Viscous Oil News

Later this year a major oil and chemical protection exercise dubbed SCOPE 2017 will be carried out in Norway. A joint project including major European and Scandinavian stakeholders, the simulated response to a combined oil and chemical spill aims to foster clearer communication and coordination of spill response across agencies and physical country boundaries. Stig Wahlstrøm, Project Manager SCOPE 2017, Norwegian Coastal Administration and Johan Marius Ly, Director, Department for Emergency Response, explain.

President Barack Obama's sharpest criticism yet of Keystone XL this weekend included a controversial contention that the huge pipeline would be used to pump Canadian oil sands crude to global markets, not to U.S. refiners. TransCanada Corp., the pipeline giant that has been waiting six years for U.S. approval to build the $8 billion line, strongly denies it and says it is constructing the 1,179-mile (1,900-km) conduit only to serve import-dependant Gulf Coast refiners, weaning them away from supplies of heavy crude from Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The truth, experts say, lies somewhere in between. The 830,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) pipeline helping link Canada's oil sands to the Gulf Coast was conceived six years ago to supply U.S. customers. Since then, however, the U.S.

Russia is an energy superpower and the country has vast and rich natural resources. Besides gas and coal reserves (some of the largest in the world), Russia today is ranked as the world’s biggest oil producing nation accounting for well over 12% of the global output. Moreover, the country exports more than 70% of its oil to the world markets. That said, Russia’s output of oil amounts to a third of what collectively the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) produces. The country has relied on oil production for decades, however there has been a notable geographical shift.

Statoil and Rosneft today signed agreements on joint bidding for exploration licenses in the Norwegian Barents Sea and on Joint Technical Evaluation covering two Russian onshore assets. This concludes the first implementation agreements envisaged in the strategic cooperation that the two companies entered into on 5 May, 2012. The agreements were signed by Statoil CEO Helge Lund and Rosneft Chairman and President Igor Sechin at the World Economic Forum in St. Petersburg. "These agreements show that Statoil and Rosneft are moving rapidly to implement the cooperation agreement signed on 5 May," says Statoil CEO Helge Lund. "The speed with which we are proceeding reflects our joint commitment and determination to realize the potential of the strategic cooperation," he continues.

Miami River Compnay Sen tenced to Five Years Probation and $1,000,000 Fine for Oil Pollution and Ballast Water Crimes. Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Rear Admiral William D. Baumgartner, Commander, 7th Coast Guard District, and John Sall, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, announced the sentencing of defendant Americas Marine Management Services, Inc., d/b/a Antillean Marine, a Florida corporation, for oil pollution and ballast water crimes.

Leading world experts in oil spill response have agreed a series of recommendations to deal with future spills of high density oil during the International Maritime Organization’s Third R&D Forum on High Density Oil Spill Response, held from 11-13 March in Brest, France, following the generous offer of the French Government to host the Forum. Large quantities of high density oil are carried by ships either as cargo or as fuel (bunkers). This oil’s characteristics, including high viscosity and tendency to sink, present particular challenges for clean-up operations in the event of an accidental spill at sea. The recommendations adopted…

A Jacksonville, Florida man was charged today in federal court with one count of violating the Clean Water Act and one count of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan; Thomas V. Skinner, Acting Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Enforcement and Compliance Assurance; William Schenkelberg, Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Region of the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service; and Thomas J. Healy, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Office of Law Enforcement, announced today that FRANKLIN ROBERT HILL, age 53, of Jacksonville, Florida…

A Jacksonville, Florida man pleaded guilty in federal court to violating the Clean Water Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan; Thomas V. Skinner, Acting Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Enforcement and Compliance Assurance; William Schenkelberg, Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Region of the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service; and Thomas J. Healy, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Office of Law Enforcement, announced today that FRANKLIN ROBERT HILL, age 53, of Jacksonville, Florida, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert B.

Ultra-deepwater plays in the Gulf of Mexico offer vast potential for oil and gas production. There are now more than 1,650 active leases in the Gulf of Mexico in water depths exceeding 5,000 ft. and, with 24 drill rigs capable of drilling at this depth now working in the Gulf, activity on these leases is about to take off. In a recent study, we have identified more than 160 fields in ultra-deepwater that are likely to be explored over the next 5 to 10 years and expect at least a third of these will ultimately be developed. Until now, pipeline has been used to transport oil from fields in the Gulf of Mexico to refineries along the Gulf.