Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Oil Drilling News

OIL/ENERGY POLICY


U.S. Nears Milestone: Net Fuel Exporter

Yes, you read that headline right.
"According to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Tuesday, the U.S. sent abroad 753.4 million barrels of everything from gasoline to jet fuel in the first nine months of this year, while it imported 689.4 million barrels. [...] So long as the U.S. remains the world's biggest net importer of crude oil, currently taking in nine million barrels per day, it isn't likely to become energy independent anytime soon. Yet its growing presence as an overall exporter of fuels made from crude gives it greater influence in the global energy market. [...] But U.S. drivers aren't seeing much benefit in the form of lower prices because refineries on the Gulf Coast are shipping much of their output to places where demand is strong, keeping prices high."

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Oil Drilling News


OIL/ENERGY POLICY


Shocker! Newt Gingrich doesn't understand oil

"Sadly, he's not alone, which is why this is worth debunking. Gingrich's sense that oil fields can be brought rapidly online, and his "we beat the Nazis and went to the moon so we can do this" statements reflect the general cultural misunderstandings about how oil is extracted that are endemic in our culture. While his claim that we could "open up enough oil fields in the next year that the price of oil worldwide would collapse. Now, that's what we would do if we were a serious country." is a bit of idiocy, it probably isn't atypical idiocy in a country that knows nothing about the basic geology that underlies just about everything."

THE GULF


Offshore safety chief: BP, 2 other companies face more safety citations in Gulf oil spill


WEST COAST


Thankfully, West Coast Escapes Department of Interior's New Drilling Plans

"In the simplest of terms, if we can't clean it up, we better make sure it doesn't get spilled in the first place."

FLORIDA


BP set to keep cleaning beaches

"As BP wraps up its oil spill cleanup phase and shifts into its restoration phase, one looming question remains: What about the tar mats still believed to be submerged along the shorelines of local beaches?"

ALTERNATIVES TO OIL


Renewables future of energy, IEA says



Friday, November 18, 2011

Oil Drilling News


OIL/ENERGY POLICY


Republicans push drilling plan to pay for roads, bridges

"The energy and infrastructure package also includes a proposal by Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, to lift a congressional ban on exploration in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and force the government to sell drilling leases in parts of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans."

BOEM Calls for Public Input on Proposed 2012-2017 Eastern GOM Lease Sales
"The general area of this Call covers approximately 657,905 acres, including a triangular-shaped area south of this area bordered by the Central Planning Area boundary on the West and the Military Mission Line (86ยบ 41'W) on the East. The area is south of eastern Alabama and western Florida; the nearest point of land is 125 miles northwest in Louisiana. For a map of the area, go to: http://www.boem.gov/uploadedFiles/OCS_Lower_48_Strategy_20111104_v1.pdf."

THE GULF


Transocean Can't Blame U.S. for Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, Judge Rules

"Transocean filed a claim against the U.S. in February, contending the incident may have been caused in part by the acts of federal agencies and government employees."
How lame is that?  By the way, the rig operator in the recent oil spill off Brazil was - you guessed it - Transocean.

FLORIDA/CUBA


Legislation aimed at discouraging Cuban oil exploration

"Bill Nelson, Florida's senior senator, and a Senate colleague from New Jersey introduced a bill last week that would hold foreign oil companies directly accountable for oil spills that pollute U.S. territory. 

The bill was written in anticipation of a massive foreign offshore drilling operation that could begin in Cuban waters - as close as 50 miles from Key West - by late next month."


Thursday, November 17, 2011

Oil Drilling News


OIL/ENERGY POLICY


Latest proposed 5-year OCS plan falls short, API official says

"He urged the administration to reconsider and schedule lease sales in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, which is largely closed by congressional moratorium, and off Virginia's coast, where a lease sale was scheduled as part of the current 5-year program but canceled following the 2010 Macondo well accident and crude oil spill. Sales off Alaska which have been scheduled toward the end of the next 5-year period should be moved up, especially if Shell Exploration Co.'s Beaufort and Chukchi Sea tests produce positive results, he added."

