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While Congress Is Fighting Over ObamaCare, Obama is Planning His Next Attack On America
Barack Obama is not about to be a “Lame Duck” President if he can help it. He promised to bring about the fundamental transformation of America and to force American energy costs to skyrocket. He has done a pretty good job of meeting his goals so far, but he is not done with us yet.
AZ Leader at Inform the Pundits has an excellent post up on how President Obama and his EPA storm troopers plan to force electricity costs in America to skyrocket. In that post, he provides a link to the President’s “Climate Action Plan“ and a link to new EPA regulations proposed on Friday. Let’s take a look.
President Obama’s Climate Action Plan
The preamble is taken from President Obama’s 2013 Inaugural Address (Emphasis added):
“We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires and crippling drought and more powerful storms.
The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition, we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries, we must claim its promise. That’s how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure — our forests and waterways, our croplands and snow-capped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.”– President Obama, Second Inaugural Address, January 2013
Please note the bits I put in bold. The “overwhelming judgment of science” is a scam. Check out this Inform the Pundit article. And, look at this quote from another Inform the Pundit article:
Claims of increased “extreme weather” events are being disproved by scientists. Not only are U.S. hurricanes in decline, but so are tornadoes, droughts, and floods.
That article is full true information backed up by good sources. But the truth never stopped Barack Obama before and it won’t stop him now. So, let’s see what he and his EPA storm troopers have in store for us. Oh, and that “sustainable energy sources” sounds a lot like Agenda 21, doesn’t it?
Continue: Here
Related articles
- While Congress Is Fighting Over ObamaCare, Obama is Planning His Next Attack On America (conservativesonfire.wordpress.com)
- Opponents ramp up fight against Obama climate plan (boston.com)
- Opponents ramp up fight against Obama climate plan (wfaa.com)
First LNG-Fueled Hydraulic Fracturing Completed in Eagle Ford Play
The liquefied natural gas (LNG) division of Calgary-based Ferus LP successfully completed in October what the company believes to be the first-ever hydraulic fracturing operation utilizing liquefied natural gas (LNG) as engine fuel in North America.
Ferus’ LNG Division was engaged by a major oil and gas service company in the United States to conduct the pilot project, which involved six dual-fuel 2,250 horsepower pressure pumper units, powered by LNG, to stimulate well performance in the south Texas Eagle Ford shale.
The dual fuel systems allow for natural gas and diesel to be consumed simultaneously with no decrease in performance, Jed Tallman, manager of market development for Ferus LNG, told Rigzone. Approximately 10,000 gallons of LNG was used in the pilot project, which took place in the southwestern portion of the Eagle Ford play.
While the company cannot discuss the plans of the operator involved in the pilot project, Ferus LNG has been contacted by numerous operators and service companies regarding LNG as a low-cost, environmentally superior alternative fuel, Tallman said.
The increase in interest by operators and service companies in using LNG for hydraulic fracturing has been dramatic.
“Because of the large amounts of diesel consumed in fracturing fleets, the use of LNG as an alternative fuel will result in cost savings for the operator or service company, not to mention a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions,” Tallman commented.
“LNG offers significant environmental and cost-saving advantages and is quickly becoming the alternative fuel of choice for heavy-duty high horsepower on-road and off-road applications in North America,” said Ferus President and CEO Dick Brown in a Nov. 28 statement. “We were very pleased to play such a critical role in this ground-breaking project, and we intend to be at the forefront of this growing industry as more and more diesel consumers make the switch to North America’s abundant supply of natural gas.”
It is difficult to estimate the specific size of the market for LNG in hydraulic fracturing and in other areas such as railroad transportation and trucking moving forward, Tallman commented.
“But given the economic benefits, improved emissions profile, and increased gas production, we feel that LNG will make up a considerably larger percentage of our domestic energy consumption in the future.”
While the use of LNG for hydraulic fracturing is not being specifically done to alleviate criticism of hydraulic fracturing, the improved emissions profile of natural gas certainly is a benefit, Tallman said.
To complete this project, which marks a significant milestone in the adoption of natural gas as an alternative engine fuel, Ferus managed the entire supply chain on behalf of its client including LNG supply, transportation, and on-site storage and vaporization using specialized equipment and highly-trained personnel.
In addition to being a cleaner-burning and less expensive fuel alternative, LNG is non-toxic, non-combustible, non-flammable as a liquid, and dissipates into the atmosphere in the event of a leak or a spill, making it safer than diesel and gasoline, the company said in a statement.
The use of LNG requires specialized fuel handling equipment and additional training for individuals involved in the LNG supply chain.
“As a leading provider of cryogenic liquids for the energy sector, Ferus is uniquely qualified for the undertaking,” Tallman said.
The increased use of natural gas to fuel not only hydraulic fracturing but transportation has grown thanks to the abundance of shale gas in the United States.
The use of natural gas over diesel is becoming more widespread, likely due to the cost benefits associated with fuel switching, according to a Nov. 28 analyst report from GHS Research. GHS referenced Baker Hughes‘ Nov. 26 announcement that it would convert a fleet of its Rhino hydraulic fracturing units to bifuel pumps as a way to improve operational efficiency, lower costs and reduce health, safety and environment impacts. Bifuel is a mix of gas and diesel.
The new pumps use a mixture of gas and diesel, reducing diesel use by up to 65 percent with no loss of hydraulic horsepower. The converted fleet, which meets all U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emissions standards, can also reduce a number of emissions including nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide and particulate matter.
