Public Comment for Four New Deepwater EAs
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today announced that public comment is invited with respect to four Environmental Assessments (EA) for Exploration Plans (EP). The EPs involve deepwater activity in the Gulf of Mexico and were completed in accordance with new safety and environmental standards implemented since the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. Consistent with federal regulations, an EP is deemed “submitted” once all supporting materials and documentation has been provided. Once a plan is deemed submitted, BOEMRE has 30 calendar days to analyze and evaluate it. The 30-day time frame…
Keppel to Deliver Fourth ENSCO 8500 Rig
Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS) is on track to deliver ENSCO 8503, the fourth of seven ENSCO 8500 Series semisubmersible drilling rigs being built exclusively for Ensco plc (NYSE: ESV). ENSCO 8503 is scheduled to commence a two-year primary term with Cobalt International Energy, L.P. in the Gulf of Mexico in early 2011. The rig was named at Keppel FELS by Lady Sponsor, Cynthia Bryant, spouse of Joseph H. Bryant, Chairman & CEO of Cobalt International Energy, L.P., in the presence of Guest of Honor, Ho Ching, Executive Director & CEO of Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd. Daniel W.
Gray, CFO Cobalt International Energy, L.P.
Cobalt International Energy, L.P. named Rodney Gray as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, effective June 1, 2009. Prior to joining Cobalt, Gray held the position of Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Colonial Pipeline in Atlanta, where he has been since 2003. Prior to Colonial, Gray had a career with Transco Energy Company and its successor company Enron Corporation. Gray held numerous senior executive positions at Enron, including Senior Vice President of Finance and Treasurer, Chairman and CEO of Enron International, and Chairman and CEO of Enron Global Power and Pipelines. He was also Vice Chairman of Azurix. (www.cobaltintl.com)
Federal Lease Sale Draws Second Highest Bid Totals
The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service recent central Gulf of Mexico lease sale received 1,428 bids on 723 tracts, attracting $2.9 billion in high bids – the second highest total in U.S. leasing history. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, who officially opened the sale, said the bids made a statement concerning the future of the Gulf of Mexico. “This historic sale emphasizes the Gulf’s strategic value for America’s energy security and the significant economic benefits of environmentally safe oil and gas production for the nation and the Gulf states,” Kempthorne said. The Gulf accounts for about a quarter of domestically produced oil and 15 percent of domestically produced natural gas in the nation.
