Ocean

For the second year in a row, a La Nina event — cooling of ocean surface temperatures off the western coast of South America — will influence winter weather patterns across the United States, while the less predictable Arctic Oscillation could produce “dramatic” swings in winter temperatures, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

For the second year in a row, a La Nina event — cooling of ocean surface temperatures off the western coast of South America — will influence winter weather patterns across the United States, while the less predictable Arctic Oscillation could produce “dramatic” swings in winter temperatures, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The first oil and natural gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) since the Macondo well blowout will be held in New Orleans Dec. 14, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM) announced Aug. 19.

The first oil and natural gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) since the Macondo well blowout will be held in New Orleans Dec. 14, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM) announced Friday.

A Gulf of Mexico (GOM) lease sale that was delayed by the Macondo well blowout is back on the calendar for December, the head of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM) said. During a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on July 15 BOEM Director Michael Bromwich said the federal agency was “working very hard to do a lease sale in the western Gulf before the end of the year.” If it is delayed, “it would only slip a very little bit” to January. “We’ve been pushing very hard because we know how important it is to get that lease sale.” The western leasing area of the GOM generally is viewed as less attractive commercially to oil and gas operators than tracts in the central GOM, where the Macondo well was being drilled. A sale of central GOM leases remains on track to be completed before June 30, when the current five-year leasing plan is scheduled to expire, the BOEM chief said.

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM) Wednesday released a draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for proposed oil and gas Lease Sale 216/222 in the Central Planning Area of the Gulf of Mexico.

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM) has increased its inspection force of oil and natural gas rigs in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) by more than 40% since April 2010, according to the agency.

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM) is finalizing a plan to extend deepwater leases in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) for one year.

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM) is finalizing a plan to extend deepwater leases in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) for one year.