Baker Hughes first converted a small fleet of its units in Canada; the success Baker Hughes saw with this endeavor prompted to company to convert an entire fleet in the United States. The company is converting several more fleets of Rhino trucks to Rhino Bifuel equipment. Baker Hughes also has a test program in Oklahoma, where a number of light-duty vehicles have been converted to natural gas.
Westport Innovations, which manufactures natural gas-powered truck engines, recently reported it is building a railroad locomotive engine that can run on LNG. During 2012, the company saw “broad consensus” for the first time that natural gas will take material market share in every global transportation market within the next five years, said David Demers, chief executive officer for Westport, during the company’s third quarter 2012 earnings update Nov. 8.
Demers noted that consensus suggests that the company will see 7 percent to 15 percent of the North American trucking industry run on natural gas in 2017.
Westport Innovations will also introduce new natural gas-powered versions of the Ford F-450 and F-550 Super Duty trucks in mid-2013, the company said in a Dec. 3 statement.
“Although current demand for natural gas used in vehicles is minor relative to the demand associated with power generation, industry and residential heating, it is catching on and may soon reach a tipping a point where growth rapidly accelerates, with or without government intervention,” GHS reported.
Related articles
- Baker Hughes using natural gas in fracturing jobs (fuelfix.com)
- Baker Hughes Converts Fleet of Hydraulic Fracturing Units to Bifuel (maritime-executive.com)
- USA: Waller Marine to Develop LNG Terminal (mb50.wordpress.com)
- Natural gas exports are in near future, Exxon says (star-telegram.com)
The U.S. is Blocking Energy Wealth and Jobs
By Alan Caruba
What if I told you that the government was blocking America’s prosperity in the form of enormous untapped energy reserves that represent wealth and jobs that would once again put America on the path to fiscal security and growth?
Recently, Matt Vespa, on CNS.com reported that the International Energy Agency released a report that said the United States has the capacity to outpace Saudi Arabia as one of the world’s leading producers of oil. It projected that the U.S. could become a net oil exporter around 2020. It could become entirely self-sufficient.
Even so, the Obama administration just moved to cordon off 1.6 million acres estimated to represent one trillion barrels worth of oil in the name of conservation. At the same time, the Environmental Protection Agency is moving to so encumber hydraulic fracturing—fracking—with so many regulations it will thwart increased use of this extraction technology that has been safely in use for decades.
As Dan Kish, Senior Vice President for Policy at the Institute for Energy Research, warns, there is a major government effort “to federalize hydraulic fracturing regulation” which is already being done by states “in a very professional and knowledgeable way. Take fracking away, the oil and gas production drops.”
For years, through many administrations, the federal government has been doing everything in its power to restrict drilling domestically and off-shore where billions of barrels of oil remains untapped. In October, a Wall Street Journal editorial noted that “The latest example is the Interior Department’s little-noticed August decision to close off from drilling nearly half of the 23.5 million acre National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.”
As far back as 1976, Congress designated the Reserve a strategic oil and gas stockpile to meet the “energy needs of the nation”, but oil and gas that is not extracted meets no needs. It keeps the nation dependent on imported oil and gas. In an August 22 letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar from the entire Alaska delegation in Congress called it “the largest wholesale land withdrawal and blocking of access to an energy resource by the federal government in decades.”
Noting that “Most of the other 11.5 million acres are almost indistinguishable from the acreage owned by the state that is being drilled safely nearby” the Journal pointed out that drilling on privately owned land has seen North Dakota pass Alaska as the second highest oil-producing state behind Texas.”
According to the Congressional Research Service, “The federal government owns roughly 635-640 million acres of the land in the United States. Four agencies administer 609 million acres of this land; the Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture, and the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Fish and Wildlife Service, all in the Department of the Interior.” The Bureau of Land Management manages 248 million acres and is responsible for 700 million acres of subsurface mineral resources.
Mostly by stealth, more and more privately owned land is being purchased by the federal government. In September 2011, Audrey Hudson, writing for Human Events, reported that “The Obama administration is spending $35 million to buy 30,000 acres of private property across the U.S. this year to make permanent homes for mice, fairy shrimp, mussels, prairie bushes and beetles. Those are just some of the 70 critters and plants to benefit from the land purchases in a dozen states as part of the government’s habitat conservation plans for endangered species.”
Quoting Rob Gordon of The Heritage Foundation, Hudson reported that “The federal government already owns more land than Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, and Poland combined.” The Endangered Species Act is just an excuse to secure ownership of more land and, in particular, to restrict development of every description from housing to hospitals.
Instead of a future in which our oil and gas reserves could unleash all manner of economic growth and the generation of thousands of new jobs, Ben Wolfgang, reporting in the November 22 edition of The Washington Times, “The drilling process that has brought the U.S. energy independence within reach faces renewed scrutiny from the Obama administration and an uncertain future in many states.”
“Next month, the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to release a draft of its long-awaited report on suspected links between water pollution and fracking, which uses huge amounts of water, combined with sand and chemical mixtures, to crack underground rock and release trapped oil and gas.” Fracking, however, occurs well below underground water levels and has been shown to have no effect on it.
What we are witnessing is the deliberate effort by the Obama administration, in concert with earlier administrations, to deny the economic benefit of tapping the nation’s vast reserves of oil and gas domestically and off-shore. This was evident, as well, in the President’s decision about the XL Keystone pipeline on the grounds that it threatened aquifers if allowed to proceed. Thousands of jobs were lost in that single decision with no evidence of the truth of the assertion.
