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Us Interior Department News

23 Nov 2023

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Shuts in Around 3% of Daily Output

Credit: US Coast Guard

Around 61,165 barrels of daily oil output from at least six producers, making up about 3% of crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, has been shut in by Third Coast Infrastructure's underwater pipeline leak, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday.The oil producers whose facilities are impacted include W&T Energy, Occidental Petroleum, Walter Oil and Gas, Cantium, Arena Offshore and Talos Energy Ventures, the Coast Guard said, citing the U.S. Interior Department's Bureau of…

16 Oct 2023

Massachusetts Offshore Wind Farm Dodges Lawsuits over Environmental, Fishing Concerns

Credit: Avangrid

A U.S. judge has rejected challenges to federal environmental permits and construction approvals for a $4 billion offshore wind farm near Massachusetts, which commercial fishing groups have claimed will harm whales and impair their businesses.U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston last Thursday tossed the final two federal district court lawsuits directly challenging the Vineyard Wind project roughly 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, which would be the first commercial…

27 Sep 2023

BOEM Postpones Oil and Gas Lease Sale 261

© Lukasz Z / Adobe Stock

The U.S. Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) said on Tuesday it will postpone its next sale of oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico.The agency said it will not hold Lease Sale 261 on September 27, 2023, as originally planned as a result of last week's ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ordering an expansion of acreage being offered after BOEM earlier reduced the area in an effort to protect an endangered whale species."The order allows time for a more orderly lease sale process…

11 Jan 2023

Elizabeth Klein Named BOEM Director

Elizabeth Klein (Photo: BOEM)

The U.S. Interior Department on Tuesday named Elizabeth Klein, a lawyer who worked in the Obama and Clinton administrations, to head the bureau that oversees offshore oil, gas and wind development.Klein will take over for the current head of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Amanda Lefton, who has resigned from the post effective Jan.

30 Jun 2022

Biden Drilling Plan May Exclude All Waters Beyond Gulf of Mexico

© Scott Bufkin / Adobe Stock

The U.S. Interior Department has recommended to the White House that all federal offshore oil and gas drilling auctions over the next five years be located in the Gulf of Mexico, where the drilling industry has already been focused for decades, according to two sources familiar with the matter.The recommendation to exclude all other waters from offshore oil and gas development comes as U.S. President Joe Biden seeks to balance his goal to transition the country away from fossil fuels against a Congressional requirement to hold regular drilling auctions…

26 Nov 2021

U.S. Interior Department Set to Release Federal Oil Leasing Review

© Troy V Smith / Adobe Stock

The U.S. Interior Department will release a long-awaited report reviewing the environmental costs and economic benefits of the nation's federal oil and gas leasing program as early as Friday, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.President Joe Biden's administration launched the review earlier this year in what had been widely seen as a first step in delivering on a campaign promise to end new federal fossil fuel drilling to fight climate change.The report, however…

25 Nov 2021

South Fork Wind Project Gets Final BOEM Approval

(Photo: Ørsted)

The U.S. Interior Department said on Wednesday it approved the South Fork offshore wind power project off the coast of Rhode Island, making it the second commercial-scale wind project with federal approval.The decision comes as the administration of President Joe Biden seeks to rapidly expand the U.S. offshore wind industry as part of its broader effort to decarbonize the nation's power sector by 2035, and the whole economy by 2050, to fight climate change.The approximately 130-megawatt South Fork Wind project, a joint venture of Danish firm Orsted AS and U.S.

25 Aug 2021

U.S. to Restart Oil Leasing with Offshore Auction This Year

Image credit: Scott Bufkin/AdobeStock

The Biden administration said on Tuesday it would take steps to restart the federal oil and gas leasing program in the next week and plans to hold a Gulf of Mexico auction as soon as October, court papers showed.The move comes two months after the U.S Interior Department first said it would comply with a June 15 federal judge's order blocking its months-long pause in oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters.That order was a blow to a key White House effort to address climate change by reining in fossil fuel extraction.U.S.

