Offshore

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) urged federal regulators to continue working to update regulations to ensure the integrity of about 8,600 miles of active offshore oil and gas pipelines. The U.S. government watchdog also handed down recommendations for addressing the environmental and safety risks associated with decommissioning. The GAO said the Department of the Interior’s…

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is suspending its search and rescue efforts for eight people still missing after a Seacor Marine-owned liftboat capsized off Louisiana last week. “This does not mean the case is closed,” Capt. Will E. Watson, sector commander in New Orleans, said Monday during a press conference. “At any time, we might…

A second person has been found dead in the Gulf of Mexico after a Seacor Marine-owned liftboat capsized on Tuesday. The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) said Friday the person, an unidentified man, was spotted around 7:10 p.m. local time on Thursday by a helicopter crew that was searching the area. He was found in the…

The U.S. oil and gas industry reacted with dismay and the first of perhaps multiple lawsuits Wednesday ahead of an executive order (EO) by President Biden directing the Department of the Interior (DOI) to pause new oil and natural gas leasing on federal lands and offshore waters. The EO published Wednesday afternoon follows a 60-day…

Hess Corp. executives see the Bakken Shale continuing to drive significant cash flow for almost another decade, despite a moratorium on federal oil and natural gas leasing by the Biden administration. CEO John Hess told investors on Wednesday only 2% of the company’s Bakken acreage is on federal lands. The exploration and production (E&P) company…

“The Zama case is very important in our eyes and in the eyes of all oil investors, international and domestic, because of the precedents that will be set when the state oil company wants a share of production,” George Baker, Managing Principal of the Houston-based consultancy Baker & Associates and long-time publisher of the Mexico…

The long prospective Walker Ridge in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM) drew a bid of nearly $12 million on Wednesday in the final federal oil and gas auction of the year. The bid of $11,999,979 for Walker Ridge Block 365 was made jointly by Repsol E&P USA Inc. and Equinor Gulf of Mexico LLC,…

Natural gas futures moved back above $3.00/MMBtu Monday as export demand reached fresh highs and weather models added back some previously lost demand for the 15-day period. With expiration looming later this week, the November Nymex contract climbed 5.3 cents to $3.024. December edged up 5.8 cents to $3.253. Spot gas prices surged at the…

With government approvals in hand, ExxonMobil and its partners have pulled the trigger to move forward with the Payara field offshore Guyana in the estimable Stabroek Block. Payara, the third project in the abundant region, is estimated to cost $9 billion and is designed to produce up to 220,000 b/d. The project is set to…