Tag: BOEM

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced the availability of a Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for evaluating potential environmental effects of geological and geophysical activities within the Gulf of Mexico’s Outer Continental Shelf.

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved a Beaufort Sea exploration plan in Alaska, received by Eni US, a subsidiary of Italian oil and gas company Eni. Following the approval, the company will become the first allowed to explore for oil in US waters off Alaska since 2015.

The US Department of the Interior announced that will resume evaluation of applications from six companies seeking permits to conduct geological and geophysical (G&G) activities in the Atlantic Ocean. The seismic surveying offers better understanding of the offshore areas, including locating offshore hazards, siting of wind turbines, as well as offshore energy development.

U.S. Department of the Interior and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced the completion of US’s seventh competitive lease sale for renewable wind energy in federal waters. The lease area has a potential generating capacity of 1,486 MW, enough energy to power more than 500,000 homes.

BOEM has announced the denial of six pending geophysical and geological (G&G) permit applications to conduct airgun seismic surveys in the Mid- and South Atlantic Planning Areas of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) have completed a comprehensive environmental analysis evaluating the potential impacts from the use of well stimulation treatments on the 23 oil and gas platforms currently in operation on the Outer Continental Shelf offshore California.

  The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced an agreement to have the National Academies establish a new standing committee on environmental science and assessment for offshore energy and mineral resources. The committee will provide independent information on issues relevant to BOEM’s environmental studies and assessment activities and support discussions on relevant issues. The committee’s services will be provided under a three-year contract with the National Research Council (NRC), the operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). “BOEM is thrilled to enter this partnership with the National Academies,” said BOEM Director Abigail Ross Hopper. “The Academies’ scientific credentials and the quality of experts affiliated with the organization make it a perfect choice to provide guidance to the bureau on scientific matters.” The NRC issued a call for nominations on June 23, 2015, seeking a broad pool of applicants for the standing committee. Nominations will be accepted by the NRC until July 15, 2015. The NRC expects to announce the committee membership later in the summer, followed by an announcement of its plans for the first meeting in the fall of 2015. The NRC will appoint approximately 15 experts out of ...

  After a comprehensive review and consideration of comments received from the public, stakeholders, and Federal and state partner agencies and tribes, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) conditionally approved Shell Gulf of Mexico, Inc.’s revised multi-year Exploration Plan (EP) for the Chukchi Sea. Among the conditions of approval is the requirement that Shell obtain all necessary permits from other state and federal agencies, including permits to drill from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and appropriate authorizations under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Another condition of approval prevents Shell from commencing drilling operations until all Biological Opinions under the Endangered Species Act have been issued and requires all operations under the plan comply with the terms and conditions included in those Biological Opinions. “We have taken a thoughtful approach to carefully considering potential exploration in the Chukchi Sea, recognizing the significant environmental, social and ecological resources in the region and establishing high standards for the protection of this critical ecosystem, our Arctic communities, and the subsistence needs and cultural traditions of Alaska Natives,” said BOEM Director Abigail Ross Hopper. “As we move forward, any offshore exploratory activities will continue to be subject to rigorous safety standards.” ...

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) released proposed regulations to ensure that future exploratory drilling activities on the U.S. Arctic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) are done safely and responsibly, subject to strong and proven operational standards. The proposed Arctic-specific regulations released today focus solely on offshore exploration drilling operations within the Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea Planning Areas. Using a combination of performance-based and prescriptive standards, the proposed regulations codify and further develop current Arctic-specific operational standards that seek to ensure that operators take the necessary steps to plan through all phases of offshore exploration in the Arctic, including mobilization, drilling, maritime transport and emergency response, and conduct safe drilling operations while in theater. “The Arctic has substantial oil and gas potential, and the U.S. has a longstanding interest in the orderly development of these resources, which includes establishing high standards for the protection of this critical ecosystem, the surrounding communities, and the subsistence needs and cultural traditions of Alaska Natives,” said Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell. “These proposed regulations issued today extend the Administration’s thoughtful approach to balanced oil and gas exploration in the Arctic, and are designed ...

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announces the availability of a new two-volume study report, Investigations of Chemosynthetic Communities on the Lower Continental Slope of the Gulf of Mexico. This final report presents the results from a five-year field study funded by BOEM and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (NOAA/OER), which was sponsored by the National Oceanographic Partnership Program. The objectives of the study were to discover and characterize the sea floor communities that live in association with hydrocarbon seeps and on hard ground in the deep Gulf of Mexico below a depth of 1,000 meters (3,300 feet). U.S. Geological Survey scientists participated in a complementary biological/genetics study. The findings were used in this report and added to our understanding of these unique communities. Researchers created photographic mosaics of several new animal communities that were discovered and deployed markers so these sites may be revisited in the future. A total of 107 new species were confirmed, including 24 undescribed species that do not fit into any described genera. These included many new genera and species of crustaceans - 18 new genera and 77 new species of copepods, one new genera and 17 ...