16 Apr 2021

US Interior Dept Revokes Trump Energy Policies, Focuses on Climate

© Troy V Smith / Adobe Stock

The U.S. Interior Department on Friday sought to erase the Trump administration's pro-fossil fuels legacy from the nation's public lands by revoking a suite of policies that boosted drilling and mining and ordering that climate change be put at the forefront in future agency decisions.The moves come as the Democratic Biden administration moves rapidly to implement policies aimed at decarbonizing the U.S. economy by 2050.Republican former President Donald Trump, a vocal climate change skeptic…

16 Mar 2021

NOIA Says Ready to Work with New Interior Secretary to Advance Offshore Energy Sector

Gulf of Mexico offshore facilities - Credit: Lukasz Z/AdobeStock

Following Monday's confirmation of the U.S. Representative Deb Haaland as Secretary of the Interior, the U.S. National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA), representing interests of the country's offshore energy industry, said it was ready to work with Haaland and the Biden Administration to "advance America's offshore energy sector."NOIA President Erik Milito said: "NOIA is ready to work with Secretary Haaland and the Biden Administration to advance America’s offshore energy sector.

09 Mar 2021

Biden to Review Future of Federal Oil Leasing Program

© otmman / Adobe Stock

The U.S. Interior Department announced Tuesday it will launch its review of the federal oil and gas leasing program on March 25, a key step that will determine whether the Biden administration will permanently halt new leases on federal land and water.The review will kick off with a public forum on oil and gas leasing on federal land and water, with participants representing industry, environmental conservation and justice groups, labor and others, and commence an online comment…

07 Feb 2018

California to Ban Crude from Trump Offshore Drilling Plan

© Don Bright / Adobe Stock

California will block the transport of petroleum from new offshore oil rigs through its state, officials told Reuters, a move meant to hobble the Trump administration’s effort to vastly expand drilling in U.S. federal waters. California's threat to deny pipeline permits for transporting oil from new leases off the Pacific Coast is the latest step by states trying to halt the biggest proposed expansion in decades of federal oil and gas leasing. Officials in Florida, North and South Carolina…

17 Oct 2015

U.S. Cancels Arctic Offshore lease Sale

The U.S. Interior Department on Friday said it would cancel two potential Arctic offshore lease sales after Royal Dutch Shell PLC said that it was not interested in those leases. "In light of Shell's announcement, the amount of acreage already under lease and current market conditions, it does not make sense to prepare for lease sales in the Arctic in the next year and a half," Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said in a statement. Shell said last month it was giving up its Arctic search for oil after failing to find enough crude oil. (Reporting By Patrick Rucker; Editing by Sandra Maler)

23 Jul 2015

US: Shell is Not Yet Allowed to Drill in Arctic Oil Zone

Fennica (Photo: Arctia Shipping)

The U.S. Interior Department on Wednesday granted Royal Dutch Shell two final permits to explore for crude in the Arctic this summer, but said the company cannot drill into the oil zone until required emergency equipment arrives in the region. The department's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) conditionally granted Shell permits for exploration in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska, in a season which sea ice limits from July until October. But Shell must have emergency equipment to contain a potential blown-out well deployable within 24 hours before drilling into the oil zone…

15 Jul 2015

Green Groups Ask U.S. to Stall Shell's Final Arctic Permits

Ten environmental groups say a missing icebreaker should be a deal-breaker for Arctic offshore drilling by Royal Dutch Shell PLC off Alaska's northwest coast and urged the U.S. government not to grant final permits to Shell, reports Reuters and AP. The groups in a letter that under Shell's exploration plans, the U.S. Interior Department cannot allow it to begin exploring for oil in the Chukchi Sea off northern Alaska while the icebreaker, the Fennica, is unavailable. The icebreaker is a key part of Shell's exploration plan and spill response plan, said attorney Mike LeVine of Oceana. "The Fennica plays an important role in protecting the entirety of Shell's fleet from ice," he said.

04 May 2015

Shell's Arctic Return Faces Hurdle at Seattle Port

Royal Dutch Shell's quest to return to Arctic drilling for the first time in three years could face delays after Seattle ruled that the city's port must apply for a permit for the company to use it as a hub for drilling rigs. Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, a Democrat who has fought against new projects by coal and oil companies, applauded the requirement by the city's planning department. "This is an opportunity for the port and all of us to make a bold statement about how oil companies contribute to climate change, oil spills and other environmental disasters - and reject this short-term lease," Seattle's Mayor Ed Murray said on his website. The Puget Sound region has a decades-long history as a hub for equipment used in energy drilling in Alaska.

