Tag: oil and gas industry

In response to a federal court order, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) released the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for Chukchi Sea Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Lease Sale 193. BOEM prepared the draft SEIS using the best available science, and working in close consultation with Alaska Native tribes, federal partner agencies, state and local governments, stakeholders and the public. “After a robust and thorough process, BOEM has prepared a Draft Supplemental EIS that addresses the issues identified by the court regarding the Chukchi Sea Lease Sale 193,”said BOEM Acting Director Walter Cruickshank. “In the analysis released, BOEM used a new exploration and development scenario to evaluate the potential environmental effects of oil and gas activities associated with Lease Sale 193. We look forward to receiving additional public input as we continue to take a balanced approach to the safe and responsible energy development in the region.” BOEM prepared the revised analysis in accordance with the April 24, 2014, remand order of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska. The original EIS for Lease Sale 193 was published in 2007 and the sale was conducted in 2008. Subsequent legal challenges and federal court decisions ...

The naming ceremony for four semi-submersible rigs, Hull No. 3031, 3032, 3034, 3035, ordered by the Norwegian based Songa Offshore Company

Kongsberg Maritime Embient, with KONGSBERG partner company Contros Systems and Solutions, has been selected to develop and deliver technologies and strategies for environmental monitoring during Gas Hydrate exploration and production as part of the EU ‘SUGAR' (Submarine Gas Hydrate Reservoirs) project. Germany's Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology started the 3rd phase of the more than €10 million joint project SUGAR at the beginning of October 2014. The project is a ground-breaking initiative in Gas Hydrate exploration, production and monitoring. The third phase will last three years and will lead into a European venture with world-wide impact for Gas Hydrates as a new energy source. Kongsberg Maritime Embient is the main contractor (together with Contros) in sub-project 4 of SUGAR, having been awarded the task of developing solutions for detecting and quantifying gas bubbles in the water column and creating leakage alarms autonomously. As part of this work, Kongsberg Maritime Embient will create a generic algorithm to collect and interpret data from ship-based sonars for easy leakage control of wide areas. In the second step, an autonomous seabed monitoring system (Lander), based on the Kongsberg Maritime developed Modular Subsea Monitoring (MSM) network concept, will be developed in close cooperation with ...

The Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel (SGMF) formally launched at the Singapore International Bunkering Conference and Exhibition (SIBCON) on 15 October 2014. SGMF, which exists to promote safety and industry best practice in the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel will take part in SIBCON with the aim of reaching out to the global marine bunkering community. "It’s an exciting time for us. We were established in September 2013 and already we are pleased to have 70 members on board. We are looking to speak with more members who work in this exciting industry to join us and get involved in the valuable work that we are doing for this industry" explains Brand, Marketing and Membership Manager, John Saunders. Formed as a membership based non-governmental organisation (NGO), SGMF encourages the safe and responsible operations of vessels using gas as fuel and all marine activities relating to the supply of gas used for fuel. SGMF publishes studies and produce information papers and works of reference to promote best practice for safe and responsible operations for both LNG-fuelled vessels and LNG bunker supply logistics. "We have two categories of membership: Full Membership and Associate Membership. Both categories ...

The structures collapsed at the faulty platform #441 of the Narimanov OGPD during the repair works and a wagon-house fell into the sea

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) Acting Director Walter Cruickshank announced that the bureau will offer nearly 44 million acres offshore Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama for oil and gas exploration and development in a sale that will include all available unleased areas in the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area. Proposed Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 235, scheduled to take place in New Orleans, Louisiana, in March of 2015, will be the seventh offshore sale under the Administration’s Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017 (Five Year Program). This sale builds on the first six sales in the current Five Year Program, which have offered more than 60 million acres and netted $2.4 billion for American taxpayers. “As one of the most productive basins in the world, the Gulf of Mexico is a cornerstone of our domestic energy portfolio, offering vital oil and gas resources that further economic growth and continue to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” said Cruickshank. “This lease sale is another important step in promoting responsible domestic energy production through the safe, environmentally sound ...

To address widespread concerns about fracking risk, particularly related to contamination of groundwater, DNV GL invites industry and other stakeholders to a joint industry project (JIP). The aim is to collect data, develop and validate quantitative risk assessment methodologies and outline risk management strategies that can be widely accepted by all relevant parties. The shale industry encompasses a great number of companies, so aggregated, quantifiable fracking related data is hard to come by.  This makes it more difficult for various stakeholders to assess fracking risk at various well depths, geological formations, and mixes of fracking solution components.  Risks are mitigated by utilizing various well design barriers that are intended to protect groundwater resources. DNV GL is proposing to bring together key stakeholders from all over the world: operators, service companies, academics, financiers, regulators and other interested parties. The objective is to collect and analyze shale gas fracking related data, apply statistical methodologies and then define quantitative measures of fracking risk to both horizontal and vertical portions of a well. ”By drawing on a wide range of stakeholders we get the best possible foundation to apply widely accepted methods of risk assessment and risk management,” says Rich Green, DNV GL’s Director ...

According to BIMCO, the world seems to be awash with oil these days, to an extent that no geo-political tensions in the oil-rich producing nations can make us "scared enough" to hike oil prices

Energy demand in South East Asia is expected to grow at twice the rate of the rest of the world. DNV GL has appointed Arve Johan Kalleklev regional manager for Oil & Gas in South East Asia just as the company is establishing a dedicated LNG and Gas Consulting unit in Singapore. The unit will support the extensive development plans for a safe, secure and reliable gas and LNG infrastructure in Asia. It is estimated that USD 460 billion will need to be invested in South East Asia’s gas and LNG infrastructure by 2035 to meet energy demand. “This will secure robust growth in LNG supply. The Pacific Basin has some of the largest exporters of LNG, but also some of the oldest plants-many more than 20 years old,” says Mr Kalleklev. “By establishing the LNG and Gas Consulting unit, DNV GL is demonstrating its continued commitment to Singapore’s ambition of becoming Asia’s natural gas hub. I believe DNV GL has an important role to play as an independent partner with more than 50 years of experience at the forefront of the LNG industry. We have the technical knowledge and global insight to support the industry across the entire oil ...

ICS has some specific comments regarding Proposal 6, ‘Offshore Oil and Gas - establishing binding international safety standards and liability’ of the Global Ocean Commission Report ‘From Decline to Recovery: A Rescue Package for the Global Ocean’  ICS has welcomed the publication of the Global Ocean Commission (GOC) proposals on how the governance of the world’s oceans might be improved. ICS shares the GOC’s objective of seeking greater levels of environmental protection, especially with respect to areas of economic activity that currently may not be adequately regulated. ICS notes that the ideas set out by the GOC include the establishment of a stand-alone UN Sustainable Development Goal for the oceans, a properly resourced and mandated UN Special Representative for the Ocean, as well the creation of an independent Global Ocean Accountability Board. ICS itself has strong no views on these proposals, provided that they do not interfere with the effectiveness of IMO as the shipping industry’s global regulator. However, ICS suggests that any views on these matters that might be expressed by IMO, or its Member States’ maritime administrations, should be given very careful consideration. Proposal 2 calls for a new UNCLOS implementing agreement, including the possible establishment of Marine Protected Areas on the ...