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Valerie News

03 Dec 2023

COP28: US Cracking Down on Methane from Oil and Gas

Credit: COP28 / Anthony Fleyhan

The Biden administration on Saturday unveiled final rules aimed at cracking down on US oil and gas industry releases of methane, part of a global plan to rein in emissions that contribute to climate change.The rules, two years in the making, were announced by US officials at the United Nations COP28 climate change conference in Dubai. The US and other nations attending the summit are expected to detail how they will achieve a 150-country pledge made two years ago to slash methane emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030.Methane tends to leak into the atmosphere undetected from drill sites…

27 Nov 2023

COP28 Puts Spotlight on Methane Pledges

Source: Global Methane Pledge

Delegates at this year's U.N. COP28 climate summit are anxious to boost the world's climate change agenda with concrete plans for clamping down on the second-most prominent greenhouse gas – methane.While more than 150 countries have promised since 2021 to slash their methane emissions 30% from 2020 levels by 2030 under the U.S.- and EU-led Global Methane Pledge, few have detailed how they will achieve this.What is needed now is to turn those pledges into urgent action – with financial…

06 Nov 2023

White House Says Orsted Remains 'Committed' to US Offshore Wind

© Dragon Claws / Adobe Stock

Denmark's Orsted is still "committed" to developing offshore wind farms in the United States despite the company's cancellation of two projects off the coast of New Jersey, White House senior advisor John Podesta told Reuters on Monday.Podesta spoke with the company after its shock decision last week, he said in an interview. The discussion underscores the Biden administration's keen interest in offshore wind to further the nation's climate change goals by adding zero-emissions power generation."Orsted is moving forward with one of its projects here. I think they remain committed to the U.S.

30 Oct 2023

US Reviews of Gas-export Permits Slow Under Biden Administration

© Wojciech Wrzesień  / Adobe Stock

U.S. Department of Energy reviews for liquefied natural gas (LNG) export permits have lengthened under President Joe Biden's administration to 11 months or more, from seven weeks, according to government data.The delay could mean nearly completed LNG projects may not being able to supply big European buyers because of a lack of the permit. Increasing LNG exports is opposed by some U.S. industries who fear it could raise domestic prices, while environmental groups have raised concerns about continued expansion of a fossil fuel industry.Big swaths of U.S.

05 Jul 2023

US Approves Construction for Orsted's Ocean Wind Project off New Jersey

© esbobeldijk / Adobe Stock

The Biden administration on Wednesday approved construction of an offshore windfarm that will generate 1,100 megawatts of power from up to 98 turbines off the coast of Atlantic City, New Jersey, becoming the third such project in the United States.Approval of Orsted's Ocean Wind by the Interior Department is the administration's latest move toward meeting its goal of developing 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind in the U.S.

11 Jan 2023

Elizabeth Klein Named BOEM Director

Elizabeth Klein (Photo: BOEM)

The U.S. Interior Department on Tuesday named Elizabeth Klein, a lawyer who worked in the Obama and Clinton administrations, to head the bureau that oversees offshore oil, gas and wind development.Klein will take over for the current head of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Amanda Lefton, who has resigned from the post effective Jan.

03 Jan 2023

US Lease Sale off Alaska Coast Draws One Bid

© Paul / Adobe Stock

The U.S. government on Friday received just a single bid, from Hilcorp Alaska, for oil and gas drilling rights off the coast of Alaska the first federal auction in the region in more than five years.The offer of nearly 1 million acres in the Cook Inlet was among the concessions to the oil and gas sector included in President Joe Biden's signature climate change law, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).Under the law, the Interior Department is required to hold the sale by Dec. 31.

24 Oct 2022

Spain Moves Yacht Linked to Russian Oligarch After Payments Stop

Spanish authorities moved a luxury yacht linked to the sanctioned head of Russian defence group Rostec after the shipyard where it was berthed stopped receiving payments for its repairs, a transport ministry source said.The multi-million-dollar Valerie was transferred to a marina last month, the source and other officials said, highlighting the logistical challenges authorities have faced managing vessels being held across Europe because of sanctions imposed over Russia's military actions in Ukraine.Spain ordered the ship "frozen" - meaning the vessel can not be used or sold - in March, saying it was acting on European Union sanctions.