As the nation sinks further into economic decline and default, it is obvious that the nation’s energy sector is being thwarted at a time when it holds the promise of lifting it out of growing unemployment, higher energy costs, and the drumbeat of utterly false environmental claims about greenhouse gas emissions.
© Alan Caruba, 2012
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Alan Caruba’s commentaries are posted daily at “Warning Signs” and shared on dozens of news and opinion websites. His blog recently passed more than 2 million page views. If you love to read, visit his monthly report on new books at Bookviews. For information on his professional skills, Caruba Editorial Services is the place to go! You can find Alan Caruba on both Facebook and Twitter as well.
Related articles
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- China planning ‘huge fracking industry’ (guardian.co.uk)
- The Poisonous Presidency (papundits.wordpress.com)
- Edwards: Drilling bills are expected this session (times-news.com)
Cummins Westport Begins Developing New Gas Engine, Canada
Cummins Westport announced it has begun development on the ISB6.7 G, a mid-range 6.7 liter natural gas engine designed to meet the increasing demand for on-highway vehicles powered by lower cost, cleaner and increasingly abundant natural gas. As a leading supplier of natural gas engines, Cummins Westport Inc. continues to expand its product range to supply the growing demand for natural gas engines.
The ISB6.7 G engine will be based on the Cummins ISB6.7 diesel engine and will use Cummins Westport’s proven spark-ignited, stoichiometric cooled exhaust gas recirculation (SEGR) technology. Exhaust aftertreatment will be provided by a simple, maintenance-free three-way catalyst.
The engine will run on compressed natural gas (CNG), however, the natural gas may be stored on the vehicle in liquefied natural gas (LNG) state or as CNG. The ISB6.7 G is expected to be in production by 2015 and will be designed to meet Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulations in force at the time of launch.
“The addition of the ISB6.7 G will round out our family of high performance natural gas engines,” said Jim Arthurs, President of Cummins Westport. “It joins the 8.9-liter ISL G, with over 16,000 engines in service, and the 11.9-litre ISX12 G, which will start production in 2013, to give our customers a broad range of natural gas engines for on-highway applications.”
Cummins Westport Begins Developing New Gas Engine, Canada LNG World News.
Recap: Worldwide Field Development News Jul 13 – Jul 19, 2012
This week the SubseaIQ team added 1 new projects and updated 31 projects. You can see all the updates made over any time period via the Project Update History search. The latest offshore field develoment news and activities are listed below for your convenience.
N. America – US GOM
Deep Gulf Strikes Oil at Bushwood Field in GOM
Jul 17, 2012 – Helix Energy has made an oil discovery at the Danny II exploration well at the Bushwood field, located in Garden Banks Block 506. The well encountered more than 70 feet (21 meters) of high-quality net pay, which reached a total depth of about 14,750 feet (4,496 meters) in a water depth of 2,800 feet (853 meters). The well is currently being completed and will most likely be developed via a subsea tie-back system to the company’s 70 percent owned and operated East Cameron Block 381 platform located approximately 31 miles (50 kilometers) to the north in 370 feet (113 meters) of water. First production from Danny II is expected in the fourth quarter of 2012. Helix holds a 50 percent working interest in the exploration well jointly with Deep Gulf Energy LP (Operator) and Deep Gulf Energy II, LLC, who own the other 50 percent working interest.
Anadarko to Appraise Shenandoah Discovery
Jul 16, 2012 – Anadarko is currently drilling the Shenandoah appraisal well in Walker Ridge 51 in approximately 5,800 feet (1,768 meters) of water. The operator is using the ENSCO 8505 (UDW semisub) to drill the well to a proposed depth of 32,000 feet (9,754 meters).
Project Details: Shenandoah
Australia
Santos to Spud Crown-1 in 3Q12
Jul 19, 2012 – Santos Energy reported that it plans to explore the Crown-1 well in the Browse Basin in 3Q 2012. The well is targeting gas in the WA-274-P permit in Australia’s Browse Basin.
Project Details: Crown
Santos Defers Kipper Production until 2016
Jul 19, 2012 – Santos Energy reported that drilling, completion and subsea tie-work at the Kipper development is complete, and the Kipper facility is expected to be completed in 2012. However, due to unforeseen circumstances arising from the existence of trace amounts of mercury, Kipper gas will not come online until dedicated mercury handling facilities are installed. The operator has outlined to the Kipper Unit Joint Venture (KUJV) parties a preliminary scope of work for mercury removal facilities to be built by the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture (GBJV) parties. KUJV has agreed to GBJV proceeding with detailed engineering studies to confirm the scope and cost of works. These studies are expected to be completed mid-2013 to allow a final investment decision to be made in respect of these facilities. Subject to a final investment decision, the operator has advised that first gas from Kipper is most likely to be in the first half of 2016.
Project Details: Kipper
MEO Acquires Seismic Data over WA-360-P Permit
Jul 18, 2012 – MEO Australia has acquired 3D data over its WA-360-P permit and an initial evaluation has supported the postulated connection of the Jurassic reservoirs forecast at the Maxwell prospect to the Triassic reservoirs of the Wheatstone gas field. MEO reported that the postulated connection extends north from Wheatstone through the adjacent permit and continues to Maxwell. Full depth correction of the seismic over Maxwell combined with the results of the Ananke-1 well, to be drilled shortly by the WA-269-P JV in the adjacent permit, will be critical in advancing Maxwell to drillable status.
