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Offshore Energy Development News

15 Nov 2023

US Appeals Court Orders Gulf Lease Auction Within 37 Days

Source: Earthjustice, Credit: NOAA

A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday ordered that a postponed federal auction of drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico be held within 37 days, a setback for environmentalists seeking expanded protections for the endangered Rice's whale.According to court papers, the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit dismissed an effort by four green groups to block an expansion of the sale ordered by a lower court judge in September.The judges said the groups lacked standing to challenge the September decision.

02 Nov 2023

White House Says It is Committed to Offshore Wind Despite New Jersey Setbacks

Credit: Orhan Çam/AdobeStock

The Biden administration on Wednesday said it is committed to supporting the nascent U.S. offshore wind industry despite challenges that prompted the cancellation this week of two major planned projects off the coast of New Jersey.The White House and Interior Department both issued statements backing the sector shortly after Denmark's Orsted said soaring cost inflation, high interest rates and supply chain bottlenecks had forced it to stop development on the projects. Expansion of offshore wind is a key pillar of President Joe Biden's plan to decarbonize the U.S.

24 Feb 2023

U.S. Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale Set for March

©Lukasz Z/AdobeStock

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) said Friday that it would hold an oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico in March 2023.The Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale 259 will offer approximately 13,600 blocks on 73.3 million acres in the Western, Central, and Eastern Planning Areas on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. Lease Sale 259 was one of three offshore lease sales initially cancelled by the Biden Administration in May 2022. The subsequent Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) mandated that BOEM hold Lease Sale 259 no later than March 31…

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.

30 Sep 2022

Samsung Heavy Industries, Equinor Sign Strategic Collaboration Deal

Jintaek Jung, CEO of SHI(fourth from left) and Trond Bokn, SVP, Director of Project Development(fifth from left) Credit: Samsung Heavy Industries

Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has signed a "Strategic Collaboration Agreement" with Equinor, Norway's largest energy company, to strengthen its competitiveness in the offshore EPC business.According to SHI, the two companies have recognized that a longer-term and closer collaboration on the future project portfolio could be mutually beneficial for Equinor's future projects requiring "Asian Solutions" over the next five years and will form a Collaboration Board to share opinions on mid-to long-term business strategies and expand cooperation.Based in Norway…

14 Sep 2022

Biden Administration Reinstates Bids From 2021 Gulf of Mexico Oil Auction

© Troy V Smith / Adobe Stock

The Biden administration on Wednesday said it had reinstated bids from a November 2021 Gulf of Mexico sale of offshore oil and gas drilling rights, a requirement buried in U.S. President Joe Biden’s new climate change and drug pricing law.The move comes after a federal judge in January vacated the sale’s results, saying the administration had failed to properly account for the auction’s impact on global warming.The Inflation Reduction act, which President Joe Biden signed into law last month…

11 Apr 2022

Yesterday’s or Tomorrow’s Offshore Energy: Which to Pick?

Copyright Inna/AdobeStock

Looking back, it is easy to wonder if one could have done better by taking the other fork in the road. I grew up in Holland in a maritime family and am pretty sure I would have stuck with maritime there. In 1968, when I was 8 years old, my father left Holland America Line and joined the United States Salvage Association. At the same time, their main customer, the U.S. marine insurance industry, became heavily involved in the development of North Sea offshore oil and gas, and it resulted in an economic boom that made USSA’s Rotterdam office wildly profitable.

01 Apr 2021

Ready Your Salad Fork for Biden’s Offshore Energy Plans

© shaunwilkinson / Adobe Stock

In Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare coined the phrase “salad days” to mean a youthful time filled with unbridled enthusiasm and idealism. Indeed, youth, much like salad, is often raw, flavorful and most of all… green. Therefore, it is fitting to think of our present time as the salad days of offshore energy in the United States. Let’s dig in.Executive Order appetizersOn January 27, President Biden took early steps to implement his campaign promise to transition the United States away from fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy…

31 Mar 2021

US Jobs from US Offshore Energy: A Goal 44 Years in the Making

© flyingrussian / Adobe Stock

I have a good friend named John Guste. He and his wife grew up in the same neighborhood as my wife, they all went to college together, and now our kids are friends. As a doctor, I’m sure he has little concern with the messy, yet mundane, intricacies of offshore energy and maritime policy. You can imagine my surprise then when one night while I was reading the Congressional Record from 1977—I’m a blast at parties—to see John’s grandfather testifying before the U.S. House of Representative’s Ad Hoc Select Committee on Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) issues.Mr.

