Study Reveals the Gulf of Mexico Permitting Mess

By: Steve Maley (Diary)  |  May 31st at 09:00 AM  | 

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 »

Exxon’s Offshore Lawsuit: The Rest of the Story

By: Steve Maley (Diary)  |  August 24th at 10:00 AM  | 

Last week, ExxonMobil filed a lawsuit against the Department of the Interior in the Western District of Louisiana. The lawsuit alleges that DOI, through the Minerals Management Service (MMS), acted improperly in cancelling three leases owned by ExxonMobil and Statoil, its 50% partner. The leases are in a field designated “Julia”, which lies in 7,000 feet of water, some 200 miles off the Louisiana coast. | Read More »

Lies, Damned Lies and DOI Press Releases

By: Steve Maley (Diary)  |  March 30th at 12:30 PM  | 

In an effort to deflect blame for high gasoline prices away from the Obama Administration, the Department of the Interior today released a report which purports to show that the oil and gas industry, not DOI or BOEMRE, is guilty of dragging its feet on offshore energy exploration and development. This, in spite of a 10 month regulatory moratorium/permitorium that has brought new well drilling | Read More »

Obama Finds ‘Strange New Respect’ For Natural Gas

By: Steve Maley (Diary)  |  November 6th at 12:00 PM  | 

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 »