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Ken Salazar News

01 Aug 2013

U.S. Auctions Renewable Energy Sites in Federal Waters

As part of President Obama’s comprehensive plan to move our economy toward domestic clean energy sources and cut carbon pollution, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy P. Beaudreau has held the nation’s first-ever competitive lease sale for renewable energy in federal waters. The provisional winner of the lease sale, which auctioned two leases for a Wind Energy Area of 164,750 acres offshore Rhode Island and Massachusetts for wind energy development, is Deepwater Wind New England, LLC. When built, these areas could generate enough combined energy to power more than one million homes. “When you think about the enormous energy potential that Atlantic wind holds, this is a major milestone for our nation,” said Secretary Jewell.

17 Jan 2013

NOIA Reacts to Salazar's Pending Departure

NOIA President Randall Luthi Comments on Pending Departure of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. “On behalf of the National Ocean Industries Association, I thank Secretary Salazar for his service and wish him the best on his return to Colorado. Owning a ranch in Wyoming myself, I can certainly understand the strong desire to leave Washington and return to running cows and calves instead of political gauntlets. The Secretary leaves a legacy that reflects strong leadership in the promotion of offshore wind resources and bolstering of certain safety protocols, but a missed opportunity to promote access in new offshore areas. He had a difficult…

30 Nov 2012

Obama Administration Offers Over 20 Million Acres

Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale Yields $133.8 Million in High Bids on Over 652,520 Acres, Only Latest in a Series of Recent Major Offshore Oil and Gas Sales. As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to continue to expand safe and responsible domestic energy production, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today held Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 229, which offered over 20 millions acres and attracted $133,767,074 in high bids for 116 tracts covering 652,522 acres on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore Texas. A total of 13 offshore energy companies submitted 131 bids.

25 Oct 2012

Obama Administration: More Than 20 Million Acres Offshore Texas for Bid

As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy P. Beaudreau released the final details for an oil and gas lease sale that will offer more than 20 million acres offshore and will make available all unleased areas in the Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area. Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 229, which will be held on November 28, 2012, in New Orleans, will build on two major Gulf of Mexico lease sales in the past year—a 21 million acre sale held last December and a 39 million acre sale held in June—and supports the Administration’s goal of continuing to increase domestic oil and gas production…

24 Sep 2012

BOEM: 38 Million-Acre Oil &Gas Lease Sale in the Central GOM

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy P. Beaudreau announced that BOEM will offer 38 million acres in the Central Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas exploration and development. Thesale will build on two major Gulf of Mexico lease sales in the last year – a 21 million acre sale held last December and a 39 million acre sale held in June. Proposed Lease Sale 227, scheduled to take place in New Orleans on March 20, 2013, will offer all unleased areas in the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area, offshore Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama and could lead to the production of up to nearly a billion barrels of oil and nearly 4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

24 Jul 2012

BSEE Launches Oil & Gas Containment Exercise

BSEE Director Jim Watson.

MWCC to Deploy Capping Stack in Gulf of Mexico. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has initiated the first ever drill designed to deploy critical pieces of state-of-the-art well control equipment to the ultra-deep seabed of the Gulf of Mexico in an effort to exercise the oil and gas industry’s response to a potential subsea blowout. The multi-week exercise, launched at 8:10 am CDT and employing the Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC), is part of a series…

23 Jul 2012

Offshore Energy Lease Sale Announced by US Administration

As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to expand safe and responsible domestic energy production, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy P. Beaudreau announce that BOEM will offer more than 20 million acres offshore Texas for oil and gas exploration and development in a lease sale that will include all available unleased areas in the Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area. Proposed Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 229, scheduled to take place in New Orleans on November 28, 2012, will be the first offshore sale under the Administration’s new Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017 (Five Year Program).

02 Jul 2012

Norway Looks to Arctic Oil Exploration

The 22nd License Round announced by Minister of Petroluem and Energy Ola Borten Moe includes as many as 72 blocks in the Barents Sea, several of them near the polar ice ridge, reports the 'Barents Observer'. And Norwegian Arctic drilling will not stop with the 22nd License Round. According to Borten Moe, his ministry is ready to take it all the way to the 84th latitude, the northernmost point in Norwegian waters. In his meeting this week with high-ranking international politicians, including U.S. Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar, as well as a number of powerful oil company representatives, the Norwegian minister made it very clear what he intends to do in the area. For environmentalists, the signals from the Norwegian government are bad news.