Environmental Regulators Give Nod for Browse LNG Development
Jul 16, 2012 – Western Australia‘s Environment Protection Authority chairman Paul Vogel has recommended the $35 billion Woodside Petroleum-led Browse liquefied natural gas project can precede, describing the assessment as the most complex in the agency’s history. The recommendation is subject to a two-week public appeal process before the EPA’s assessment will go to state and federal environmental ministers. The EPA’s 29 conditions embrace underwater noise monitoring and fossil heritage management plans to sediment disturbance testing. Final bids from contractors for the onshore work at James Price Point are to be finalized later this month, which will give the partners a clearer view of the economics of the 12 million ton a year LNG plant.
Project Details: Browse LNG
Aker Solutions Signs Ichthys SURF Contract
Jul 16, 2012 – Aker Solutions has signed a contract with McDermott for the Ichthys gas-condensate field development. The scope of work includes the engineering, procurement, fabrication and supply of static and dynamic umbilicals, totaling 39 miles (63 kilometers) for the Ichthys LNG project. Key equipment within this contract comprise five dynamic umbilicals, seven static umbilicals, 36 steel tube flying leads, and associated equipment and hardware. The umbilicals and flying leads will be manufactured and delivered by Aker Solutions’ facility in Moss, Norway, and supported by the project management, design and engineering teams in Fornebu, Norway. The expected delivery date is 4Q 2014.
Project Details: Ichthys
Planned Upgrade of the Offshore Yolla Platform Sees Delays
Jul 13, 2012 – AWE and Origin reported that upgrades of the Yolla platform sited offshore in the Bass Strait, Victoria, will be delayed until the summer of 2012/2013. The first phase of the project, to convert the previously unmanned platform to one with accommodation installing export compression and condensate pumping modules, was originally scheduled to be completed by April 2012. Origin, the operator of the project, was however forced to push back the project scheduled due to challenging weather conditions in the Bass Strait. AWE owns a 46.25 percent stake in the project, while Origin and Toyota Tsusho Gas E&P Trefoil own a 42.5 percent and 11.25 percent stake respectively.
Project Details: BassGas Project
S. America – Other & Carib.
Borders Abandons Stebbing Well
Jul 17, 2012 – Borders & Southern Petroleum has abandoned its Stebbing well in the South Falkland Basin because anomalous pressure conditions meant it was unable to reach the deeper zones it was targeting. The Stebbing well (61/25-1) was drilled to a total measured depth of 10,040 feet (3,060 meters) and encountered “very strong gas shows” in the Tertiary section of the drill. Petrophysical analyses of the logs suggest an interval of thin-bedded siltstones and claystones with a net-to-gross of 36-percent and an average porosity of 19 percent. However, Borders said that due to the thin-bedded character of this sequence it was not possible to obtain a clear indication of the fluid type or saturation. Although the geophysical anomalies identified on seismic are coincident with this zone containing hydrocarbons, Borders??? initial assessment is that this upper target is unlikely to be commercial. Consequently, Borders took the decision to cease drilling and now intends to plug and abandon the well. The Leiv Eiriksson rig (DW semisub) will be released.
Project Details: Stebbing
Tullow to Abandon Jaguar-1 Well on Safety Concerns
Jul 16, 2012 – Drilling operations at the Jaguar-1 well in the Georgetown Block, Guyana, have ended and the well will be plugged and abandoned at a depth of 15,997 feet (4,876 meters), without reaching the primary objective. The partners unanimously agreed to stop drilling due to safety criteria. Jaguar-1 is a high-pressure, high-temperature well which was spud in February 2012 using the Atwood Beacon (400′ ILC) jackup. While the primary Late Cretaceous objective was not reached, samples of light oil were successfully recovered from two Late Cretaceous turbidite sands above the primary objective.
Project Details: Jaguar
Shell Begins Drilling Activities in Guyane Maritime Permit
Jul 16, 2012 – Shell has spud the GM-ES-2 well at its Guyane Maritime permit using the Stena DrillMax ICE (UDW drillship). The well, which is located in 6,200 feet (1,890 meters) of water, is being drilled to delineate the Zaedyus discovery.
Project Details: Zaedyus
Mediterranean
Cooper Secures Rig for Hammamet West-3 Well
Jul 17, 2012 – Cooper Energy has secured a drilling rig from Romanian Grup Servicii Petroliere (GSP) for its Hammamet West-3 well on the Bargou exploration permit, offshore Tunisia. The Bargou joint venture, with Cooper as operator, had signed a letter of intent with GSP for the use of the jackup rig GSP Jupiter (300’ILC) to drill the well which is scheduled to spud in December 2012. However, the spud date is dependent on when the rig is released from its prior commitments, so drilling might not occur until March 2013. Hammamet West-3 is being drilled to further assess the oil resource within the Abiod formation. Cooper intends to drill the well to penetrate the reservoir with a slightly deviated pilot hole. A highly deviated wellbore will then be drilled and tested, to confirm the oil productivity of the formation.