Interior secretary urged to reconsider offshore drilling ban in Virginia
"All eight Republicans who represent Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives called on Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Wednesday to reconsider a decision to ban offshore oil and gas drilling off the commonwealth's coast."

FLORIDA


BP finds oil on Perdido Key

"BP cleanup crews recovered 1,253 pounds of tar balls mixed with shells near the Eden Condominium on Tuesday."

BRAZIL

Brazilian police investigate offshore oil spill

Chevron Says Brazil Offshore Well Sealed

"Brazil's National Petroleum Agency said Monday that the well was leaking at a rate of between 200 and 330 barrels per day, and between 521 and 882 barrels had reached the surface so far. The leak, first discovered Nov. 8, has produced a stain on the water stretching across an area of 163 square kilometers, the agency said." 

Oil leak prompts Chevron to halt well-drilling off Brazil's coast

ALTERNATIVES TO OIL

US Navy tests biofuel to power ship in its largest alternative fuel demonstration to date



Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Oil Drilling News

OIL/ENERGY POLICY


Offshore industry hopes for grace period on new rules

"Industry leaders say they are hoping for a transition period, during which federal regulators notify companies of violations but delay possible fines or other penalties."

THE GULF


New Documentary Says Gulf Oil Spill Crisis Isn't Over

"I used to be a surfer but I won't go in the water anymore," he said. "The last time I did my eyes and lips were burning."

BRAZIL


Chevron suspects drilling caused Brazil oil spill


Petrobras field the source of serious deep sea oil leak (Greenpeace New Zealand)


Chevron Oil Spill off Brazil - 10 Times Bigger Than Official Estimate? (Skytruth)


Progress seen in fixing Brazil oil spill: Chevron

"Cementing of the well, which is suspected to have been a cause for the oil leak, will be finished in coming days."

ALTERNATIVES TO OIL


Navy's first hybrid-drive warship goes to sea

""Everything that we see in the civilian world is going more electric. We've had hybrid-electric cars for awhile, now you are starting to see the all-electric cars come in. That's where the Navy is going," said Timothy McCoy, director of the Navy's electric ships office in Washington, D.C."

Monday, November 14, 2011

Oil Drilling News

OIL/ENERGY POLICY

Offshore lease sale set for December
"The Department of Interior says it has set a December date for the next Gulf offshore oil and natural gas lease sale -- the first such sale since the Deepwater Horizon explosion and BP oil spill."

Ready for another Gulf oil disaster?

Oil & gas industry spills happen "all the time"
"Everyday there's numerous releases happening throughout just this country," said oil and gas safety expert Mike Sawyer. "Sometimes every couple of hours there's a new incident."

THE GULF

Skytruth Alert: Fire Reported in Gulf of Mexico Near BP and Shell's Na Kika Offshore Drilling Site 2011-11-10


Drowning in Oil: The BP Spill through a Sustainability Lens

"Following the disaster at the Deepwater Horizon oil platform, Steffy decided to chronicle what occurred with BP's facilities in his most recent book, Drowning in Oil: BP and the Reckless Pursuit of Profit. The book is a chilling account of events and people's decisions leading up to the catastrophic events of April 20, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico."

ALASKA


Oil companies need rules before drilling


LOUISIANA


Oil-spill cleanup continues at beach

"At Fourchon, tar balls continue to wash up on the beach every day from oil buried in the surf... [...] To be considered clean, Fourchon Beach must have less than 1 percent distribution of oil and oiled debris, Edwards said."

VIRGINIA


A good call: Blocking drilling off Virginia's coast (LTE)


BRAZIL


Oil Spill (Natural Seep??) off Brazil - 56 Miles Long Today [Friday]


Chevron halts drilling of Brazil well after spill


Chevron drilling caused Brazil oil spill:official





Thursday, November 10, 2011

Oil Drilling News


THE GULF


Feds ignore Gulf of Mexico oil spill in study of risks associated with oil exploration

"The agency excluded the largest spill in U.S. history in its calculations "as a rough balance between the remote chance of another (Deepwater Horizon) event and the otherwise much safer performance" in the 46 years prior to the BP spill."