28 Jun 2012

Arctic OIl Research Center to be Established

The initiative was presented recently at the Arctic Energy Agenda , a meeting of top energy representatives from a number of countries and companies. At the meeting, the Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy Ola Borten Moe also presented key facts about the 22nd Norwegian License Round , which includes as many as 78 new blocks in the Barents Sea. “The expanding petroleum activities in the High North will be strengthened with the development of knowledge and new technology”, the minister says. “Our objective is that academic environments and industry in the North cooperate about the generation of knowledge linked with Arctic challenges”, he adds.

24 May 2012

Salazar Directs Deepwater Oil & Gas Containment Exercise

MWCC to Deploy Capping Stack for Exercise in the Gulf. As part of the Obama administration’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the oil and gas industry’s ability to respond in the event of a deepwater blowout and ensure that offshore oil and gas production can continue to expand safely and responsibly, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today charged the Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) with conducting a live drill this summer to deploy critical pieces of state-of-the-art well control equipment in the Gulf of Mexico.

17 May 2012

Final Details for Upcoming Central GOM O&G Lease Sale

New Orleans -- Today the Obama Administration provided final details for the Central Gulf of Mexico lease sale announced by President Obama in January 2012, as part of his administration’s ongoing focus on expanding safe and responsible production of our domestic energy sources. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy P. Beaudreau today announced the Final Notice of Sale for a June 20, 2012 lease sale that will make available all unleased areas in the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area, offshore Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, including 7,276 blocks on about 38.6 million acres. The sale will take place at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.

27 Apr 2012

Marine Renewable Energy Begins to Take Off in 2012

(Photo: Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy – or FORCE)

The U.S. lags behind Europe in the development of offshore wind (OSW) projects in part due to the lack of a mandatory national renewable energy standard and other tax incentives. But, the Obama Administration has set its own voluntary goal of producing 80% of the nation’s electricity from clean sources by 2035. And, various federal agencies have worked diligently to promote new sources of energy, including OSW and tidal and wave energy. This year, we anticipate the first new commercial leases for wind off the Atlantic Seaboard (since Cape Wind)…

20 Apr 2012

MarineNews INSIGHTS: James Watson, Director BSEE

James A. Watson IV, Director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).

James A. Watson IV, Director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). Interior Secretary Ken Salazar Named Rear Admiral James A. Watson IV as New Director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) in November of 2011. BSEE was one of the two agencies to succeed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) on Oct. 1, 2011. Admiral Watson began as BSEE Director on December 1, 2011, and will succeed Michael R. Bromwich. Previously, Watson was better known to maritime stakeholders as the U.S.

29 Mar 2012

U.S. Outlines Steps for Potential Energy Development in Atlantic

Norfolk, Va. - As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy P. Beaudreau  announced that Interior is taking steps to assess the conventional and renewable energy resource potential in the Mid- and South Atlantic. The draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), released for public comment, will help inform future decisions about whether and, if so, where, leasing would be appropriate in these areas. This milestone advances BOEM’s regionally-tailored approach to Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) exploration and development…

27 Mar 2012

U.S. Invites Industry Interest in Oil and Gas Lease Sale

Washington - The Department of the Interior is seeking input from industry to determine interest in oil and gas exploration off the coast of South-Central Alaska – a key step in the planning process for a potential oil and natural gas lease sale in the Cook Inlet Planning Area. This is the latest step by the Obama Administration toward production in Alaska’s offshore areas, and builds on broader steps to increase production in Alaska. “Today’s announcement is part of our commitment to increasing safe and responsible domestic oil and gas production as part of an all-of-the-above energy strategy for America,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.

06 Mar 2012

Feds Set to Designate USS Slater a National Landmark

Albany  – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced that the U.S. Department of the Interior is set to designate the USS Slater, one of the remaining World War II naval ships and only destroyer escort afloat in the United States, as a National Historic Landmark. Since last year, Senator Gillibrand has urged Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior Ken Salazar and the National Park System (NPS) Advisory Board Landmarks Committee to designate the site as a National Historic Landmark. “This is great news,” said Gillibrand. “Berthed in the Hudson River, the USS Slater is the only World War II-era destroyer escort afloat in the United States. In her letter to U.S.

