanny Erdos

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BSEE Safety Alert addresses recent Emergency Disconnect incidents

Posted in accidents, drilling, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged , , , , , on December 9, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Seconds matter – training, equipment maintenance, and effective leadership are critical!

Several BSEE Safety Alerts have just been released. Of particular importance to those interested in deepwater drilling is the attached alert describing two separate Emergency Disconnect Sequence (EDS) incidents.

The EDS (see the diagram above) is a critically important safety protocol that ensures that a well is sealed and the riser and rig are disconnected from the blowout preventer in the event of a well control emergency, unforeseen weather/ocean conditions, loss of power, or positioning system malfunction. Note that the Macondo blowout could have been prevented if the Deepwater Horizon crew had activated the EDS in a timely manner.

The two EDS events cited in the Safety Alert were presumably the March 28, 2025 and March 5, 2024 incidents investigated by BSEE district offices. The drillships were the Stanley Lafosse and the Deepwater Poseidon The investigation reports provide detailed information on these incidents.

Unintended riser disconnects not associated with EDS activations are a related safety and pollution concern that necessitated the issuance of a 2000 Notices to Lessees that was subsequently updated:

BSEE Safety Alert – 510 – Blackout and Weather-Driven EDS Incidents Underscore the Need for Stronger Operational DisciplineDownload

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New Bedford Light: “Seventeen months on, Vineyard Wind blade break investigation isn’t done”

Posted in accidents, Offshore Wind, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , on December 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Vineyard Wind turbine blade that was damaged on July 13, 2024, captured by a New Bedford commercial fisherman. Photo courtesy of Anthony Seiger

Excellent New Bedford Light piece on the unacceptable delay in completing the blade failure investigation report.

The Town of Nantucket’s attorney, Greg Werkheiser of Cultural Heritage Partners, told The Light last month that “it’s taken far too long” to get a final report on the blade failure. 

It’s noteworthy that there have also been unacceptable delays in issuing panel reports for serious offshore oil and gas incidents:

ncident datereport dateelapsed time (months)incident type
5/15/202110/31/202329.5fatality
1/24/20217/24/202330fatality
8/23/20202/15/202330fatality
7/25/20202/15/202331spill

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Will offshore operations be affected if the shutdown continues?

Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged , , , , , on November 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »

To date, BSEE has used carryover funds and offsetting collections from inspection, rental, and cost recovery fees to continue their priority permitting and inspection programs during the govt shutdown. However, these funds are limited.

At some point, BSEE will have to stop issuing new permits. If the shutdown continues, the next step could be to curtail drilling and production operations. Needless to say, this would not be completely unacceptable.

In the meantime, BSEE employees continue to work without pay. Flying offshore everyday to inspect operations is no picnic and can be hazardous. I lost a colleague in a helicopter crash and others have been injured. It’s shameful that these people are not being paid while members of congress are!

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Govt. shutdown – OCS permitting and inspections

Posted in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , on October 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Good: OCS oil and gas permitting and inspections appear not to be significantly affected by the govt shutdown to-date. 14 planning documents were approved on Oct. 21, and 37 drilling permits have been approved in Oct. (through 10/21).

152 facility inspections were conducted from 10/1 through 10/19. Natural Resources Worldwide (NRW), which is currently the operator of just one Cox legacy platform, has the dubious distinction of being the Shutdown’s Shut-in Leader. 16 Incidents of Non-Compliance (9 warnings and 7 component shut-ins) were issued to NRW during a single facility inspection in October.

Bad: This level of effort is not sustainable given limits on offsetting funds from fees, rentals, etc.

Ugly: The personnel who are performing these duties are not being paid during the shutdown. The longer the shutdown drags on, the greater the hardship on those individuals and their families. Shameful!

Warren Buffett’s proposal would stop deficit spending and address the root cause of shutdowns:

Buffett: “I could end the deficit in five minutes. You just pass a law that says that any time there’s a deficit of more than three percent of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election.“

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