Project Details: Hammamet West
Africa – West
Rialto Completes Drill Stem Test at First Well in Block CI-202
Jul 18, 2012 – Rialto Energy has completed a drill stem test at the Gazelle-P3 ST2 well, achieving maximum flow rates of 19.5 MMcf/d of gas and an unstablized rate of 760 bopd from separate sands within the Upper Cenomanian reservoir. The operator stated that the maximum gas flow rate was constrained due to downhole equipment limitations. The estimated deliverability of the reservoir with standard 4.5-inch production tubing rather than the 3.5-inch test string is 33 MMcf/d.
Project Details: Gazelle
Wawa Confirms Additional Hydrocarbons in Deepwater Tano Block
Jul 18, 2012 – Tullow Oil has confirmed the presence of additional hydrocarbon-bearing formations in the Deepwater Tano Block offshore Ghana with the Wawa-1 exploration well. The well, which was drilled by the Atwood Hunter (DW semisub), encountered about 43 feet (13 meters) of oil pay and 65 feet (20 meters) of gas condensate pay. Wawa-1 was drilled in nearly 1,926 feet (587 meters) of water to a total depth of 10,899 feet (3,299 meters). The discovery reaches hydrocarbon-bearing formations over 6 miles (10 kilometers) north of the Enyenra-3A well, said Anadarko Senior Vice President of International and Deepwater Exploration Bob Daniels in a statement on Wednesday.
Project Details: Wawa
S. America – Brazil
Peregrino Field to Hit Plateau in Coming Weeks
Jul 17, 2012 – Statoil expects for its Peregrino oil field to reach a plateau production of about 100,000 barrels a day by mid-August as two new wells start output in the coming weeks. The field currently produces about 75,000 barrels of heavy crude per day.
Project Details: Peregrino
Petrobras Finds Oil in Espirito Santo Basin
Jul 13, 2012 – Petrobras has discovered a new oil accumulation in the post-salt layer of the Espirito Santo Basin. The discovery was made during the drilling of the Grana Padano well, 40 miles (64 kilometers) from the Golfinho field, at a water depth of 3,963 feet (1,208 meters). Petrobras said the discovery was confirmed by the gas detector response and profiling data for reservoirs at a depth of 6,588 feet (2,008 meters). The consortium will continue exploring the block and intends to submit a proposed assessment plan to the National Petroleum Agency with the aim of delimiting the accumulation discovered and estimating reservoir volumes and productivity.
Asia – SouthEast
Otto Energy Acquires 3D Data over SC 69
Jul 19, 2012 – Otto Energy reported that recently acquired 3D seismic data over Service Contract 69, offshore Philippines, has confirmed the presence of three attractive potential drilling targets in the most prospective portion of the block, namely Lampos, Lampos South and Managau East. A nine-month extension to the present permit term was granted by the Philippines DOE to allow sufficient time to complete detailed technical evaluation of the prospects and allow considered selection of the most attractive prospects for drilling. The operator stated that during the extension period, outstanding technical work will be completed, the prospect portfolio will be ranked and well planning will commence.
Newfield Increases Production in Belumut/Chermingat Complex
Jul 19, 2012 – Newfield Exploration reported that the East Belumut/Chermingat complex achieved a recent production record of more than 43,000 bopd. The increase in production is a result of recent successful development drilling and facility optimization.
Project Details: Belumut
BHP Billiton Scouting for Rig to Drill Cinco Prospect
Jul 19, 2012 – The SC55 joint venture is currently preparing for the drilling phase of exploration activities expected to commence with the Cinco-1 exploration well. The operator reported that it is currently negotiating access to an appropriate ultra deepwater rig with specialized well control equipment that will promote safe drilling operations on the proposed Cinco prospect. No specific data for commencement of drilling operations has been finalized.
Project Details: Cinco
Otto Energy Embarks on Galoc’s Second Phase of Development
Jul 19, 2012 – The Galoc joint venture is still moving forward with Phase II of the field’s development, which remains on schedule for the Final Investment Decision (FID) in 3Q 2012. The scope of FEED work, to be undertaken prior to FID, includes detailed subsurface modeling of the reservoir, drilling and completion design, subsea engineering and tie-back design for new wells. The consortium has pre-invested in the required infrastructure, including wellheads, flowlines and umbilical lines to ensure drilling can occur in 2013.
Project Details: Galoc
Europe – North Sea
BP Finds Gas near Marulk Field in North Sea
Jul 18, 2012 – BP has made a small gas discovery near the Marulk gas field in the Norwegian North Sea. The wildcat well, 6507/3-9S, situated in Production License 212E, found recoverable gas estimated at between 42 and 81 Bcf. It was drilled to a total vertical depth of 9,590 feet (2,923 meters) and encountered gas in Upper Cretaceous reservoir rocks in the Lysing formation. The 6507/3-9S well is now being plugged and abandoned, while the Polar Pioneer (DW semisub) rig used to drill it will move on to work on production wells in the nearby Cormorant field.
Project Details: The Greater Norne Area
Technip to Expand Drill Centers in the Alvheim Area
Jul 17, 2012 – Marathon has awarded Technip a contract to work on the ongoing expansion of the subsea drill centers at Kneler B and Volund in the Alvheim area of the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The contract includes engineering, fabrication, installation and diving tie-ins of pipeline spools, including protection covers and installation of a manifold. The offshore construction work will take place in 2012 and 2013.
Project Details: Alvheim
Wintershall Spuds Kakelborg Prospect
Jul 16, 2012 – Wintershall has spud the Kakelborg prospect, 33/6-4, in Production License 370 in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The operator is using the Borgland Dolphin (mid-water semisub) to drill the well in 1,076 feet (328 meters) of water. The rig is expected to reach total depth in August.
