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Posts Tagged ‘Offshore Wind’

Details of US agreement with TotalEnergies to end offshore wind projects

Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Offshore Wind, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 24, 2026| 1 Comment »

Lease 0538
lease 0545

Per the Dept. of the Interior:

  • TotalEnergies commits to invest approximately $1 billion—the value of its renounced offshore wind leases—in oil and natural gas and LNG production in the United States.
  • Following their new investment, the United States will reimburse the company dollar-for-dollar, up to the amount they paid in lease purchases for offshore wind.
  • Specifically, TotalEnergies will invest $928MM, in the following projects in 2026:
    • The development of Train 1 to 4 of Rio Grande LNG plant in Texas;
    • The development of upstream conventional oil in Gulf of America and of shale gas production.
  • Following theseTotal investments, the U.S. will terminate the following leases and reimburse the company:
    • Lease No. OCS-A 0535 (now 0545).  The lease is located in Carolina Long Bay area. This lease was fully executed by TotalEnergies Renewables USA, LLC on June 1, 2022, after payment of $133,333,333.
    • Lease No. OCS-A 0538.  The lease is located in the New York Bight area. The lease was fully executed by Attentive Energy, LLC on May 1, 2022, after payment of $795,000,000.
  • Total pledges not to develop any new offshore wind projects in the United States.

Comments:

  • This is a good deal for Total.
  • They grossly overpaid for these leases during an offshore wind bidding frenzy.
  • In particular, the bid of $795 million for the New York Bight lease seemed irrational even at the time of the sale (more so now).
  • Construction had not begun on either wind project.
  • The LNG project looks like a good investment, and there are good opportunities to buy into deepwater and onshore shale projects.

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The arcane world of the Jones Act

Posted in energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , , on March 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Sen. Mike Lee has introduced legislation to repeal the Jones Act, which is drawing additional scrutiny for the increased cost of transporting US oil production and LNG to US ports.

Because facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf are US ports under the Jones Act, the Act has been problematic for both the offshore oil and wind industries. The attached Customs and Border Patrol document delves into the nuances of Jones Act compliance for lifting operations (p.14-15) and “points” on the OCS (p.17).

EXAMPLE: CBP interprets the OCSLA to extend the Jones Act to artificial islands and similar structures, as well as to mobile oil drilling rigs, drilling platforms, and other devices attached to the seabed of the OCS for the purpose of resource extraction and/or exploration operations. Such objects located on the OCS are considered points or places in the United States for purposes of the Jones Act. Similarly, floating warehouse vessels, when anchored on the OCS to supply drilling rigs on the OCS, are also coastwise points.

Check out this complex CBP ruling on the transportation of well fluids from one location in a subsea well cluster to another. See if you understand and agree with their conclusion (below).

The transportation of fluids as described in the FACTS section above, by a dynamically-positioned, foreign-flagged drill ship between wells located within an IF (integrated facility), which subsequently, transships the fluids to a coastwise qualified barge for transportation to a coastwise point, violates 46 U.S.C. § 55102.

On a related matter, it’s still unclear to me whether the attachment of the lower marine riser package to a subsea wellhead makes a floating, dynamically positioned drillship a US port under the Jones Act.

Jones Act ICP_Complete_04DEC24Download

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German study reinforces concerns about the hydrodynamic effects of offshore wind turbines

Posted in climate, energy policy, Offshore Wind, tagged , , , , , , on February 20, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Per PHYS.ORG: Researchers at the Helmholtz Center Hereon have analyzed the long-term overall impact of this large number of wind farms on the hydrodynamics of the North Sea for the first time. They found that the current pattern could change on a large scale.

The peer reviewed German study is attached. Excerpt:

The near- and far-field wake effects affect vertical mixing and surface heat fluxes – primarily driven by large-scale wind stress reductions – leading to shallower mixed layers and long-term surface warming of up to 0.2 deg. C in wind farm areas. Our findings reveal a basin-scale physical footprint of offshore wind energy and highlight the need to account r hydrodynamic impacts in future offshore wind farm planning.

Note that (1) an 11/2023 NAS study raised concerns about the potential hydrodynamic effects of wind energy on Nantucket Shoals Regional Ecology (see graphics below), and (2) a 5/2022 NOAA letter had voiced similar concerns.

s43247-026-03186-8Download

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Still waiting for the report on the turbine blade failure and much more!

Posted in accidents, decommissioning, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, Regulation, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 18, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Vineyard Wind turbine blade failure, 7/13/2024
Russell Peterson
Aban Pearl
Platform Houchin

Important and long overdue:

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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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BOEM wind operations suspension letter

Posted in energy policy, Offshore Wind, Regulation, tagged , , , on December 24, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Attached is the letter sent to operators of the 5 projects that have been suspended. The cited regulation reads as follows:

§ 585.417 When may BOEM order a suspension?

BOEM may order a suspension under the following circumstances:

(a) When necessary to comply with judicial decrees prohibiting some or all activities under your lease; or

(b) When the suspension is necessary for reasons of national security or defense.

BOEM Revolution Wind Suspension LetterDownload

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Judge Saris blocks wind moratorium

Posted in energy policy, Offshore Wind, tagged , , , on December 10, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Judge Patti Saris vacated part 2 of Trump’s 1/20/2025 “Wind Memo.” Part 1, which withdrew all OCS lands from wind leasing, was not in dispute. Part 2 suspended issuing wind energy permits and other authorizations.

