Drilling Moratorium News

Former Louisiana state official Scott A. Angelle will head-up the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). Angelle, who most recently served as Vice Chairman of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, will assume his new position May 23. “Scott Angelle brings a wealth of experience to BSEE, having spent many years working for the safe and efficient energy production of both Louisiana’s and our country’s offshore resources,” Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said.

Ben Billings serves as President & CEO of the Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA), a nationwide trade association headquartered in New Orleans that represents more than 200 member companies. OMSA’s membership includes approximately 100 firms operating more than 1,200 vessels that provide transportation services to the offshore oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico and around the world. It’s arguably a very good time to be at the helm of OMSA, with a resurgent U.S.

Portable, cutting edge technology for critical shipyard applications. Discussions that involve global shipbuilding in today’s complicated economic environment are anything but a cut and dried proposition. For example, international shipbuilding, slowed by the overbuilt containership and tanker sector and a lingering recession, finds itself retrenching for the next boom and hoping to capitalize on retrofit and repair markets that will very soon be the beneficiary of mandatory ballast water treatment installations. Closer to home, a robust recapitalization of the domestic inland, offshore and even the bluewater sectors promises one of the longest cyclical upswings in history. Optimism for U.S.

The Offshore Marine Service Association announced that it will begin a transition of leadership. Several months ago, President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Adams informed the OMSA Board of Directors that he would be stepping down by the end of the year to manage a startup business that he and his partners have developed in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. “Jim has done an outstanding job and he will be genuinely missed. He has expertly guided OMSA through some difficult waters.

Lockport, La.-based Bollinger Shipyards, Inc. is humming with work from oil and gas companies and government agencies. Family-owned and operated, Bollinger has 10 shipyards -- nine in south Louisiana and one in Texas -- along with 28 drydocks and 3,000 employees in four administrative locations. Last month, we caught up with Ben Bordelon, Bollinger’s Executive Vice President of Repair, for his outlook on the firm and the Gulf of Mexico. Bordelon is the nephew of Boysie Bollinger, who has been at the helm as CEO since 1985.

Megan Bel joined the staff of the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) as Senior Director, Government and Political Affairs. She comes to NOIA from the Office of Congressman Steve Scalise (R-LA) where she served as Legislative Director since 2008. She also recently served as Deputy Director of the Republican Study Committee. Bel staffed Congressman Scalise’s House Energy and Commerce Committee work from 2009-2013 and his House Natural Resources Committee work in 2008. She also advised the Congressman in his roles on the Gulf Coast Caucus, Western Caucus, House Energy Action Team and the Natural Gas Caucus. During and after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill…

Caveats and some doubts remain. Marine companies along the Gulf of Mexico will be busy in 2013 producing offshore vessels to meet expected growth in the region’s deepwater drilling sector over the next several years. Vessel repairs will be active too. Worker training will be stepped up to address a skilled labor shortage. And nearly three years after BP’s spill off coastal Louisiana, safety will remain a priority. But with the nation teetering on a fiscal cliff – which may spur tax increases and government spending cuts – demand for official and military vessels could be affected…

Following the hubbub created in 2009-2010 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) proposed modification and revocation of certain Jones Act ruling letters pertaining to offshore operations, all was relatively quiet in 2011-2012 with respect to Jones Act offshore issues. Indeed, in the aftermath of the tragic Deepwater Horizon incident in 2010, which included the implementation of more prescriptive regulatory and environmental requirements and a deepwater drilling moratorium…

Quest Offshore characterizes the U.S. Gulf of Mexico as a deepwater region that is “Transitioning into a Bright Future.” According to the recently released 116-page Quest Deepwater Review Gulf of Mexico report, the Gulf of Mexico has experienced massive changes in the last 5 years with long-term implications for the region and the wider deepwater oil and gas market. The worldwide financial crisis and subsequent recession, shale gas’ implications on U.S. natural gas prices, the Macondo incident and changes to the regulatory regime have been the prime movers.

Growing In Deepwater Gulf of Mexico. As the feds issue more drilling permits for the Gulf, demand for offshore support vessels in the GOM deepwater sector has accelerated, industry members say. Anger about the government's spill-related, drilling moratorium--which ended a year and a half ago--has given way to optimism recently. The region's shallow-water sector, nevertheless remains slow and gives little cause for cheer. Paul Candies, president and chief executive of Otto Candies…

The M/V Aiviq icebreaker, contracted by Shell Oil to support drilling in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea, is scheduled to be completed by Louisiana-based Edison Chouest Offshore in early 2012. The vessel, ordered in July 2009, is on track for April 1, 2012, delivery in Galliano, La., and will then head north, according to Shell Oil spokesman Curtis Smith. The $200m Aiviq is the largest vessel ever built by Chouest, and will be among the most advanced and powerful, non-military icebreakers on the waters.

