Proposed Oil News

Oil pipelines from the top U.S. shale field to Houston that have run half empty are filling again as rising output has absorbed most of the space on lines to the main south Texas export hub in Corpus Christi.U.S. crude exports climbed to a record of about 4.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in March, spurred by recovering Chinese demand and competitive pricing for U.S. oil. Sanctions on Russian crude purchases by the European Union and Britain also have boosted demand.Pipelines…

Booming U.S. oil exports have set off a scramble to build Gulf Coast ports to handle more than 3 million barrels per day in new supplies expected over the next five years.Of seven proposed oil-export projects, nowhere is the opportunity greater or the competition more fierce than in Corpus Christi, Texas, where three firms are vying to open the state's first deepwater port.Commodities trader Trafigura has taken an early lead with a planned offshore facility that has an easier…

The transportation system is something Canadians rely on every day, from getting us to work, or bringing us the products we use in our homes. The Government of Canada is working to ensure that goods are transported in a safe and responsible way while protecting our marine environment and clean water. "The Government of Canada is committed to demonstrating a clean environment and a strong economy can go hand-in-hand. Tabling this legislation is another step towards fulfilling our promise to formalize the tanker moratorium on British Columbia's north coast. This, and other actions we are taking to improve marine safety through the Oceans Protection Plan, will protect the coasts and waterways that Canadians depend on for generations to come, " said Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport.

Hundreds of barrels of oil that gushed from a ruptured coastal pipeline in scenic California this week could stiffen opposition to large oil projects that companies want to build in the state, notably those to deliver cheap U.S. crude on trains. Several proposed oil-by-rail offloading terminals in California were already being contested in light of several fiery crude train derailments since 2013 that have stoked safety concerns about spills and explosions. Now, the sight of oil washing up on the shores of Santa Barbara could further galvanize rail opponents after up to 2,500 barrels of crude leaked on Tuesday from a pipeline owned by Plains All American Pipeline LP.

Canada is set to badly miss a 2020 target for cutting emissions of greenhouse gases, in part because of its failure to regulate the booming oil and gas sector, Parliament's environmental watchdog said on Tuesday. The scathing report by Environment Commissioner Julie Gelfand will add to the political challenges faced by the right-leaning Conservative government, which polls show could lose power in an election set for 2015. The government has deep political roots in energy-rich Western Canada - home to the Alberta tar sands - and says it will do nothing to harm economic development. Gelfand found Ottawa did not even have a plan for how it would meet a commitment under the 2009 Copenhagen Accord to cut emissions by 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is extending the public comment period for the Request for Information (RFI) and Comments on the Preparation of the 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program. The RFI was released in mid-June as the initial step in the multi-year offshore oil and gas planning process. This extension of the comment period is being issued in response to requests from several states. The bureau will allow an additional 15 days for the public to submit information and comments on its website or in writing. The June publication of the RFI began a 45-day comment period. With the extension, BOEM will accept comments until August 15.

The U.S. Department of the Interior took its first steps on Friday to develop the next five-year schedule of potential offshore oil and gas lease sales. Interior issued a request for information and comments on the oil and gas leasing program for U.S. coastal waters to run from 2017 to 2022, kicking off a 45-day comment period. The planning process for federal waters surrounding the United States known as the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) will take up to three years to complete, the agency said. "The development of the next five-year program will be a thorough and open process that incorporates stakeholder input and uses the best available science," Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said in a statement. U.S.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) completed the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for two proposed oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico's Eastern Planning Area. "This analysis evaluates baseline conditions and potential environmental impacts of oil and natural gas leasing, exploration, development and production in the Eastern Planning Area, and updates information already published," said BOEM Director Tommy P. Beaudreau. Lease Sales 225 and 226, scheduled for 2014 and 2016, are part of the Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program: 2012-2017 (Five Year Program). The Five Year Program makes all areas with the highest-known resource potential available for oil and gas leasing.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for proposed oil and gas Lease Sales 233 and 231, the third and fourth sales scheduled in the current 2012-2017 five-year program. As part of the Obama Administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy, domestic oil and gas production has grown each year the President has been in office, with domestic oil production currently higher than any time in two decades and natural gas production at its highest level ever. Renewable electricity generation from wind, solar, and geothermal sources has doubled and foreign oil imports now account for less than 40% of the oil consumed in America – the lowest level since 1988.

Submerged Recovery & Inspection Services help King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals gather marine data used near proposed oil dril sites. The company used a VideoRay Pro4 ROV to complete more than 200 kilometers (or, approximately 124 miles) of bathymetry and biotope survey transects in the Red Sea to gain a baseline assessment to see if there were any critical habitats area's in or near several proposed oil well drill sights. The expedition had a very tight time schedule…

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will hold a series of public scoping meetings to gather information for an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed oil and gas lease sales in Gulf of Mexico’s Eastern Planning Area offshore Florida and Alabama. This EIS is for proposed Lease Sales 225 and 226, which are included in the Proposed Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017. A leasing program consists of a proposed schedule of oil and gas lease sales indicating the size, timing, and location of proposed leasing activity for the five-year period following its approval by the Secretary of the Interior.

