Energy Exploration News

The much-needed replacement for the U.S. Coast Guard’s long-serving medium endurance cutters (WMEC) took a giant step closer to joining the fleet as the first Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) was launched and christened at Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) in Panama City, Fla. on October 27, 2023.The future USCGC Argus (WMSM 915) was christened by the ship’s sponsor, Captain (Ret.) Beverly Kelley, the first woman to command a U.S. military vessel, the 95-foot patrol boat, USCGC Cape Newagen (WPB 95318).

China will on Friday conduct sea trials for its first ocean research drilling vessel, capable of drilling at depths of more than 10,000 meters (32,800 feet), a key step towards beefing up the country's deep-sea oil and gas exploration capabilities.It is China's first vessel capable of ultra-deepwater research and drilling, Chinese state media reported on Monday. It can travel 15,000 nautical miles (27,780 kilometers) and operate for 120 consecutive days without returning to port.

National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) President Erik Milito has said that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issue of a Notice to Lessees (NTL) with recommended restrictions on ongoing industry activities within the expanded Rice's Whale habitat area imposes “unwarranted restrictions on U.S. energy production at a time of continued inflation with prices rising at the pump for consumers.”With likely fewer than 100 individuals remaining, Rice's whales are one of the most endangered whales in the world.

The Supreme Court in the Philippines on Tuesday declared the country's 2005 energy exploration agreement with Chinese and Vietnamese firms was illegal, ruling that the constitution does not allow foreign entities to exploit natural resources. The decision, on an agreement that expired in 2008, could complicate efforts by China to revive oil and gas exploration talks with the Philippines in areas of the South China Sea that are not in dispute. The court gave no explanation for why the ruling came 14 years after a petition was filed.

Israeli and Lebanese leaders finalised a U.S-brokered maritime demarcation on Thursday, bringing a measure of accommodation between the enemy states as they eye offshore energy exploration.Leaders from Lebanon, Israel and the United States have all hailed the deal as "historic" but the possibility of a wider diplomatic breakthrough remains slim. As a result, there was no joint signing ceremony: Lebanese President Michel Aoun signed a letter approving the deal at his palace in Baabda in the presence of the U.S.

Israel's Supreme Court on Sunday rejected petitions that would have held up a landmark U.S.-brokered deal setting a maritime border with Lebanon, which Washington predicted could be finalized on Thursday. Four groups, including an Israeli opposition lawmaker, had asked the court to force the government - which is looking to fast-track the deal ahead of a Nov. 1 election - to instead hold a full vote in parliament. The court's decision eliminates one of the last hurdles in Israel that could disrupt the deal.

U.S. energy envoy Amos Hochstein will be in Beirut next week carrying a copy of the maritime agreement with Israel for Lebanese officials to sign, Lebanese negotiator Elias Bou Saab told Reuters on Wednesday. The deal - hailed by all three parties as a historic achievement - marks a diplomatic departure from decades of war and hostility and once in force will open the door to offshore energy exploration. "Hochstein will be in Beirut next week with the agreement that we will sign," Bou Saab said. He did not say when the deal would be signed.

The Lebanese army said on Sunday that Israeli gunboats violated Lebanese territorial waters several times on Saturday in an area opposite Ras Naqura near the border between the two countries, an accusation Israel denied.The statement said there were four violations where gunboats entered several hundred meters inside Lebanese waters and that authorities were discussing the violations with a United Nations Interim Force.An Israeli military statement said there "was no crossing…

Top Israeli ministers on Wednesday endorsed a U.S.-brokered deal to delineate a maritime border with Lebanon, paving the way for a potentially fractious two-week parliamentary review before it goes into force.Prime Minister Yair Lapid's security cabinet said the deal should be "urgently" green-lit, according to a statement following the meeting.If finalized, the agreement - hailed on Tuesday by all three parties involved as a historic achievement - would mark a diplomatic departure from decades of war and hostility as well as opening the door to offshore energy exploration.

Israel gave its preliminary nod on Sunday to a draft U.S.-brokered deal demarcating a maritime border with Lebanon that may lead to profit-sharing in a disputed Mediterranean gas prospect. Hoping to defuse one source of conflict between the hostile countries and prod them toward accommodation, U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein last week submitted a new proposal that would pave the way for offshore energy exploration.After years of stop-start shuttle diplomacy, agreement seems closer than ever.

The head of Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Thursday that his group could stop Israel from extracting gas from a maritime field that Beirut says lies in disputed waters, adding Hezbollah is "not afraid of war."Lebanon warned Israel on Sunday against any "aggressive action" in disputed waters where both states hope to develop offshore energy, after a vessel operated by London-based Energean arrived off the coast to produce gas for Israel.Hezbollah "has the capacity to prevent the enemy from beginning to extract from Karish…

A dispute between Israel and Lebanon over their maritime boundary has obstructed energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean and risks exacerbating tensions between two foes.After months of deadlock in U.S.-mediated talks, Beirut on Sunday warned against any activity in the disputed area, responding to the arrival of a vessel to develop a field for Israel. Lebanon has said the field in question, Karish, is in disputed waters. Israel denies this.Here's what you need to know about the standoff:WHAT'S AT STAKE?Gas - potentially a lot of it.Lebanon and Israel are located in the Levant Basin…

Louisiana shipbuilder Bollinger Shipyards announced Friday it has submitted its final proposal to the U.S. Coast Guard to build the next round of Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPC). If chosen, Bollinger would construct and deliver a total of 11 OPC vessels at its facilities in Houma, La. over the next decade.OPCs will provide the majority of offshore presence for the Coast Guard’s cutter fleet, bridging the capabilities of the 418-foot national security cutters, which patrol the open ocean, and the 154-foot fast response cutters, which serve closer to shore.

