Tommy Beaudreau News

U.S. Deputy Interior Secretary Tommy Beaudreau is stepping down from his role at the end of October, the Interior Department said in a statement on Wednesday, without giving a reason for his departure or saying how the vacancy would be filled.The Washington Post reported earlier Beaudreau was leaving after two years in the number two spot and a total of 10 years at the agency to spend more time with family.Earlier this year, Beaudreau signed the final approval for a scaled-back version of ConocoPhillips' (COP.N) $7 billion Willow project to drill for oil and gas in Alaska…

The White House on Wednesday nominated attorney Tommy Beaudreau, who oversaw energy development programs at the Interior department during the Obama administration, as the agency’s second in command.Beaudreau will return as deputy to Secretary Deb Haaland after serving nearly seven years there under former President Barack Obama, becoming the first person to lead the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which oversees offshore oil and gas activity.He later served as chief of staff…

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today named Abigail Ross Hopper as the Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), which manages the development of our nation’s conventional and renewable energy and marine mineral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf. Hopper currently serves as the Director of the Maryland Energy Administration and will assume her new position on January 5, 2015, as the second director in BOEM's history. Hopper will take the helm from Acting Director Dr. Walter Cruickshank, who has been serving since former Director Tommy Beaudreau became Chief of Staff to Secretary Jewell in May 2014. “Abigail Hopper’s knowledge of the energy sector…

As part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan to create American jobs, cut carbon pollution and develop domestic energy sources, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is assessing whether there is competitive interest in wave energy research or development in an area of federal waters offshore Oregon where the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center at Oregon State University (NNMREC-OSU) proposes to site a hydrokinetic energy facility to test utility-scale wave energy devices. BOEM will publish the "Notice of Potential Research Lease on the Outer Continental Shelf Offshore Oregon, Request for Competitive Interest” in the Federal Register on March 24…

The Obama administration on Thursday laid out a framework for assessing the amount of crude off the Atlantic coast, another step toward possibly allowing oil production in an area that has been out of reach for decades. The plan was released as part of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM) final environmental review of the possible impacts of seismic testing to gauge oil reserves in the Atlantic Ocean. If approved, the proposal would require measures aimed at avoiding vessel strikes of marine animals, the closure of certain areas to protect the migration path of the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale, and the use of underwater microphones to improve detection of marine mammals during seismic airgun surveys.

As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to continue to expand safe and responsible domestic energy production, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) today announced that it will hold Gulf of Mexico Eastern Planning Area oil and gas lease sale 225 in New Orleans on March 19, 2014, immediately following the proposed Central Planning Area (CPA) Sale 231. Proposed Sale 225 is the first lease sale proposed for the Eastern Planning Area under the 2012 – 2017 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Natural Gas Leasing Program, and the first sale offering acreage in that area since Sale 224, held in March of 2008. “This proposed sale is another important step to promote responsible domestic energy production through the safe…

“It is the prerogative of the President and Secretary to nominate whomever they choose, but there are many unanswered questions about how Janice Schneider will regulate the offshore energy industry. He added, “That being said, many of our members are disappointed that Tommy Beaudreau was not nominated. He came to the Department of the Interior during a difficult time, but over the last two years he earned the reputation for being willing to listen and learn about industry concerns. I wish him the very best as he returns his full attention to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

As part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan to create American jobs, develop domestic clean energy sources and cut carbon pollution, the Interior Department completed the nation’s second competitive lease sale for renewable energy in federal waters, garnering $1,600,000 in high bids for 112,799 acres on the Outer Continental Shelf offshore Virginia. Virginia Electric and Power Company is the provisional winner of the sale, which auctioned a Wind Energy Area approximately 23.5 nautical miles off Virginia Beach that has the potential to support 2,000 megawatts of wind generation – enough energy to power more than 700,000 homes. The sale follows a July 31 auction of 164…

Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Director James Watson and Acting Assistant Secretary for Lands and Minerals Management Tommy Beaudreau convened a meeting today in Houston, Texas, with senior executives from the offshore oil and gas industry to continue the dialogue on improving safety in offshore operations, particularly in shallow water in the Gulf of Mexico. The meeting follows three loss of well control incidents in shallow water operations since February.

Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salaza, launches review of the 2012 offshore drilling program in the Beaufort & Chukchi Seas. The expedited, high-level assessment of the 2012 offshore drilling program in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas is to review practices and identify challenges as well as lessons learned. The review, which is expected to be completed within 60 days, will pay special attention to challenges that Shell encountered in connection with certification of its containment vessel, the Arctic Challenger; the deployment of its containment dome; and operational issues associated with its two drilling rigs, the Noble Discoverer and the Kulluk.

The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has completed the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), with environmental analysis that will support decision-making concerning oil and gas lease sales scheduled in the Gulf of Mexico over the next five years. The FEIS provides baseline analysis in support of the 10 lease sales scheduled in the Central and Western Gulf of Mexico planning areas over the next five years and evaluates baseline conditions and potential environmental effects of oil and natural gas leasing, exploration, development and production in these two areas. BOEM will continue to evaluate new scientific and environmental information over the course of the coming years and to integrate that information in planning for individual lease sales.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) approved a supplemental Exploration Plan (EP) submitted by BP for deepwater oil and gas activities. BOEM conducted a site-specific Environmental Assessment (EA) of the activities described in the plan. This is the 44th plan that has been approved following the completion of a site-specific EA since stronger regulations were implemented in June 2010. Prior to any drilling under the plan, BP must obtain drilling permits from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), which will continue to assess the information that is necessary to allow specific activities. This is the first EP that BP has had approved since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent oil spill.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar named current Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) Director Michael R. Bromwich to lead the newly formed Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and current BOEMRE Senior Advisor Tommy P. Beaudreau to lead the newly formed Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). Bromwich and Beaudreau have both been highly involved in the creation of the two new bureaus, as well as the Department’s efforts to strengthen the oversight of offshore oil and gas exploration and development. BSEE and BOEM will be officially established on Oct. 1, 2011. Bromwich has agreed to serve as the BSEE Director until a permanent director is selected.