ALASKA


Bering Sea storm is as powerful as Category 3 hurricane

Sounds like a good place for oil drilling lease sales - NOT!

VIRGINIA


Leaders ask Obama to reconsider Va. waters


Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Oil Drilling News

MORE ON 5-YEAR LEASING PLAN


Interior Department releases offshore drilling plan


U.S. to Open New Areas to Offshore Drilling


THE GULF

BP to end cleanup operations in Gulf oil spill

"BP will officially be off the hook for any deposits of oil that wash up on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico – unless they can be traced directly to the Macondo well, it has emerged."

Coast Guard OKs Winding Down BP Oil Spill Cleanup
"Louisiana officials wouldn't give their approval because they were concerned about what they perceived as a lack of long-term monitoring in the document. They also complained that the Coast Guard gave them only five days to review the plan..."



Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Oil Drilling News


OIL/ENERGY POLICY


Obama administration to unveil 5-year offshore drilling plan

"The Obama administration is set today to unveil a plan for selling offshore drilling leases over the next five years that focuses on exploration in the Gulf of Mexico."

Interior Plan Includes More Gulf, Alaska Leases
"Specifically, those areas include five annual lease sales to begin in the fall of 2012 in the western Gulf of Mexico; five annual lease sales beginning in the spring of 2013 in the central Gulf; and two lease sales in 2014 and 2016 in the eastern Gulf that are not under congressional moratorium. Off the coast of Alaska, the Interior proposal calls for holding one lease sale in 2015 in the Beaufort Sea, one lease sale in 2016 in the Chukchi Sea, and one special-interest sale in the Cook Inlet."

U.S. Plans Lease Sales in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Alaska
"President Barack Obama's administration plans 15 offshore oil-lease sales from 2012 to 2017, keeping the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards off-limits for drilling."
 
THE GULF


Evidence shows Gulf oil spill caused widespread ecological damage

"Since the blown oil well spewed 186 million to 227 million gallons of crude into the Gulf last year, several species of fish have developed skin ulcers in what appears to be greater-than-normal numbers. Hundreds of dolphins — nearly 500 so far — have washed ashore dead, and fewer large migratory animals, such as whales sharks, have returned to their normal feeding grounds. Meanwhile, layers of dead organic matter mixed with traces of oil remain on the ocean floor. Weathered crude also persists in marshes — some of it still thick, some hardly detectable, but harmful to fish."

Oil-spill workers sought for study

"Federal researchers will be in Terrebonne Parish [LA] on Wednesday, looking for cleanup workers willing to participate in a $17.8 million study of long-term health effects from last year's Gulf of Mexico oil spill. They want to interview more than 50,000 cleanup workers in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, and have enrolled 5,000 since February. About 20,000 will be chosen for an in-home interview and periodic follow-ups over at least five years."

CUBA/FLORIDA


Oil drilling in Cuban waters stirs unease in Florida

"Spanish oil giant Repsol could begin drilling in late December or early January at a spot along the northern shore of Cuba about 90 miles from Key West. From there, the Gulf Stream could pick up any oil spill and carry it perilously close or even into mangrove islands and onto beaches in the Florida Keys, South Florida and up the U.S. eastern coastline."

ALTERNATIVES TO OIL


Here Comes the Sun

"We are, or at least we should be, on the cusp of an energy transformation, driven by the rapidly falling cost of solar power. That's right, solar power. "
       

Oil Drilling News


OIL/ENERGY POLICY


Obama administration to unveil 5-year offshore drilling plan

"The Obama administration is set today to unveil a plan for selling offshore drilling leases over the next five years that focuses on exploration in the Gulf of Mexico."

Interior Plan Includes More Gulf, Alaska Leases
"Specifically, those areas include five annual lease sales to begin in the fall of 2012 in the western Gulf of Mexico; five annual lease sales beginning in the spring of 2013 in the central Gulf; and two lease sales in 2014 and 2016 in the eastern Gulf that are not under congressional moratorium. Off the coast of Alaska, the Interior proposal calls for holding one lease sale in 2015 in the Beaufort Sea, one lease sale in 2016 in the Chukchi Sea, and one special-interest sale in the Cook Inlet."