The Philippines summoned China’s ambassador on Monday to explain what it called the “illegal intrusion and lingering presence” of a Chinese navy vessel in waters between some of the archipelago nation’s largest islands.The foreign ministry in a statement said a Chinese navy reconnaissance ship entered Philippine waters without permission and lingered from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1, ignoring repeated demands to leave.It was detected off the Cuyo Group of Islands, close to Palawan, and Apo island off Mindoro…

The drilling of Beacon Offshore Energy's Winterfell-2 appraisal well on Block 943 in the Green Canyon area of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico has been completed with the well showing encouraging results, Kosmos Energy, a partner in the project said Tuesday.The Winterfell-2 well, where Kosmos' working interest is ~16.4%, was drilled to evaluate the adjacent fault block to the northwest of the original Winterfell discovery and was designed to test two horizons that were oil bearing in the Winterfell-1 well…

Eastern Shipbuilding Group is one of America’s leading shipbuilders. Perhaps best known for its history building tugs, towboats and offshore supply vessels, the company is today finding success in other markets, with notable build projects underway for the U.S. Coast Guard, Staten Island Ferry and dredging contractor Weeks Marine. Eastern’s president Joey D’Isernia weighs in on the yard’s current workload, market drivers and the challenges overcome and on the horizon.Where do you see the best opportunities for Eastern Shipbuilding Group today?We see a lot of opportunity in the defense sector…

Louisiana shipbuilding group Bollinger Shipyards has placed its bid to build the second round of vessels as part of the U.S. Coast Guard's Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) program.If selected, Bollinger would construct and deliver a total of 11 ships to the U.S. Coast Guard over the next decade, helping to sustain the Bollinger workforce through 2031, the company said.Bollinger has been actively involved in every step of the U.S. Coast Guard’s OPC acquisition process…

European Council President Charles Michel called on Turkey to keep working to resolve disputes with Greece and Cyprus over gas rights in the Mediterranean as he visited Ankara on Tuesday to discuss trade and refugees with President Tayyip Erdogan.A row between Turkey and EU members Greece and Cyprus over offshore jurisdiction has strained ties, reaching a peak last summer when Turkish and Greek navy frigates escorted vessels exploring for hydrocarbons in disputed waters.The European Union backs Athens, while Ankara has accused the bloc of bias and of not honoring its pledges under a 2016 migrant deal.The visit by Michel and European…

Turkey will not abandon its rights and interests in the eastern Mediterranean because of possible European Union sanctions or criticism, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday.At a summit on Friday, EU leaders agreed to prepare limited sanctions on Turkish individuals over a row with Greece and Cyprus about offshore energy exploration but postponed discussions on any harsher steps until March.German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after the summit that EU leaders planned to discuss weapons exports to Turkey with allies in the NATO military alliance following a Greek push for an arms embargo on Ankara.Answering questions in parliament as part of annual budget talks, Cavusoglu said: “It is out of the question for us to abandon our rights and interests in the eastern Mediterranean bec

Lebanon and Israel, formally still at war after decades of conflict, launch talks on Wednesday to address a long-running dispute over their maritime border running through potentially gas-rich Mediterranean waters.The U.S.-mediated talks follow three years of intense diplomacy by Washington and were announced less than a month after the United States stepped up pressure on political allies of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.They also come after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain agreed to establish full relations with Israel…

L3Harris Technologies said it has received a contract from Eastern Shipbuilding Group to provide the integrated communications system for the U.S. Coast Guard’s (USCG) Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC).The Coast Guard has said that the OPC program is the highest acquisition priority in the Coast Guard, providing the capability bridge between the National Security Cutter and Fast Response Cutter.The initial award to L3Harris includes the design, development and production of the first two ship systems with options for up to as many as four OPC systems.

Turkey dispatched a vessel to conduct a seismic survey in a disputed area in the eastern Mediterranean, a move which Greece said was illegal and is likely to heighten tensions between the two NATO allies.The advisory issued by the Turkish navy said the Oruc Reis vessel would operate in the area over the next two weeks.The two countries are at odds due to overlapping claims for hydrocarbon resources in the region. A similar advisory, or Navtex, last month prompted a dispute that was calmed after the intervention of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, leading Turkey to agree a pause in operations.But President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday…

Libya's internationally recognized government and Turkey have signed an agreement on maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean Sea that could complicate Ankara's disputes over energy exploration with other countries.Turkey, which announced the accord and a deal on expanded security and military cooperation on Thursday, gave no details of their memorandum of understanding and did not specify where Turkish and Libyan waters meet.Greece dismissed the announcement as geographically…