New Orleans, La. — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced that it will open a comment period and hold a series of public scoping meetings to gather information to be used in preparing an Environmental Impact Statement for two proposed oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico’s Eastern Planning Area. As the President discussed in his State of the Union address, BOEM has issued a Proposed Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012–2017, which would make more than 75 percent of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas estimated on the OCS available for development. The Proposed Program schedules two sales (Lease Sales 225 and 226) in the Eastern Planning Area.

BOEM Completes Final Supplemental Review for Central Planning Area in the Gulf of Mexico. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today released a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for proposed oil and gas Lease Sale 216/222. The SEIS updates several previously published environmental reviews covering the Gulf of Mexico, including incorporating the latest available information for the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area following the Deepwater Horizon event. The bureau will continue to conduct and assess additional scientific research and studies, and use this information to inform future offshore leasing and energy development decisions. A Federal Register notice announcing the availability of the Final SEIS will be published on January 20, 2012.

BOEM Will Hold Public Hearing in New Orleans on Proposed Oil and Gas Leasing Program. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will hold a public hearing in New Orleans on Jan. 11, 2012, to provide an opportunity for the public to comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Proposed Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas lease sales offshore Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. This DEIS is for the proposed lease sales in the Western and Central Gulf of Mexico 2012 – 2017 five-year program. A leasing program consists of a schedule of oil and gas lease sales (auctions) indicating the size, timing and location of proposed leasing activity for the five-year period following its approval by the Secretary of the Interior.

BOEM Will Hold Public Hearing on December 8th in New Orleans on Proposed Oil and Gas Leasing Program. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will hold a public hearing in New Orleans on Dec. 8, 2011, to provide an opportunity to comment on the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012 – 2017. This is one in a series of 13 public hearings. A leasing program consists of a schedule of oil and gas lease sales (auctions) indicating the size, timing and location of proposed leasing activity for the five-year period following its approval by the Secretary of the Interior.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is seeking information from interested parties regarding proposed oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico Eastern Planning Areas. These sales are included in the Proposed Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017, announced earlier this month. BOEM has published a Call for Information and Nominations/Notice of Intent (Call/NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for two Eastern Gulf sales currently scheduled for 2014 and 2016. BOEM will collect and analyze information to identify and evaluate areas with potential for oil and gas development, as well as to determine possible environmental effects and potential conflicts in the Call area.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) released a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for proposed oil and gas Lease Sale 218 in the Western Planning Area in the Gulf of Mexico. The SEIS updates the findings in several previously published environmental reviews covering the Gulf of Mexico. It also incorporates the latest available information pertaining to the Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area following the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. “The analysis contained in this Final SEIS incorporates new research and reflects broad public input on the environmental effects of oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today released a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for proposed oil and gas Lease Sale 216/222 in the Central Planning Area in the Gulf of Mexico. The draft SEIS updates the findings in several previously published environmental reviews covering the Gulf of Mexico and incorporates the latest available information following the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. “The analyses contained in this draft SEIS will allow us to make objective, science-based decisions regarding offshore energy exploration, development and production,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) announced that it will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for proposed oil and gas lease sales in the Western and Central Planning Areas of the Gulf of Mexico, off the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, for the 2012 to 2017, 5-year oil and gas leasing program. The public notice, available for public inspection today through the Federal Register’s website (http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/public-inspection/index.html) also announced the start of the scoping process. “This important step in the offshore resource evaluation and development process will help ensure that all interests and concerns regarding oil and gas leasing…

NEW ORLEANS – The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today announced it is seeking information and nominations from all interested parties regarding proposed oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico Western and Central Planning Areas for the 2012-2017 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Natural Gas Leasing Program. BOEMRE will analyze information received in response to this Call for Information and Nominations (Call), which will primarily identify and evaluate areas with potential for oil and gas development…

NEW ORLEANS - The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) announced today the completion of a draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for proposed oil and gas Lease Sale 218 in the Western Planning Area in the Gulf of Mexico. This draft SEIS updates the findings in several previously published EISs covering the Gulf of Mexico, as well as new analyses using the latest available information following the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill.

The Senate on Thursday backed a White House compromise that drastically reduced proposed oil and natural gas drilling off Florida's Gulf Coast, rejecting a bid by the state's Democratic senators to temporarily block development of the tract. Voting 67-33, the Democratic-led Senate rejected an amendment pushed by Florida Sens. Bill Nelson and Bob Graham to delay for six months oil and gas leasing in a lucrative tract in federal waters off the coasts of Florida and Alabama. After the Republican-led House of Representatives voted last month for a six-month ban on the leasing, President George W. Bush agreed to shrink the tract by 75 percent and keep it at least 100 miles away from Florida's beaches. Florida lawmakers, including Gov.

The Washington State Department of Ecology released proposed Oil Spill Contingency Plan Regulations. The proposed rules would totally replace the current ones and are intended to ensure that ship owners and operators and oil handling facilities demonstrate they can quickly and effectively respond to oil spills. The proposed rule focuses on early spill response actions, staging response equipment throughout the state, and conducting scheduled and unannounced spill readiness drills. The Preliminary Cost Benefit Analysis estimates the annual cost of the proposed rule to be $6.8 million. Compliance benefits are estimated to be in the range of $20 million to $159 million (that is a large range and it assumes that these proposed rules would prevent an Exxon Valdez-type spill).