Jul 16, 2012 – An oil spill has occurred on the Osprey field in the UK sector of the North Sea, confirmed the Department of Energy and Climate Change. The spill, reported on Friday by Fairfield Energy, was discovered when a hydrocarbon sheen was seen in the vicinity of the Osprey subsea manifold which feeds back to the Dublin Alpha installation. Fairfield said that two on-line wells at Osprey have been closed in response to the spill. The firm and its partners are making efforts to identify the source of the oil, and a specialist vessel with a remotely-operated vehicle onboard is being mobilized to the location of the spill. An ongoing series of aerial observations is also taking place. Fairfield estimates that up to 8.7 tons of oil has been released into the sea.
Project Details: Dunlin
OMV Buys 15% of Aasta Hansteen Field from Exxon
Jul 13, 2012 – OMV has agreed to buy a 15 percent stake in the Aasta Hansteen field from ExxonMobil. The field contains what OMV sees as three significant gas discoveries with expected recoverable net volumes between 40 and 60 million barrels of oil equivalent of gas and between 0.8 and one million barrels of oil equivalent of condensate in a water depth of approximately 4,265 feet (1,300 meters). The acquisition also includes a 6.15 percent stake in the Norwegian Sea Gas Infrastructure project, which will see OMV’s overall stake in the project increase to 7.9 percent.
Project Details: Aasta Hansteen (Luva)
GDF Suez Sanctions Juliet Development
Jul 13, 2012 – GDF Suez has sanctioned the Juliet gas field at Block 47/14b in the UK sector of the North Sea. First gas from Juliet is expected in 4Q 2013 with peak production from the field anticipated to be 80 MMcf/d. The development will compromise two horizontal subsea wells tied-back some 14 miles (22 kilometers) to the Penrenco-operated Pickerill A platform via a 12-inch diameter pipeline and control umbilical. The operator will drill the first well in 2Q 2013 with topsides and subsea construction taking place throughout 2013. Existing infrastructure will transport Juliet gas to the ConocoPhillips operated Theddlethorpe terminal on the Lincolnshire coast.
Project Details: Juliet
Dana Moves Forward with Western Isles Project
Jul 13, 2012 – Dana Petroleum has entered the detailed engineering design phase on the $1.5 billion Western Isles development project in the UK sector of the North Sea. The Western Isles project will develop two discovered oil fields called Harris and Barra, which lie 99 miles (160 kilometers) east of the Shetlands and 7 miles (12 kilometers) west of the Tern field. The development will consist of nine wells. Work on the detailed engineering design will begin immediately and the project is expected to receive full approval from the UK Government towards the end of 2012, with first oil production expected in 2015. The Harris and Barra fields are estimated to contain recoverable oil reserves of 45 million barrels, with upside potential in the area.
Project Details: Western Isles
Sevan Marine Inks Western Isles FPSO Deal
Jul 13, 2012 – Dana Petroleum has selected Sevan Marine’s FPSO technology for the Western Isles development project. Sevan Marine and Dana Petroleum have negotiated two agreements, one technology license agreement whereby Dana pays a license fee to Sevan for the right to use the proprietary Sevan Technology, and one Service Agreement under which Sevan will provide technical and administrative resources to Dana during the project. The development is expected to produce more than 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent each day and the project is expected to receive full approval from the UK government towards the end of 2012, with first oil production expected in 2015.
Project Details: Western Isles
N. America – US Alaska
Buccaneer Energy Set to Mobilize Jackup to Cook Inlet
Jul 19, 2012 – Buccaneer Energy Limited reported that the Endeavour, Spirit of Independence (300′ ILC) will be transported from Singapore to Cook Inlet, Alaska. The Endeavour is expected to depart Singapore at the end of July 2012 and it will take about 21 days to reach the Cook Inlet, where the rig will be offloaded and towed via tug to the first well location in the operator’s offshore program. It is anticipated that the rig will be towed to the Cosmopolitan location in the ice free southern Cook Inlet to commence drilling operations.
Black Sea
Melrose Acquiring 3D Data over Muridava, Est Cobalcescu Concessions
Jul 16, 2012 – Melrose Resources has commenced seismic operations at the company’s Muridava and Est Cobalcescu concessions in the Romanian Black Sea using the Vyacheslav Tikhonov seismic vessel. The planned acquisition program comprises 474,442 acres (1,920 square kilometers) of 3D data, sufficient to cover both licenses. The survey is now 28 percent complete.
Melrose Pinpoints New Prospect in Galata Block
Jul 16, 2012 – Melrose Resources has acquired 3D data over the central area of the offshore Galata Block and interpretation has confirmed the presence of a number of potential reservoir structures. A revised prospect inventory has been compiled and audited by the company’s independent reserves assessors. The company said that seven structures have been identified in the area with a total combined unrisked P50 resource estimate of 125 Bcf. The highest ranked prospect is called Kamchia, which has an estimated P50 prospective resource of 27 Bcf and a chance of success of 40 percent. Preparations are underway to drill the well in 2013 as part of a multi-well rig program. The program will also include the completion of the Kavarna East discovery and two exploration wells in Romania. In the event of a discovery at the Kamchia prospect, the prospect would be developed as a subsea tie-back to the Galata field production platform.
