Posted in CCS, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged accidents, bid acceptances, carbon disposal, Exxon, Lease Sale 261, Repsol on January 31, 2024| Leave a Comment »
As previously posted here and here, carbon disposal bidding at the last 3 oil and gas lease sales has made a mockery of the leasing process and the regulations that guide it.
Hopefully, the carbon sequestration regulations that are under development will preclude conversion of leases acquired at Sales 257, 259, and 261. At a minimum, these regulations should require a competitive process for converting any oil and gas leases.
Posted in CCS, climate, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged BOEM, carbon disposal, Exxon, Lease Sale 261, Repsol, Texas GLO on January 15, 2024| Leave a Comment »
The above map shows the offshore carbon disposal leases acquired by Repsol from the Texas General Land Office (GLO) and the adjacent Federal tracts Repsol bid on at OCS Lease Sale 261. There should be absolutely no confusion regarding Repsol intentions at Sale 261. They plan to develop a large CO2 disposal hub offshore Corpus Christi and bid improperly at an OCS oil and gas lease sale to support that objective.
Perhaps blinded by visions of “a stream of U.S. government grants, followed by generous tax credits for every ton of carbon stored,” Repsol (Sale 261) and Exxon (Sales 257 and 259) have made a mockery of the OCS leasing process and the regulations that guide it. The Repsol bids should be promptly rejected.
So what about the Exxon nearshore Texas leases that have already been issued? Given that Exxon misled the Federal government and improperly acquired carbon disposal leases at an oil and gas lease sale, those bids should be cancelled pursuant to 30 CFR § 556.1102:
(c) BOEM may cancel your lease if it determines that the lease was obtained by fraud or misrepresentation. You will have notice and an opportunity to be heard before BOEM cancels your lease.
While Exxon’s oil production increases in the Permian Basin and offshore Guyana are impressive, is it not hypocritical for Exxon and other major producers to capitalize on the capture and disposal of emissions associated with the consumption of their products? Is it not just a bit unsavory for oil companies to cash in on (and virtue signal about) carbon collection and disposal at the public’s expense? Perhaps companies that believe oil and gas production is harmful to society should be reducing production rather than engaging in enterprises intended to sustain it.
Posted in CCS, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged carbon disposal, Exxon, Gulf of Mexico, Lease Sale 261, Repsol, sequestration on January 9, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Why Repsol’s carbon disposal bids should be rejected (as Exxon’s Sale 257 and 259 bids should have been):
Hopefully, the carbon sequestration regulations that are under development will preclude conversion of leases acquired at Sales 257, 259, and 261. At a minimum, these regulations should require a competitive process for converting any oil and gas leases.
The difference between the conversion of the Exxon and Repsol leases and the conversion of other existing oil and gas leases is that the Exxon and Repsol leases were acquired solely for the purpose of carbon disposal with no intention of oil and gas exploration and production. Also, they can conduct geophysical surveys on their extensive (arguably monopolistic) nearshore Texas lease holdings, which gives them an unfair competitive advantage should a carbon sequestration lease sale be held.
To their credit, Repsol bid legitimately on 9 oil and gas leases at Sale 261. Exxon did not participate in Sale 261, and their only participation in Sales 257 and 259 was for carbon disposal purposes. Prior to Sale 257, the company had not acquired an OCS lease since 2008.
Posted in California, decommissioning, Offshore Energy - General, tagged California, Chevron, Exxon, Santa Ynez Unit, write down on January 5, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Exxon has joined Chevron in announcing Q4 write downs associated with California operations. In Exxon’s case, the estimated $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion impairment is the result of their troubled Santa Ynez unit facilities in the Santa Barbara Channel where the unit’s 500+ million barrels of reserves are unlikely to ever be produced.
The Santa Ynez saga is really quite remarkable. More here and here.
Posted in Guyana, tagged Exxon, Guyana, Maduro, offshore oil, OilNow, Stabroek, venezuela on December 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »
If we pause any of our developments, Maduro succeeds. He has no right in international law to tell the people of Guyana, a sovereign country, how to pursue its affairs.
And that is why we are forging ahead with our development in all 83,000 square miles…if we get paralyzed by this at the government level then we will fall prey to what he is trying to achieve.