18 Aug 2022

US Court Vacates Decision to Block Federal Oil, Gas Leasing Pause

Credit: Lukas Z/AdoheStock

A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday vacated a lower court's decision to block the Biden administration's pause on new oil and gas leasing on federal land and waters - a key piece of the president's climate change strategy - and sent the case back to that court for further proceedings.The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the Louisiana district court decision to block the Interior Department's leasing pause after Louisiana and a dozen states sued the administration established…

08 Jul 2022

Cheniere Asks Biden Admin to Drop Pollution Rule

© Wojciech Wrzesień / Adobe Stock

Cheniere Energy Inc has asked the Biden administration to exempt it from limits on emissions of cancer-causing pollutants, arguing they would force the top U.S. exporter of liquefied natural gas to shut for an extended period and endanger the country's efforts to ramp up supplies to Europe, according to documents reviewed by Reuters.The request imposes an uncomfortable dilemma on President Joe Biden’s administration as it tries to balance efforts to slash pollution from the fossil…

20 May 2022

U.S. Preparing New Five-year Plan for Offshore Oil and Gas Auctions

Credit: Stephanie/AdobeStock

The Biden administration will propose a new five-year plan for offshore oil and gas development by June 30, the date when the current plan expires, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said on Thursday.The announcement comes as the administration has faced pressure from Republican lawmakers to expand domestic drilling to address soaring fuel costs. President Joe Biden, however, wants to reform the federal government's oil and gas program to consider its impacts on climate change.Haaland testified before the Senate energy committee to answer questions on the administration's 2023 budget proposal…

11 May 2022

Total, Duke Are Winners of Latest US Offshore Wind Auction

© Fokke / Adobe Stock

France energy giant TotalEnergies and U.S. power company Duke Energy Corp were the winners of two offshore wind leases in federal waters off the coast of North and South Carolina on Wednesday, the Interior Department said in a statement.Winning bids amounted to $315 million, with Duke paying $155 million and TotalEnergies paying $160 million.The auction total was far less than the $4.37 billion in high bids generated at a February wind auction off the coast of New York and New…

17 Mar 2022

US Approves More Exports from Major LNG Terminals

© scandamerican / Adobe Stock

The Biden administration said on Wednesday it had authorized additional exports of liquefied natural gas from two major facilities on the U.S. Gulf Coast, in a move that could help Europe deal with an energy crunch worsened by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.The Department of Energy (DOE) issued approvals allowing major supplier Cheniere Energy to export the equivalent of 0.72 billion cubic feet per day (bcfpd) of the supercooled fuel from its Sabine Pass, Louisiana and Corpus Christi…

16 Mar 2022

Spain Detains Yacht Thought to Be Owned by Rosneft CEO

Spanish authorities on Wednesday detained a mega-yacht called "Crescent" that is believed to belong to Igor Sechin, the sanctioned chief executive of Russian oil giant Rosneft, a police source told Reuters.The 135-metre-long yacht, described by specialist publications as one of the biggest in the world, sails under a Cayman Islands flag and arrived in Spain from Italy in November 2021, according to monitoring site Marine Traffic.Spain's Transport Ministry, which confirmed the detention but not the ownership, said it docked in the Mediterranean port city of Tarragona on November 2 and had sought permission from the coast guard to depart…

28 Feb 2022

Enthusiasm for Clean Energy Undeniable, Sec. Haaland Says after Record U.S. Offshore Wind Lease Sale

©Dominic Dudley/AdobeStock

The Biden administration's sale of offshore wind development rights off the coasts of New York and New Jersey drew a record $4.37 billion in high bids from developers that included major European energy companies.The auction, which began on Wednesday and stretched into Friday afternoon, is the first offshore wind lease sale under U.S. President Joe Biden, who sees the expansion of the industry as a way to tackle climate change and create jobs.The administration has set a goal to install some 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030 along the nation's coastlines and several states…