30 Apr 2015

Shell Awaits U.S. Nod, Pushes Ahead in Arctic

Royal Dutch Shell is pushing ahead with plans to explore for oil in the Arctic Ocean near Alaska this summer despite opposition from environmental groups. The Anglo-Dutch oil major is preparing "an armada of 25 vessels" to begin a two-year programme to explore two to three wells in the Chukchi Sea off the coast of Alaska, Chief Financial Officer Simon Henry said on Thursday. "We are currently on track. Some of the permits are issued at the last moment," he told reporters. Although Shell had to pull out of the region in 2012 after an oil rig ran aground, the Arctic oil reserve "remains a massive value opportunity," Simon said. Shell has submitted plans to explore the Arctic to the U.S.

28 Apr 2015

Groups Seek US SEC Probe of Shell Arctic Drilling Risk Disclosures

An environmental group and a law clinic petitioned the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether Royal Dutch Shell has adequately disclosed to investors the risks of oil exploration in the harsh Arctic waters, the groups said on Tuesday. The U.S. Interior Department is mulling whether Shell can drill test wells for crude and gas off Alaska this summer. The company abandoned exploratory drilling efforts in 2012, an accident-plagued season in a region with little infrastructure for emergency response. Oceana, an international environmental group, and the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Chicago…

13 Apr 2015

US Well Control Regulations Proposed

BSEE Director Brian Salerno

U.S. In response to the findings of investigations into the Deepwater Horizon tragedy, and following a thorough evaluation of recommendations from industry groups, equipment manufacturers, federal agencies, academia and environmental organizations, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced proposed regulations to better protect human lives and the environment from oil spills. The measures include more stringent design requirements and operational procedures for critical well control equipment used in offshore oil and gas operations.

10 Apr 2015

US Begins to Formally Review Shell's Arctic Drilling Plan

The U.S. Interior Department said on Friday it has received a plan by Royal Dutch Shell PLC to explore drilling opportunities in the Arctic.   The company's plan envisions "exploration drilling in the shallow waters of the Chukchi Sea Outer Continental Shelf, off the northwest coast of Alaska."   Late last month, the Obama administration upheld a 2008 Arctic lease sale, clearing an important hurdle for Shell.   The Interior Department will now consider the company's drilling plan, which could take 30 days.   (Reporting By Patrick Rucker; Editing by Sandra Maler and Will Dunham)

31 Mar 2015

U.S. DoI Upholds 2008 Shell Arctic Lease

              Researchers working on the Chukchi Sea in 2010 (photo courtesy of NASA/Kathryn Hansen)

The U.S. Interior Department on Tuesday upheld a 2008 lease sale in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska, moving Royal Dutch Shell a step closer to returning to oil and gas exploration in the Arctic since it suffered mishaps in the region in 2012. "The Arctic is an important component of the Administration's national energy strategy, and we remain committed to taking a thoughtful and balanced approach to oil and gas leasing and exploration offshore Alaska," said Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.

08 Apr 2015

Shell Seeks Removal of Activists from Oil Rig

Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it has filed a complaint in federal court in Alaska seeking an order to remove Greenpeace activists who climbed aboard an oil rig in the Pacific Ocean bound for the Arctic on Monday in a protest against Arctic drilling. The environmental group said in a statement its team would occupy the underside of the main deck of the Polar Pioneer, which is under contract to Shell, and plans to unfurl a banner with the names of millions of people opposed to Arctic drilling. The group said the activists would not interfere with the vessel's navigation. "We're here to highlight that in less than 100 days Shell is going to the Arctic to drill for oil," 32-year-old Johno Smith, one of the six to board the Blue Marlin, the ship carrying the rig, said in the statement.

12 Sep 2013

Danger Lurking: Above & Below the Surface

Feds issue Interim Guidelines for reefing old rigs at the same time that NOAA identifies myriad potentially polluting shipwrecks. Salvage opportunities abound. In late June, the U.S. Interior Department revised its interim policy for defunct, offshore oil-and-gas platforms, making it easier to turn them into artificial reefs under an initiative by the agency’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement or BSEE. Separately, and at virtually the same time, a new NOAA report that examines national oil pollution threat from shipwrecks has been presented to the U.S. Coast Guard.