Marine Link
Thursday, March 28, 2024
SUBSCRIBE

Western Gulf Of Mexico News

21 May 2021

Oil Jumps on Weather Concerns in Gulf of Mexico

© Roman Krochuk / Adobe Stock

Oil prices jumped 2% on Friday after three days of losses, driven higher as a storm formed in the Gulf of Mexico, but were on track for a weekly fall as investors braced for the return of Iranian crude supplies after officials said Iran and world powers made progress a nuclear deal.Brent crude futures rose $1.33, or 2%, to $66.36 a barrel by 1:06 p.m. ET (1606 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate was at $63.54 a barrel, up $1.61, or 2.6%.A weather system forming over the western Gulf of Mexico has a 40% chance of becoming a cyclone in the next 48 hours, the U.S.

29 Jul 2018

Port of Corpus Christi Raises USD 216mln for Ship Channel Expansion

Port of Corpus Christi successfully priced and sold $216.2 million of Senior Lien Revenue Bonds. These bonds will be used for both the deepening and widening of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel as well as upcoming capital projects within the Port.Wells Fargo Securities acted as Lead Manager of a syndicate of underwriters including JP Morgan, Citigroup, and Frost Bank.“We are pleased with the level of interest the institutional investment community demonstrated for both series of our bonds.” said Sean Strawbridge, CEO of the Port of Corpus Christi. “This round of funding will help the Port of Corpus Christi further progress our ambitious…

08 Jan 2018

As US Opens Up Offshore Waters, Eastern GoM Beckons

President Donald Trump's administration has proposed opening up nearly all of America's offshore waters to oil and gas drilling, but the industry says it is mainly interested in one part of it, now cordoned off by the Pentagon: the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The industry's focus on an area located near a sprawling network of existing platforms, pipes and ports could ease the path to new reserves, and assuage the drilling opponents near other places offered under the Interior Department's proposed drilling plan issued last week, like California's Pacific, the Atlantic and Arctic. But accessing it would likely require the consent of the U.S. military.

10 Oct 2017

Corpus Christi: Energy Port of the Americas

(Image Courtesy Port of Corpus Christi)

The Port of Corpus Christi lives up to its moniker ‘Energy Port of the Americas,’ as the movement of energy in and out dominates the port’s history and future. John P. LaRue, Executive Director, Port Corpus Christi recently visited Maritime Reporter’s headquarters in New York to discuss the nearly $50 billion in investment projects driving the port forward. “Let’s just start with what we are and what we are not,” said LaRue. “We are not a container port. Up until a few years ago we were an oil import port (serving) three refineries: Citgo, Valero and Flint Hills Resources.

24 Aug 2016

US Offshore Lease Sale Yields $18 Mln in High Bids

Today’s U.S. oil and gas Lease Sale 248 garnered $18,067,020 in high bids for 24 tracts covering 138,240 acres in the Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area, announced Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Abigail Ross Hopper. A total of three offshore energy companies participated in 24 bids. The sum of all bids received totaled $18,067,020. In this sale, part of the Obama Administration's continued commitment to safe and responsible domestic energy production, BOEM offered 23.8 million acres in federal waters offshore Texas for oil and gas exploration and development. “The Gulf of Mexico continues to be one of the most productive basins in the world and is an important part of our Nation’s domestic energy portfolio,” Hopper said.

19 Aug 2015

Record Low Interest in US GoM Leases

A U.S. government sale of oil and gas drilling leases in the western Gulf of Mexico attracted the lowest number of bids on record on Wednesday as slumping oil prices kept producers from plowing money into expensive offshore prospects. The yearly sale, held by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), attracted $22.7 million in high bids, the smallest in the western Gulf since 1983 when leases were first broken down into regions, the BOEM said, reaping just one fifth of the value of last year's offers. "The continuing drop in oil prices and low natural gas prices obviously affect industry's short-term investment decisions," BOEM Director Abigail Ross Hopper said in a statement, also stressing the long term potential of Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production. U.S.