26 Jan 2012

Feds Unveil Central GOM Oil & Gas Plan

Obama Administration Announces Proposed Central Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale; sale Will Make Nearly 38 million Acres Available as Part of the President’s Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future. The Obama administration has announced that the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will hold the consolidated Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 216/222 in New Orleans on June 20, 2012. The sale will include all available unleased areas in the Central Planning Area offshore Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. President Obama will discuss today’s announcement during remarks in Nevada later today, in which…

14 Dec 2011

Western GOM Lease Sale Attracts Bids of $337 Million

The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced that its Western Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale 218, held today in New Orleans, attracted $337,688,341 in high bids and included 20 companies submitting 241 bids on 191 tracts comprising over a million acres offshore Texas. The sum of all bids received totaled $712,725,998. This announcement is consistent with steps President Obama announced in May 2011 to expand domestic oil and gas production safely and responsibly. “Today’s lease sale, the first since the tragic events of Deepwater Horizon, continues the Obama administration’s commitment to a balanced and comprehensive energy plan,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, who attended the sale and provided opening remarks.

20 Sep 2011

$44 Million Settlement in 2007 San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge Crash and Spill

Oil Spill Proceeds Of Settlement to Fund Projects and Restore Natural Resources Largest Oil Pollution Act Settlement in History of the Law. Federal, state and Bay-area officials announced a comprehensive civil settlement with the owners and operators of the M/V Cosco Busan, resolving all natural resource damages, penalties and response costs that resulted from the ship striking the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in 2007, and subsequent oil spill in the San Francisco Bay. The event killed thousands of birds, impacted a significant portion of the Bay’s 2008 herring spawn, spoiled miles of shoreline habitat and closed the bay and area beaches to recreation and fishing. The U.S.

08 Nov 2011

Interior's Salazar to Announce Oil & Gas Program

Secretary Salazar, Interior Department Leadership to Announce 2012-2017 Offshore Oil and Gas Program at 1200 hours today. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Deputy Secretary David J, Hayes, and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy P. Beaudreau will hold a news teleconference TODAY to announce the Proposed Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017. The OCS Lands Act requires that the Secretary of the Interior prepare a 5-Year Program that includes a schedule of oil and gas lease sales indicating the size, timing, and location of proposed leasing activity that the Secretary determines will best meet national energy needs for the 5-year period following its approval…

10 Nov 2011

Gulf of Mexico Oil &Gas Lease Sale Announced

Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy P. Beaudreau announced that BOEM will hold the first oil and natural gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. This announcement is consistent with steps President Obama announced in May, 2011 to expand domestic oil and gas production safely and responsibly. This sale follows BOEM’s completion of a supplemental environmental impact statement analyzing the effects of the Deepwater Horizon spill on the Western Gulf of Mexico. Lease Sale 218 will be held in the Louisiana Superdome in downtown New Orleans on Dec. 14, 2011. The sale will include all available unleased areas in the Western Gulf Planning Area offshore Texas.

15 Nov 2011

Salazar Names RADM Watson BSEE Director

Rear Admiral James A. Watson, new Director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today named Rear Admiral James A. Watson IV as the Director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). BSEE was one of the two agencies to succeed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) on Oct. 1, 2011. Admiral Watson will begin as BSEE Director on December 1, 2011, and will succeed Michael R. Bromwich. Admiral Watson is currently the U.S. Coast Guard’s Director of Prevention Policy for Marine Safety, Security and Stewardship in Washington, D.C.

14 Dec 2011

Salazar to Open Western GOM Lease Sale 218

Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will open Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 218 in New Orleans today at 9 a.m. CST at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome with brief remarks. The sale, held by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), has attracted 241 bids submitted by 20 companies on 191 tracts offshore Texas, compared to 189 bids submitted by 27 companies on 162 tracts during the previous Western Gulf Lease sale in August 2009. Blocks are located in federal waters from nine to more than 250 miles offshore, in water depths of about 16 feet (five meters) to more than 10,975 feet (3,346 meters). BOEM estimates that this sale could result in production of approximately 222 to 423 million barrels of oil and 1.49 to 2.65 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.