15 Feb 2021

Government Update: Coast Guard Authorization Act

© Lars Johansson/AdobeStock

On January 1, 2021, in an unusual New Year’s Day session, the Senate (following similar action by the House) overrode President Trump’s veto and enacted into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) (H.R. 6395). In addition to the provisions relating to the Department of Defense, the bill contains numerous maritime sections, including Authorization Acts for the Coast Guard (USCG), the Maritime Administration (MARAD), and the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC).Coast GuardThe Coast Guard Authorization Act allows for acquisition of an additional National Security Cutter…

09 Sep 2020

[Op/Ed] The Gulf of Mexico: An Energy Platform for America

© scandamerican  / Adobe Stock

Even as business, schools and scenes from everyday life seem frozen as society adjusts to the coronavirus, the U.S. marches closer toward the November presidential election. In early August, Vice President Joe Biden announced Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate. As the Biden-Harris ticket works out their policy platforms, they should move beyond past comments attacking American offshore oil and gas production. In fact, a strong American offshore oil and gas industry is a platform every candidate should stand behind.Between New Orleans and Houston…

30 Oct 2019

OP/ED: Offshore Wind

Nicolette Nye, Vice President of Communications and Member Development of the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) in Washington, DC.

Set to Soar, Taking Offshore Support Industry With it.Offshore energy development is opening a new front in the United States -- the Atlantic seaboard, with strong winds, a shallow continental shelf and a proximity to dense population centers is driving strong interest in offshore wind development. The offshore oil and gas supply chain stands to benefit in a big way from billions in coming investment. In fact, it is already playing a role. Companies in the Gulf of Mexico, which traditionally support the offshore oil and gas sector…

02 Aug 2019

NOIA Weighs in on The COASTAL Act

National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) Vice President for Government and Political Affairs Tim Charters

National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) Vice President for Government and Political Affairs Tim Charters issued the following statement after the introduction of the Conservation of America’s Shoreline Terrain and Aquatic Life (COASTAL) Act:“It is vital that American offshore energy production promote equity for the states immediately adjacent to these offshore areas. By amending GOMESA and establishing a revenue sharing program for Alaska, the COASTAL Act will ensure that these states receive continued benefits from their participation in offshore energy production…

10 May 2019

AIS Data: History & Future

The Automatic Identification System (AIS) was developed with the sole goal of improving maritime safety by allowing ships in proximity to one another to automatically exchange information regarding their name, course, speed, type, cargo, etc. The exchange of this information would allow conning officers on each ship to make better decisions regarding the possibility of close encounters and the need to change course and/or speed. It would also make it easier for one ship to contact the other by radio-telephone to hopefully remove any doubt. To that extent, AIS has largely worked as intended, although collisions continue to occur.It did not take long, though, for governments to get involved.

25 Sep 2018

Smarter Energy Policy Will Broaden Offshore Recovery

For the past few years, depressed commodity prices, stricter regulatory requirements and competition from onshore development at home and from other countries offering attractive offshore lease and royalty terms have had severe impacts on new exploration in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Thankfully, the tide appears to finally be turning.In August, Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 251 drew increased competition for offerings and $178 million in high bids, $53 million more than previous sale held in March.

10 Oct 2017

Top Regulatory Concerns on the US Commercial Waterfront

© John Merlin / Adobe Stock

A top 10 list of regulatory concerns is by no means all-inclusive, but it does bring to light the full weight of the regulatory hammer on the collective domestic commercial waterfront. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us...” – Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, 1859.