18 Aug 2015

US to Open Bids for Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) said it is set to conduct a Gulf of Mexico Western Planning Area Lease Sale 246 on Wednesday, August 19 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. Doors open at 7:30 and bid reading begins at 9 a.m. CDT. As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to continue to expand safe and responsible domestic energy production, Lease Sale 246 is the eighth offshore sale under the Administration’s Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017 (Five Year Program). The first seven sales in the Five Year Program offered more than 60 million acres for development and garnered more than $2.9 billion in bid revenues.

14 Aug 2015

NOIA Supports DOI’s Upcoming Offshore Lease Sale

National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) president Randall Luthi today voiced his support for the U.S. Department of Interior’s (DOI) Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale scheduled for next week. “The call to delay next week’s Department of the Interior Western Gulf of Mexico oil and natural gas lease sale shows how out of touch with energy reality and the American people some extremist environmental groups are,” Luthi said in a statement issued today. “Due to low oil prices and increasing regulatory burden, this is not expected to be a momentous sale, but even so, the oil and gas industry will add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the U.S. Treasury.

21 Aug 2014

High Bids in Western GofM Lease Sale

U.S. Government agency BOEM informs that Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 238 attracted US$109,951,644 million in high bids for 81 tracts covering 433,823 acres on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf offshore Texas. A total of 14 offshore energy companies submitted 93 bids. “This sale underscores the President’s commitment to create jobs and home-grown energy through the safe and responsible exploration and development of offshore energy resources,” said Interior Deputy Secretary Mike Connor. The lease sale, which offered 21.6 million acres, builds on five previous sales held under the Obama Administration’s Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017 (Five Year Program).

20 Aug 2014

Water Monitoring to Continue at Western Gulf Ports

Photo: CBI

A water monitoring network that helps keep port traffic moving is the responsibility of the Conrad Blucher Institute (CBI) for Surveying and Science at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. CBI, in partnership with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, has received the federal contract from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to continue to operate and maintain the water level and ocean monitoring network along the Western Gulf of Mexico. CBI, as a subcontractor, will operate in the Houston/Galveston and Lake Charles, La.

20 Aug 2014

GoM Sale Yields $110m in High Bids

As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to continue to expand safe and responsible domestic energy production, today’s Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 238 attracted $109,951,644 million in high bids for 81 tracts covering 433,823 acres on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf offshore Texas. A total of 14 offshore energy companies submitted 93 bids. “This sale underscores the President’s commitment to create jobs and home-grown energy through the safe and responsible exploration and development of offshore energy resources,” said Interior Deputy Secretary Mike Connor. Today’s lease sale, which offered 21.6 million acres…

19 Aug 2014

BOEM to Open Bids for Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Gulf of Mexico Regional Director John Rodi will open the Gulf of Mexico Western Planning Area Lease Sale 238 at 9 a.m. CDT on Wednesday, August 20, 2014 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. The sale, which offers more than 21 million acres for oil and gas exploration and development offshore Texas, is open to the public and news media representatives are invited to attend. Following the bid reading, a news media teleconference to announce the results of the sale will be conducted by BOEM Gulf of Mexico Deputy Regional Director Michael Celata. Media wishing to participate in the teleconference only should call 1-888-469-1174 by 10 a.m. CDT and provide the passcode GULF SALE.

30 Jul 2014

BOEM Extends O&G Lease Comment Period

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.

13 Jun 2014

US Kicks off Evaluation of Offshore Oil, Gas Leases

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.

