During my company’s eight-year run as an operator in the Gulf of Mexico, we found and produced about one day’s worth of U.S. natural gas consumption and a few hours worth of oil production. That may not sound like much, but the economic activity of independent oil and gas companies sustains much of the Gulf Coast region and provides thousands of jobs. All that is | Read More »
In a rational world, the Federal government would act as a motivated lease owner who was interested in promoting the safe and environmentally responsible development of his mineral resource, consistent with sound conservation practice. That’s why there’s a permit process in the first place. Since Macondo, that’s backwards. Operating practices must conform to the permitting process that has, um, evolved in a purely political environment: | Read More »
A new study from IHS-CERA, one of the leading energy think tanks, projects the cost of the Department of the Interior’s ongoing regulatory slowdown and its impact on the energy industry, employment in the coastal states, and the U.S. economy in general. The study, released on Thursday, was commissioned by the Gulf Economic Survival Team (GEST). We’re beginning to see the true cost of an | Read More »
On April 20, 2010, an explosion and fire on the Transocean drilling rig Deepwater Horizon caused the deaths of 11 rig workers. The subsequent blowout flowed uncontrolled to the Gulf of Mexico, ultimately spilling an estimated 5 million barrels of crude oil over the next 100 days. The regulatory aftermath continues to this day. “Vladimir” wrote dozens of diaries at RedState on the engineering, environmental, | Read More »
In 2011, Gulf of Mexico oil production will under-perform the government’s pre-Macondo forecasts by 355,000 barrels per day — almost 130 million barrels for the year. In 2012, the shortfall rises to 550,000 barrels per day — 200 million barrels. That’s fully one-third of the Gulf’s oil producing capability, and over 10% of total domestic oil production. These are staggering numbers. Alaska, our #1 oil | Read More »
A little more than two short years ago we heard presidential candidates vowing to fight to prevent rapid spikes in gas prices at the pump. Well, here we are again not too far in the future and $4.00 per gallon gas could be right around the corner. Like you, I’m hardly surprised. The unrest in the Middle East should really clarify for President Obama that | Read More »
Via Instapundit comes this story warning that restaurant food prices are about to sharply rise. The challenge for the government? Why, finding who to blame, of course. After all: can’t blame it on short-sighted conversion of corn crops into ethanol; the government’s pushing for even more use of ethanol, despite the objections of the auto industry. Can’t blame it on higher gas prices; the government | Read More »
Offshore oil and gas wells typically are able to produce at high rates at the beginning of their lives. Reserves are not infinite, so that means a rapid natural rate of decline as reserves deplete. “Reserve replacement” is a big issue; we often say that every day that you don’t replace production in the oilfield means you’re just slowly going out of business. How do | Read More »
Contra the Washington Post, the seven-year moratorium on new Atlantic, Pacific, and Eastern Gulf of Mexico oil drilling that will be announced today does not particularly mean that we’re going to allow new drilling in any of the other areas available to us, either*. It merely means that these were the bans that the administration had to get on with right now before an annoyed | Read More »
The President’s post-election remarks contained something of an “olive branch” to Congressional Republicans. It came in the form of a broad hint that the Administration might backpedal on its opposition to natural gas development. Obama’s Enthusiasm for Gas Drilling Raises Eyebrows “We’ve got, I think, broad agreement that we’ve got terrific natural gas resources in this country,” Obama said when he was pressed for issues | Read More »
Remember back when BP severed the riser, so they could install the cap, the one that finally controlled the spill? Here is a photo taken by an ROV just after the severing was completed. The photo shows the outer shell of the riser, at one time a 21-inch cylinder, collapsed like a Coke can by the severing tool. Inside the collapsed riser are what appear | Read More »
As reported by Politico, Harry Reid has decided not to advance the Democrats’ Senate energy bill prior to the body’s scheduled August recess. The matter will be reconsidered when the Senate returns after Labor Day. Senate Democrats punt on spill bill “It’s a sad day when you can’t find a handful of Republicans to support a bill … that would hold BP accountable for the worst | Read More »
Interior Secretary Salazar imposed a moratorium on deepwater drilling until November 30, contrary to the recommendation of a panel of experts from the National Academy of Engineering. For operations on the shallow water Shelf, the administration maintains, no official moratorium is in place. After all, the Shelf still enjoys a forty-year history of relatively safe and clean operations that is still intact, being several orders | Read More »
In Deepwater Well Construction 101, we covered some of the basics of drilling oil wells in 5,000 feet of water. Now, you have a chance to hear from someone who actually knows what they’re talking about. Shell drilling engineer Joe Leimkuhler recently presented “How We Drill for Oil and Gas” at the Aspen Ideas Festival of the Aspen Institute. It’s 50 minutes long, but packed | Read More »
Behold the passion of the inimitable Billy Nungesser, speaking against the Obama drilling moratorium at yesterday’s Rally for Economic Survival in Lafayette, LA.
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