20 Dec 2016

White House ‘Playing Politics’ Arctic Drilling Ban -AEC

Lucas Frances, (Photo: Arctic Energy Center)

The Obama Administration announced that it will ban offshore oil and gas development throughout much of the U.S. Arctic. Under the authority of a provision in a 1953 law, the decision designates "the bulk of the Arctic” indefinitely off limits. Commenting, Lucas Frances, spokesperson for the Arctic Energy Center, said, “This is a deeply frustrating development and one that will mean a bleak economic future for Alaska. After the White House cited a lack of industry interest in the Arctic for removing the region from the offshore leasing program…

29 May 2015

Design & Operation: Wind Farm Support Vessels

Pictured is Alicat, South Boats IOW 26m Wind Farm Support Vessel operated by Seacat Services.

Offshore wind farm development has been led globally by the UK, followed by Germany. Both countries have governments with long term commitments to renewable energy. Denmark, Belgium and The Netherlands are building wind farms, but they are a long way behind the leaders in offshore wind. In 2014 the UK accounted for over 50% of all the offshore wind energy generated globally. All of these countries border the North Sea, a notoriously stormy sea area, which has a high frequency of wind to drive the turbines. Traditional survey vessels are first to arrive in a potential wind farm area.

07 Jul 2016

NOIA’s Luthi Testifies at House Natural Resources Subcommittee Hearing

NOIA President Randall Luthi released the following statement after providing testimony today before the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources on H.R. “NOIA applauds Congressman Graves and Ranking Member Lowenthal for their bipartisan sponsorship of the Innovation in Offshore Leasing Act and thanks the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee for holding today’s hearing. “Offshore energy development is a vital part of the U.S. economy, providing jobs, energy security and much needed government revenue. With that in mind, it is imperative that offshore lease sales remain a reliable, safe and transparent process.

17 Jul 2016

NOIA Applauds Passage of House Interior Appropriations Bill

“NOIA applauds members of the House of Representatives for passing the first Interior and Environment Appropriations bill since 2009. Not only does the passage of the bill bring back regular order, the Fiscal Year 2017 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill includes smart policy provisions to limit the harmful impact of many short-sighted regulations targeting offshore oil and natural gas exploration and development and includes protections from other potential politically-driven regulations the Obama administration could levy on its way out of office. “Some of the common-sense provisions included in the bill directly target new rules released during this year’s onslaught of job-killing federal regulations.

04 Oct 2016

Op-Ed: Alaska's Golden Offshore Opportunity

Credit: Shell McCown

Offshore energy presents a golden opportunity for Alaska and the United States. As we enter the final quarter of the year, one of the last and most pressing pieces of business facing the Interior Department is to finalize its next offshore leasing program, which will specify exactly which parts of the United States’ Outer Continental Shelf will be open to oil and gas development between 2017 and 2022. Having already cut the Atlantic from its proposed program back in March, the…

18 Nov 2016

Op/Ed: Obama’s Parting Salvo at US Energy Security

Randall Luthi (Photo: NOIA)

Randall Luthi, President of the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA), does not pull any punches as he weighs in on the Obama administration’s release of the Final 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program. The good news is we now have an offshore leasing plan for the next five years that includes a schedule for regular oil and gas sales in the Gulf of Mexico. The bad news is it is only half a plan. Offshore energy development is a vital part of the U.S. economy, providing jobs, energy security and much needed government revenue.

16 Dec 2015

NOIA Rebuts “Red Herring” Study on Atlantic Development

“The Quest Study estimates the potential for jobs, economic activity and government revenue that could be generated from Atlantic development, assuming reasonable government policies supporting energy development are in place. Completed in 2013, the Quest report was never intended, nor could it have been expected, to predict federal policy in 2015. Thus, the SELC report misses the forest for the trees; the fact remains that Atlantic oil and gas activity holds the potential to add tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in revenue and investment to Atlantic states. “No one can predict future government policy, but with the Atlantic lease sale proposed for 2021…