The judge ruled (full order attached) that the suspension of wind permitting violates Administrative Procedures Act provisions requiring agencies “to proceed within a reasonable time and to set and complete proceedings expeditiously.”

She concluded further that “the moratorium halts all wind energy authorizations indefinitely, pending a comprehensive assessment with no timeline, which is inconsistent with statutory deadlines and general commands for prompt processing in laws like OCSLA, the Clean Water Act, and others governing wind projects.”

Although the judge’s assessment of the permitting moratorium seems sound, the merits of offshore wind as a primary energy source remain very much in doubt.

gov.uscourts.mad.284290.234.0Download

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Improved wind safety? Not so fast says former Ørsted safety chief!

Posted in accidents, energy policy, Offshore Energy - General, Offshore Wind, tagged , , , on November 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“So, the safety culture is fine because we don’t report when people die.” Former Ørsted safety head, Eskild Lund Sørensen, accuses offshore wind body G+ of cherry picking data. The 2024 G+ incident data report is attached.

Member companies, which include major players such as Ørsted, Equinor, Vattenfall, RWE, and CIP, report quarterly data on accidents, near-misses, hazardous observations, and equipment damage. As is the case with most industry reporting schemes, anonymity is prioritized over transparency.

Sørensen asserts that the G+ wind industry data are incomplete: ”It shows that what is reported under the guidelines has gone down, and also that there is a cut off on what is being reported that does not include the full value chain on the industry.” He notes that a contractor to Northland Power from Canada, a member of G+, was involved in a 2024 workplace accident in Taiwan that resulted in three fatalities. (It’s also noteworthy that Equinor’s 2024 Empire Wind fatality was not included.)

Sørensen: ”There have been no significant improvements in the last 10 years. Safety in offshore wind is neither getting worse nor better. There are no signs of that.”

”I’m speaking up because we owe people the truth. If we’re not honest about the actual safety conditions in offshore wind, we can’t change them. Misinformation about workplace safety creates a dangerous illusion that everything is “under control”, while too many people are getting hurt. But when we dare to speak about reality as it is, we create the foundation for a safer, faster, and truly sustainable energy transition,” Sørensen says.

”And then it becomes difficult to learn if you have to wait for something to go through 57 gates and down past legal,” he says. (Sound familiar?)

In the U.S., both industry and govt need to do a better job of sharing complete incident data in a timely manner.

EI_G-plus-2024-Annual-ReportDownload

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“Female Crabs Are More Sensitive to Environmentally Relevant Electromagnetic Fields from Submarine Power Cables”

Posted in Offshore Wind, tagged , , , , on September 26, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Interesting Univ. of Portsmouth crabs study:

This study provides the first evidence that EMFs typical of SPCs elicit sex-specific behavioral responses in C. maenas. Females exhibited significantly greater attraction to EMF zones and avoidance of low-field zones, suggesting higher exposure risk. These differences could affect migration, mating, and larval release, with consequences for population dynamics. 

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Equinor ups its Ørsted ante. Good money after bad or shrewd contrarian investment?

Posted in Norway, Offshore Wind, tagged , , , , , on September 1, 2025| 1 Comment »

Equinor (2/3 Norwegian govt owned) is increasing its position in Ørsted (50.1% Danish govt owned). Given the ownership structure, public money is at risk for both countries.

The comments below are from a DN Norway article. They were made by CEO Torgrim Reitan after Equinor announced that the company will contribute NOK 10 billion (USD 1 billion) in Ørsted’s special share offering.

Given that the value of their initial NOK 26 billion (USD 2.6 billion) investment in Ørsted last fall has almost been cut in half, this is a bold move by Equinor. The company has been sharply criticized for its wind investments by private Norwegian investors.

“We want a closer partnership with Ørsted. We are two leading companies in offshore wind, and we believe a closer collaboration could create significant value for both Ørsted’s and our own shareholders.”

“This industry is now going through its first real crisis. That makes it quite clear what’s needed. We know a lot about this from oil and gas. What often happens in such times is consolidation.”

“We want a closer partnership with Ørsted. We are two leading companies in offshore wind, and we believe a closer collaboration could create significant value for both Ørsted’s and our own shareholders.”

“In recent weeks, we’ve had conversations with Ørsted management, and we’ve also had conversations with the Danish state. But the discussions have primarily been with Ørsted.”

“Ørsted is in a difficult situation right now. For us, as an industrial and long-term owner, it’s important to be supportive and helpful in such a situation. That’s why we’re putting in nearly a billion dollars.”

“This is a difficult decision, because clearly a lot of equity capital needs to be raised, but we have a fundamental belief in the industry, and also in the company. Ørsted’s underlying portfolio is a strong one.”

“Going forward, this will increase our debt ratio somewhat—maybe by about two percentage points. But we’re starting from a very low debt ratio. So we can manage this within our financial framework. As for capital distribution in 2026 and beyond, we will remain competitive.”

Meanwhile, Equinor is the only major oil company that remains invested in US offshore wind energy. Equinor’s Empire Wind project continues to be highly divisive.

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