Project Details: Galata Area
MidEast – Persian Gulf
DNO Completes Drilling of West Burkha-5 Well in Oman
Jul 18, 2012 – DNO International has completed the drilling of the West Bukha-5 well in Block 8 and is preparing to resume operations at the West Bukha-4 well, whose top-hole section was previously drilled. Results from the initial flow test of West Bukha-5 confirm the presence of oil in the Thamama reservoir, with an estimated flow capacity of 1,500-2,000 barrels per day. Samples and measurements taken during the initial test flow period indicate an oil gravity of 35-degree API and a gas-to-oil ratio of 5,000 standard cubic feet/barrel. The well will be put on production this summer once normal offshore pipeline operations resume. West Bukha-5 is the first of a three-well development drilling campaign in Block 8. Drilled to a total depth of 17,060 feet (5,1200 meters), including a 3,000-feet (914-meter) horizontal section with good fracture indications, West Bukha-5 is the deepest well yet for the company in Oman.
Project Details: Block 8
Related articles
- Recap: Worldwide Field Development News Jul 6 – Jul 12, 2012 (mb50.wordpress.com)
- Recap: Worldwide Field Development News (May 18 – May 24, 2012) (mb50.wordpress.com)
- Recap: Worldwide Field Development News (May 4 – May 10, 2012) (mb50.wordpress.com)
The Mother of All Hoaxes
By Alan Caruba
There was a brief flurry of stories in the media at the beginning of what has become a historic summer of hot weather across the U.S. that global warming was to blame. They faded swiftly because the public has concluded that global warming is the mother of all hoaxes, because we are in the midst of a failing economy and the political campaigns that will decide if the nation literally lives or dies.
This has not stopped the Public Broadcast System’s News Hour from airing a new series “on how climate change in the Pacific Northwest is affecting the region’s Native American Indian tribes—flooding their reservations and threatening the region’s salmon fisheries.” Climate change is shorthand for global warming.
While the nation’s media continues to propagate the hoax, what hope is there for the TRUTH?
Significantly “the NewsHour’s year-long Coping with Climate Change series is funded by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.” The nation’s leading foundations have been funding the global warming hoax for decades and continue to do so.
So one more article about the deception and duplicity of global warming may seem superfluous and it would be if the U.S. Air Force wasn’t spending $59 per gallon of “green biofuel” and the U.S. Navy wasn’t doing the same for its Great Green Fleet. The justification for this is the utterly false assertion that “alternatives” are needed in the event we can’t produce or import petroleum.
The U.S. is floating on an ocean of oil, but for now it can only be extracted from lands owned privately because the Obama administration has done everything in its power to restrict access to it on federally owned lands and, of course, the billions of barrels locked up off-shore.
In exactly the same way that the Obama administration has presided over the loss of billions in subsidies and loan guarantees for the solar panel companies or the ridiculous costs of wind power industry compared to a single coal-burning plant, at the heart of it all has been the claim the global warming is caused by “greenhouse gas” emissions, carbon dioxide, that imperil the Earth.
Recently, my friend Joseph L. Bast, the president of The Heartland Institute, wrote an article, “IPCC Admits Its Past Reports Were Junk”, posted on AmericanThinker.com.
It struck me that very few people even know that IPCC is the acronym for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Few people know that the entire global warming hoax was generated by the IPCC, let alone know what it is.
Most people associate global warming with Al Gore who has been among its most prominent advocates, warning that “the Earth has a fever” and that we were doomed if we didn’t stop generating carbon dioxide. Gore and his collaborators wanted to sell “carbon credits” in exchanges around the world and for a while he greatly enriched himself.
In Australia, the government has imposed a tax on carbon dioxide which it likely to destroy its manufacturing base along with the extraction of coal and other minerals.
Here in the U.S. the Environmental Protection Agency continues to assert that carbon dioxide must be regulated as a “pollutant” under the Clean Air Act and, if successful, will likewise destroy what is left of our manufacturing base and all other industries that generate or use energy to function.
And the man in the street remains completely clueless about the impending ruin of the nation based on the reports of the IPCC which the Inter-Academy Council (IAC), a group created by the world’s science academies to provide advice to international bodies, has long since concluded were utterly false and baseless.
On June 27, the IPCC issued a statement saying it had completed the process of implementation of the recommendations that an August 2010 IAC analysis had made after examining who was contributing to their reports, who was reviewing their content (the same people!), and the astonishing, utterly false, claim of “a consensus” that global warming was happening.
As Bast points out, “It means that all of the ‘endorsements’ of the climate consensus made by the world’s national academies of science—which invariably refer to the reports of the IPCC as their scientific basis—were based on false or unreliable data and therefore should be disregarded or revised.”
“It means that the EPA’s ‘endangerment finding’—with its claim that carbon dioxide is a pollutant and threat to human health—was wrong and should be overturned.”
It is a terrible thing to live in a nation governed by falsehoods, spending the public wealth on useless technologies, living under the tyranny of government departments and agencies pursuing those lies for their own agendas and political masters.
Unless the harm perpetrated in the name of global warming is reversed, we shall all remain the victims of the United Nations IPCC, the EPA, and all other entities seeking to control every aspect of our lives.
The poles are not melting, the glaciers are growing, the oceans rise mere millimeters over centuries, and right now planet Earth is cooling.
