Ocean

BOEM Director Seeks to Beef Up Oil and Gas Industry Policing

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy, Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM) needs to expand the number of inspectors on its payroll and strengthen regulations in order to avoid a repeat of the deepwater Macondo well disaster in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this year, according to BOEM Director Michael Bromwich.

October 20, 2010

Interior Releases Draft SEIS for Chukchi Sea Lease Sale

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy, Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM) last Wednesday released a draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) that responds to the concerns raised by a U.S. district judge in Alaska, who ruled that the government’s sale of drilling rights for oil and natural gas development off Alaska’s Northwest coast violated federal law.

October 18, 2010

Report: Shallow-Water Permit Slowdown Hitting Gulf Economy

It is “imperative” that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM) quickly resume issuing permits for shallow-water drilling, according to researchers at the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University’s (SMU) Cox School of Business, who found that the slowdown in approving shallow-water operations “has very serious economic implications for the [Gulf Coast] region that rival or exceed those of the spill and moratorium” that preceded it.

October 18, 2010

Interior Releases Draft SEIS for Chukchi Sea Lease Sale

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy, Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) Wednesday released a draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) that responds to the concerns raised by a U.S. district judge in Alaska, who ruled that the government’s sale of drilling rights for oil and natural gas development off Alaska’s Northwest coast violated federal law.

October 14, 2010

Report: Shallow-Water Permit Slowdown Hitting Gulf Economy

It is “imperative” that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) quickly resume issuing permits for shallow-water drilling, according to researchers at the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University’s (SMU) Cox School of Business, who found that the slowdown in approving shallow-water operations “has very serious economic implications for the [Gulf Coast] region that rival or exceed those of the spill and moratorium” that preceded it.

October 12, 2010

Interior Nears Close of Controversial RIK Program

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM) said in a report sent to Congress Friday that it was nearing the orderly close of the scandal-riddled royalty-in-kind (RIK) program. The program officially ends on Sept. 30 when the remaining contracts expire, the Interior Department agency said.

September 27, 2010

Gulf Operators Directed to Dismantle ‘Idle Iron’

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and the director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM) announced Wednesday that they will require Gulf of Mexico operators to permanently plug nearly 3,500 nonproducing wells that are currently completed with a subsurface safety valve in place. Operators also will be required to dismantle about 650 production platforms if they are no longer being used for exploration or production.

September 16, 2010

Bromwich: ‘I Understand the Frustration’ of Shallow-Water Drillers

The director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM) Monday acknowledged the frustration of shallow-water drillers in the Gulf of Mexico as they face a slower permit approval process, but he said safety will not be compromised.

September 14, 2010

BP America Fined $5.2M for False Onshore Production Reports

The head of the new Bureau of Ocean Energy (BOE) agency told a House committee last Wednesday that a fine of $5.2 million was being imposed on BP America for submitting false reports related to onshore energy production.

July 5, 2010

BP America Fined $5.2M for False Onshore Production Reports

The head of the new Bureau of Ocean Energy (BOE) agency told a House committee Wednesday that a fine of $5.2 million was being imposed on BP America for submitting false reports related to onshore energy production.

July 1, 2010