Guyana’s Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo
Posted in climate, energy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged carbon intensity, carbon sequestration, Exxon, Gulf of Mexico, hypocrisy, Permian, Pioneer on October 12, 2023| 2 Comments »
Impressive acquisition:
Hypocrisy?
Posted in CCS, energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged carbon sequestration, CCS, DOI, Exxon, infrastructure bill, Lease Sale 257, Lease Sale 259, Ocean Dumping, OCSLA on July 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »
ENERGYWIRE has reported that the Department of the Interior will publish the legislatively mandated carbon sequestration rule later this year. Given that even close followers of the OCS program were completely unaware of the enabling legislative provisions prior to their enactment, the proposed DOI rule will provide the first opportunity to formally comment.
Within the oil and gas industry and the environmental community, there are considerable differences of opinion about carbon sequestration in general, and more specifically, offshore sequestration. All interested parties are encouraged to submit comments on these important regulations.
Some background information on the sequestration legislation and subsequent actions:
Exxon and other companies intend to commercialize carbon sequestration, and Exxon projects an astounding $4 trillion CCS market by 2050. Such a market will of course be dependent on mandates and subsidies, and the costs will ultimately be borne by taxpayers and consumers.
Is it not a bit unsavory and hypocritical for hydrocarbon producers to capitalize on the capture and disposal of emissions associated with the consumption of their products? Perhaps companies that believe oil and gas production is harmful to society should exit the industry, rather than engage in enterprises that sustain it.
More:
Posted in Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Offshore Energy - General, tagged Barbados, CNOOC, Exxon, Guyana, Hess, Jamaica, oil exports, OilNow, Stabroek Block on July 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »
OilNow, an informative and boldly named media outlet that covers the oil and gas sector in Guyana, reports that “the Guyana government expects crude oil exports this year to generate US$11.3326 billion in 2023, a 14% increase from the 2022 figure.“
Of course, the 3 Stabroek Block partners who are responsible for this production – Exxon (45%), Hess (30%), and CNOOC (25%) – are also doing quite well. If you are wondering about this curious mix of companies – a US supermajor, a large US independent, and a state-owned Chinese mega-company – this OilNow post explains what happened.
Initially, Exxon and Shell were 50/50 partners in the Stabroek Block. Shell thought the chances for success were slim and opted out a year before the world class Liza discovery (ouch!). After Shell departed, Exxon sent “at least 35 letters” to prospective partners and only Hess and CNOOC responded favorably (actually, it was Nexen, not CNOOC that responded). The Liza discovery followed and the rest is history.
Will exploration offshore Jamaica and Barbados also prove successful? Stay tuned.
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, Uncategorized, tagged energy independence, Exxon, Gulf of Mexico, Permian Basin on June 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »
As we approach the 4th of July, remember this:
In 1979 Gulf of Mexico oil production had declined to 263 million barrels and many believed that further declines were inevitable. 40 years later, a record 693 million barrels were produced.
Onshore, lateral drilling and hydraulic fracturing capabilities are continuing. As a result, Exxon and others are predicting projecting higher recovery factors in the Permian Basin. Per Exxon CEO Darren Woods: “We are beginning to see the signs of some very promising new technologies that will significantly improve recovery.”
Opportunity + Ingenuity ➡ Energy Independence + Prosperity
Posted in energy policy, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, tagged carbon sequestration, CCS, Exxon, Focus Exploration, Lease Sale 259, Notice of Sale on June 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Last week, BOEM announced the acceptance of all 69 of Exxon’s Sale 259 carbon sequestration bids. This is despite these facts: (1) Exxon’s intentions were known, (2) there were no provisions for CCS bidding in the Notice of Sale, (3) no environmental review of CCS leasing was conducted, and (4) there are no procedures for evaluating CCS bids.
Absent some type of legislative maneuver, carbon sequestration is not authorized under these leases. If Exxon is just acquiring the leases for evaluation purposes in preparation for a possible CCS sale in the future, their lease acquisitions may be okay. If they are planning on retaining these leases for actual sequestration operations, that is not okay, at least not until a competitive process has been established for awarding or reclassifying such leases.
It’s also noteworthy that there was a second bidder for th blocks (in red above). Presumably that company, Focus Exploration, was interested in acquiring the tract for oil and gas exploration purposes. However, the Focus bid was a bit lower, so Exxon got the tract.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 