28 Feb 2022

Third Day of Bidding: U.S. Offshore Wind Auction Nears $4B

Credit: Ian Dyball/AdobeStock

The Biden administration's sale of offshore wind development rights off the coasts of New York and New Jersey continued to shatter all records on Friday, reaching over $3.8 billion with one single block fetching over $1 billion.The auction, which began on Wednesday, is the first offshore wind lease sale under U.S. President Joe Biden, who sees the expansion of offshore wind as a way to tackle climate change and create thousands of new jobs.The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)…

28 Jan 2022

U.S. Judge Annuls Gulf of Mexico Oil Auction Over Climate Impact

A drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico - Credit:flyingrussian/AdobeStock

A federal judge invalidated the results of an oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday saying the Biden administration failed to properly account for the auction's climate change impact.The decision has cast uncertainty over the future of the U.S. federal offshore drilling program, which has been a big source of public revenue for decades but also drawn the ire of activists concerned about its impact on the environment and contribution to global warming.The Gulf of Mexico accounts for 15% of existing U.S.

29 Nov 2021

U.S. Oil Drilling Review Proposes Higher Fees, Development Curbs

Credit: otmman/AdobeStock

The Biden administration proposed a slew of changes on Friday to the nation's federal oil and gas leasing program, including hiking fees on drilling companies and limiting their access to sensitive wildlife and cultural zones.The recommendations followed a months-long review aimed at ensuring drilling on federal lands and waters benefits the public. But in a sign of the extreme controversy surrounding the issue, environmental groups slammed the proposals as too weak and the industry…

26 Nov 2021

U.S. Interior Department Set to Release Federal Oil Leasing Review

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The U.S. Interior Department will release a long-awaited report reviewing the environmental costs and economic benefits of the nation's federal oil and gas leasing program as early as Friday, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.President Joe Biden's administration launched the review earlier this year in what had been widely seen as a first step in delivering on a campaign promise to end new federal fossil fuel drilling to fight climate change.The report, however…

05 Sep 2021

Divers to Try to Locate Oil Spill Source in U.S. Gulf of Mexico

Illustration only - Credit: vejaa/AdobeStock

A private dive team will try to locate the source of a suspected oil spill spotted in the Bay Marchand area of the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, after Hurricane Ida wreaked havoc in the region this week, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Saturday.U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite images, first reported by the Associated Press on Wednesday, showed a miles-long brownish-black slick spreading in coastal waters about two miles off Port Fourchon, Louisiana, an oil…

18 Jun 2021

Biden May Hinder Oil and Gas Drilling Despite Court Loss

Credit; Lukasz Z/AdobeStock

U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has the power to stymie oil and gas development on government-controlled lands and waters, industry and environmental experts said, even though a court decision ended his freeze on federal drilling auctions.Some options, they said, include offering sparse acreage or imposing more time-consuming permitting requirements."We lived through the Obama administration, and they did a lot of things to constrain leasing and other activity on federal lands…

08 Jun 2021

US Explores Wind Energy Potential in Gulf of Mexico

©  Fokke / Adobe Stock

The Biden administration on Tuesday said it will explore the potential of offshore wind energy development in the Gulf of Mexico, part of its goal to supercharge growth in clean energy over the next decade."This is an important first step to see what role the Gulf may play in this exciting frontier,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement.While the Gulf of Mexico is a major hub for offshore oil and gas production, it has had little renewable energy development. President Joe Biden has made the expansion of clean energy…

25 May 2021

US to Review 16 Offshore Wind Project Plans, Advance New Lease Areas by 2025

Illustration - Credit:bphoto/AdobeStock

The Biden administration will seek to approve more than a dozen offshore wind projects in the next four years and open new areas for leasing off the coast of California as it seeks to supercharge development of the nascent U.S. industry, an Interior Department official said on Tuesday.The effort is part of the administration’s broader plan to fight climate change by decarbonizing the U.S. power sector by 2035 and the entire economy by 2050.Amanda Lefton, director of Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, told the Reuters U.S.