U.S. Plans Lease Sales in Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Alaska
"President Barack Obama's administration plans 15 offshore oil-lease sales from 2012 to 2017, keeping the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards off-limits for drilling."
 
THE GULF


Evidence shows Gulf oil spill caused widespread ecological damage

"Since the blown oil well spewed 186 million to 227 million gallons of crude into the Gulf last year, several species of fish have developed skin ulcers in what appears to be greater-than-normal numbers. Hundreds of dolphins — nearly 500 so far — have washed ashore dead, and fewer large migratory animals, such as whales sharks, have returned to their normal feeding grounds. Meanwhile, layers of dead organic matter mixed with traces of oil remain on the ocean floor. Weathered crude also persists in marshes — some of it still thick, some hardly detectable, but harmful to fish."

Oil-spill workers sought for study

"Federal researchers will be in Terrebonne Parish [LA] on Wednesday, looking for cleanup workers willing to participate in a $17.8 million study of long-term health effects from last year's Gulf of Mexico oil spill. They want to interview more than 50,000 cleanup workers in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, and have enrolled 5,000 since February. About 20,000 will be chosen for an in-home interview and periodic follow-ups over at least five years."

CUBA/FLORIDA


Oil drilling in Cuban waters stirs unease in Florida

"Spanish oil giant Repsol could begin drilling in late December or early January at a spot along the northern shore of Cuba about 90 miles from Key West. From there, the Gulf Stream could pick up any oil spill and carry it perilously close or even into mangrove islands and onto beaches in the Florida Keys, South Florida and up the U.S. eastern coastline."

ALTERNATIVES TO OIL


Here Comes the Sun

"We are, or at least we should be, on the cusp of an energy transformation, driven by the rapidly falling cost of solar power. That's right, solar power. "
       

Monday, November 7, 2011

Oil Drilling News


OIL/ENERGY POLICY


Bill would require rescue boats within three nautical miles of active offshore oil, gas rigs


We Found Oil! Is That Good?

"Companies can now extract oil and natural gas from the high Arctic, shale, oil sands and deepwater wells. These fossil fuels are still finite and dwindling, but tapping the new sources pushes back the date of "peak oil." Does that give the United States necessary time to develop sustainable energy sources, or will it keep Americans needlessly addicted to dirty fuels by keeping them cheap -- and eroding the "energy security" argument?"

THE GULF


Gulf spill still affecting environment, industries

"The local environment and industries like tourism and seafood are still recovering from last year's BP oil spill, which released as much as 4.8 million barrels of oil after the Deepwater Horizon platform exploded, killing 11 men and creating a months-long gusher of oil from the bottom of the Gulf."

Oil Spills Are Forever: BP Gets Slap on the Wrist for Oil Disaster (Part Two)
"The main voice opposing the "slap-on-the-wrist" measures against BP is US Rep. Edward Markey, who calls for stronger penalties. Under law, fines are capped at $35,000 a day, per incident for the violations, which Markey estimates to be just seven hours worth of BP's profits. "That fine obviously does not even begin to approach the amount needed to be a deterrent against a repeat of this tragedy. That fine is a slap on the wrist," Markey said."

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Oil Drilling News


THE GULF


Scientists find low but possibly harmful Gulf contamination

"Scientists from the National Aquarium and the Johns Hopkins University say they've found low but potentially harmful levels of toxic oil contaminants in the Gulf of Mexico months after the Deepwater Horizon well blowout was capped. Erik Rifkin, interim executive director of the aquarium's conservation center, and Yongseok Hong, a post-doctoral fellow at Hopkins, say that using devices that mimic the way fish absorb contaminants in their environment, they've detected oil-related chemical compounds on the Louisiana coast that traditional water sampling methods mostly missed."

OIL/ENERGY POLICY


Feds issue record number of deep-water drilling permits in October

"Government permitting of offshore drilling projects soared in October, as federal regulators signed off on 13 deep-water wells during the month — the most since the administration lifted a moratorium on that offshore exploration a year ago."