Regulation

Since the lifting of a moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) almost two months ago, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM) has been working diligently to review applications for permits to drill in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, according to BOEM Director Michael Bromwich.

Although the Bureau of Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM) has not formally announced it, analysts believe that a Central Gulf of Mexico (GOM) oil and natural gas lease sale scheduled for March 2011 will probably be shelved.

Australian producer BHP Billiton received the first permit from the Bureau of Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM) to drill in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico since the moratorium was lifted in mid-October, analysts for Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Securities Inc. (TPH) said last Wednesday. But it’s not a sign that more deepwater permits are immediately around the corner, cautioned FBR Capital Markets.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Michael R. Bromwich, director of Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM), announced Monday that the department has issued guidance to offshore oil and natural gas operators clarifying industry requirements with respect to corporate compliance statements and blowout containment resources.

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.

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.

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.

Despite what he sees as excessive federal government regulation and unnecessarily lengthy permitting processes, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell still believes his state will become “the energy capital of the East Coast” and an offshore energy leader.

Despite what he sees as excessive federal government regulation and unnecessarily lengthy permitting processes, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell still believes his state will become “the energy capital of the East Coast” and an offshore energy leader.