More than a decade ago, deepwater oil production in the Gulf of Mexico surpassed shallow water output for the first time ever. These days, rigs are found hundreds of miles offshore. Companies need to get equipment, employees, fuel and mud to those sites economically and usually on a tight schedule. Gulf marine companies are trying to meet those requirements by increasing the speed, size and energy efficiency of their vessels--though not necessarily all at once. Shane Guidry, Chief Executive Officer of Harvey Gulf International Marine…

As seen in the August edition of MarineNews, Susan Buchanan updates readers on the GOM oil production situation. BP's gushing well was capped more than a year ago but life is hardly back to normal in the U.S. Gulf--where rigs and vessels remain underutilized. At least ten rigs have moved overseas since last summer. Gulf oil production is below pre-spill levels and won't recover anytime soon, analysts say. Issuance of drilling permits picked up this spring as operators agreed to use oil-containment systems but permitting lags earlier rates.

The next MTS Houston Section luncheon will be held on August 25 2011 and will feature a presentation by Paul Hillegeist, Quest Offshore. Paul will provide an overview of a new study released in July by the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API). The study reveals the nationwide jobs and economic impact of the Gulf of Mexico offshore oil and gas industry and the effect of permitting on the job figures. According to the study conducted by Quest Offshore Inc., the Gulf offshore oil and gas industry supported more than 240,000 jobs across the country in 2010, while contributing more than $26 billion to the nation’s GDP. The Gulf offshore oil and gas industry supports tens of thousands of jobs outside the Gulf of Mexico.

--Senior unsecured notes at 'BBB-'. The Rating Outlook is Stable. Approximately $700 million in total debt is outstanding at SEACOR. SEACOR's ratings are supported by the company's historically stable credit profile, diversity of operations, and the size, diversity and quality of the company's fleet of offshore vessels. The company's conservative credit profile is further supported by management's willingness to maintain large cash and securities balances throughout industry cycles, which have resulted in the company typically maintaining very low (and often negative) leverage levels as measured on a net debt basis. In addition, management retains significant flexibility to reduce capital expenditure levels during industry downturns.

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) Director Michael R. Bromwich delivered remarks June 22 at the 5th annual World National Oil Companies Congress in London. The World National Oil Companies Congress brings together senior executives from national oil companies and government leaders from around the world to discuss global energy issues. Director Bromwich is attending this year's meeting to further the bureau’s efforts to expand bilateral and multilateral cooperation with regulatory counterparts around the globe, especially in light of the recommendations of the National Commission on the Deepwater…

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) approved a fifth deepwater drilling permit on March 24 that complies with rigorous new safety standards implemented in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill. This includes satisfying the requirement to demonstrate the capacity to contain a subsea blowout. The approved permit is a revised permit to drill a new well for Chevron USA Inc.’s Well #1 in Keathley Canyon Block 736 in 6,750 ft. water depth, approximately 216 miles off the Louisiana coastline, south of Lafayette, La. Today’s is the first deepwater permit approved for completely new exploration since the deepwater drilling moratorium was lifted…

On Feb. 28, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) approved the first deepwater drilling permit since the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill. Noble Energy’s application for a permit to bypass is for Well #2 in Mississippi Canyon Block 519, approximately 70 miles south east of Venice, La. “This permit represents a significant milestone for us and for the offshore oil and gas industry, and is an important step towards safely developing deepwater energy supplies offshore,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich. “This permit was issued for one simple reason: the operator successfully demonstrated that it can drill its deepwater well safely and that it is capable of containing a subsea blowout if it were to occur.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today issued additional guidance regarding the steps required of operators to resume deepwater activity. This information contains no new or additional regulatory requirements, but instead provides additional information to assist the oil and gas industry in their efforts to comply with recently-issued rules and prior guidance. “As we continue to strengthen oversight and safety and environmental protections, we must ensure that the oil and gas industry has clear direction on what is expected,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich. “Following discussions with members of the oil and gas industry…

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today issued additional guidance regarding the steps required of operators to resume deepwater activity. This information contains no new or additional regulatory requirements, but instead provides additional information to assist the oil and gas industry in their efforts to comply with recently-issued rules and prior guidance. “As we continue to strengthen oversight and safety and environmental protections, we must ensure that the oil and gas industry has clear direction on what is expected,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich. “Following discussions with members of the oil and gas industry…

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) notified 13 companies whose deepwater drilling activities were suspended by last year’s deepwater drilling moratorium that they may be able to resume those previously-approved activities without the need to submit revised exploration or development plans for supplemental National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews. Before resuming those activities without additional NEPA review, however, the companies must comply with BOEMRE’s new policies and regulations. “Going forward, we are substantially enhancing our environmental reviews and analysis under NEPA,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich.

One thing we can look forward to in the new year and beyond is the implementation and development of more regulations. Through a series of unfortunate events, the marine industry seems to have become a prime target for scrutiny, which may or may not be warranted. The onus of compliance established its momentum with the potential threat of terrorists on the waterways; thus, we received the requirement for T.W.I.C. cards that somehow create a shield of security. In addition to new security measures, we have lately seen stronger environmental regulations for emissions and vessel discharge.

Companies building vessels on the U.S. Gulf are servicing a flock of domestic and overseas clients while their offshore oil and gas customers wait for Washington to issue more drilling permits and safety rules. Some of the region's builders are busy making repairs. After a federal ban on deepwater drilling ended in October — three months after BP's well was capped — the Gulf remains quiet, but industry members expect business to improve eventually. Gulf vessel builders have seemingly ignored an old sailors' warning to “never plant you right and left feet in two different boats.” Instead…