15 Apr 2014

BOEM Proposes GoM Oil and Gas Lease Sale

Photo courtesy BOEM

As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to continue to expand safe and responsible domestic energy production, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy P. Beaudreau today announced that the bureau will offer more than 21 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 238…

14 Jan 2014

Chemical Tanker Adrift Off Irish Coast: Tugboat Despatched

Chemical Tankship Hellespont Charger: Photo courtesy of the owners

The tanker, carrying a 15,000-tonne cargo of caustic soda with 22 crew on board, lost power to its main engines 100 nautical miles off Loop Head while bound for Aughinish in the Shannon Estuary, reports 'The Irish Times'. The tanker, Hellesport Charger, registered in the Marshall Islands, was on a voyage from Corpus Christi in Texas in the western Gulf of Mexico to Aughinish in the Shannon Estuary when it lost power. Sea conditions are said to be rough with a six-metre swell and winds of up to force eight. The ship is not, however, believed to be in danger.

19 Dec 2013

BP's Commitment to GofM Confirmed: New Oil Discovered

Rig/Map Image CCL license

BP says it has made a significant oil discovery at its Gila prospect (which it co-owns with ConocoPhillips) in the deepwater US Gulf of Mexico. This is BP’s third discovery in recent years in the emerging Paleogene trend in the Gulf of Mexico and reflects the company’s ongoing commitment to the US offshore region. The Gila discovery was made by an exploration well on Keathley Canyon Block 93, about 300 miles southwest of New Orleans, in approximately 4,900 feet of water. The well, which penetrated multiple Paleogene-aged reservoir sands, was drilled to a total depth of 29,221 feet.

28 Aug 2013

Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale Yields $102.4 Million in High Bids

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 233, which offered 20.7 million acres and attracted $102,351,712 in high bids for 53 tracts covering 301,006 acres on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore Texas. A total of 12 offshore energy companies submitted 61 bids. The Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale builds on the first two auctions in the current Five Year Program – a 39-million-acre Central Gulf offering held in March, which netted almost $1.2 billion high bids and a 20-million-acre Western Gulf offering held last November that netted nearly $134 million.

24 Apr 2013

Obama Admin. Announce 21 Million Acre Oil and Gas Lease Sale

As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to continue to expand domestic energy production, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Acting Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy P. Beaudreau announced that Interior will offer more than 21 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 Lease Sale 233, scheduled to take place in New Orleans in August, will be the third offshore auction under the Administration’s Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017 (Five Year Program).

29 Jul 2013

Nearly 21 Million Acres for Sale in Gulf of Mexico

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced final details for the Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 233. The sale will take place on August 28 and will cover roughly 20.7 million acres million acres offshore Texas for oil and gas exploration and development. The bureau estimates the proposed lease sale could result in the production of 116 to 200 million barrels of oil and 538 to 938 billion cubic feet of natural gas. The sale offers 3,864 blocks, located from nine to 250 miles offshore, in water depths ranging from 16 to more than 10,975 feet (five to 3,346 meters). The sale, which will be held at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, includes all available unleased or non-protected areas in the Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area.

27 Aug 2013

Western Gulf of Mexico: 21 Million Acres up for O&G Development

As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to continue to expand safe and responsible domestic energy production, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy P. Beaudreau announced that BOEM will hold a lease sale tomorrow that will make nearly 21 million acres offshore Texas available for oil and natural gas exploration and development. BOEM estimates that Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 233 could lead to the production of up to 200 million barrels of oil and 938 billion cubic feet of natural gas. During tomorrow’s lease sale, BOEM will open 61 bids submitted by 12 companies on 53 offshore blocks. “Safe and responsible development of the Gulf of Mexico’s vital energy resources will continue to help power our nation and drive our economy…

08 Nov 2012

BOEM Seeks Comments on Environmental Review

Public Hearings Scheduled to provide opportunities for public input. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has completed a draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS), providing updated environmental and socioeconomic analysis to support two proposed lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico. Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 233 is tentatively scheduled for 2013 in the Western Planning Area (WPA), offshore Texas; and Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 231 is scheduled for 2014 in the Central Planning Area (CPA), offshore the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. BOEM will hold public hearings to provide an opportunity for interested citizens and organizations to comment on the environmental impact statement. Comments will be used to prepare the final SEIS.

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.