Related articles
- By its actions, the IPCC Admits Its Past Reports Were Unreliable (wattsupwiththat.com)
- IPCC Admits Its Past Reports Were Junk (americanthinker.com)
- Joseph L. Bast: IPCC Admits Its Past Reports Were Junk (junkscience.com)
- CLIMATE SCAM: IPCC Admits Its Past Reports Were Junk (sgtreport.com)
- You Knew That: IPCC Admits Its Past Reports Were Junk (tarpon.wordpress.com)
- Hockey Schtick: New paper shows IPCC models exaggerate water vapor feedback (junkscience.com)
- PBS NewsHour global warming coverage: IPCC/NOAA Scientists – 18; Skeptic Scientists – 0 (junkscience.com)
The Slippery Slope of Domestic Drones
There are plenty of obvious concerns about the use of domestic drones. Their use by law enforcement is expanding rapidly, and it’s only normal to be concerned about privacy laws. Even if you don’t have a reasonable expectation of privacy in a public place, with drones the size of hummingbirds, will you have a reasonable expectation of privacy on your own property, or even through your own windows? In the long run, what will constitute the need for surveillance? In Washington state it could be a nice new way to fine litterers.
Let’s not forget the original intent of this technology. Drones are used by our military to spy on, and to kill our enemies. Or at least, those we perceive to be our enemies, whether guilt has been proven or not, and with a callous disregard for collateral damage.
While it could be argued that some use of surveillance drones is reasonable; for example, border patrol or missing persons cases, how soon does it become difficult to draw the line? Are we there already?
Just this week members of Congress accused the EPA of using drones to conduct surveillance flights over Iowa and Nebraska farms. Though they were assured by the EPA that they are using only manned aircraft to check for violations of federal clean water laws, it does make one wonder about the right of the EPA to conduct this type of surveillance in the first place. Not to mention the fact that even Congress doesn’t know what the EPA is doing.
We have many large government agencies like this. The EPA might not actually be using drones to monitor your compliance with federal laws now, but how long until they are? With domestic drones getting smaller and easier to come by, it seems that it is only a matter of time. And if the EPA now, then who next? The FDA? It would be a lot easier for them to keep tabs on who you are selling your raw milk to, if they could only monitor everyone who comes and goes from your property.
Then there is the fact that law enforcement is already talking about arming drones with rubber bullets. Of course this is mainly for things like crowd control. But At some point do you look up at the drone flying over head and feel a sudden solidarity with citizens in Islamabad, wondering; am I next? Perhaps the idea seems a little far fetched now, but not so very long ago, the idea of drones surveying your neighborhood was also far fetched.
Welcome to our new reality.
James Madison once warned us that “the means of defense against foreign danger have always been the instruments of tyranny at home.”
Is doesn’t seem like wisdom to treat our government, who can so easily brush off the deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians, as if they are somehow different people when it comes to surveillance here at home. We need to be vigilant about how this technology is used.
H.R. 5925, The Preserving Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act, was recently introduced by Rep. Austin Scott, R-GA, “To protect individual privacy against unwarranted governmental intrusion through the use of the unmanned aerial vehicles commonly called drones, and for other purposes.” The text of the bill is not available yet, but it would require the government to obtain warrants for surveillance purposes.The bill is currently bound up in judicial committee where many bills go – never to be heard from again. It’s a good start though, and a reminder that we can enact our own surveillance regulation in our own states. In the meantime, we should be asking our Congress men and women to support this kind of legislation that would protect our 4th amendment rights.
Related articles
- Sen. Paul proposes bill protecting Americans from drone surveillance (thehill.com)
- Sen. Paul Introduces Bill to Protect Americans Against Unwarranted Drone Surveillance (ConservativeActionAlerts.com)
- EPA Drones, part 2 (nebraskaenergyobserver.wordpress.com)
- Is EPA Using Drones Over Missouri? (stlouis.cbslocal.com)
- Public Intelligence identifies 64 aerial drone bases in the US (theverge.com)
- Why Is the EPA Using Drones to Spy on Cattle Ranchers in Nebraska and Iowa? (foxnewsinsider.com)
- Farmers vs. EPA – EPA now using drones for surveillance (revolutionarypolitics.tv)
Oil Refiners Launch Counter Offensive on Obama’s ‘War on Fossil Fuels’
America’s oil refiners are preparing to intensify efforts to press the federal government to drop mandates to encourage the development of advanced biofuels and counter the Obama administration’s “war on fossil fuels.”
The Renewable Portfolio Standard requires that 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel be blended with petroleum-based products by 2022 under the Bush-era Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
Five years can be a very long time in US energy politics, said Charles Drevna, president of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, whose members include oil supermajors such as Shell, BP and Chevron.
“RFS2 was really conceived at a different time in the nation’s history even though it was only a few years ago. There was a thought permeating through Congress that we were eventually going to run out of natural resources.
Policy Tools not keeping Pace with Shifting Market Dynamics
“Since then, as a nation we fully understand we’re not an energy poor nation, we’re an energy rich nation with the advent of fracking and horizontal drilling.
“We’ve had this 4-5 year experiment going on which we believe has proved to be a failure.”
The RFS2 demonstrates how quickly the dynamics of the energy industry can outgrow policy, said Drevna, in an exclusive interview with AOL Energy.
“Policymakers haven’t kept pace [with change in the energy industry] and that’s always a problem when you have new technology and entrepreneurship being developed but when you’re forced to apply mandates and uneconomic solutions once they’re passed they’re very difficult to get amended.
“One of our major goals at AFPM is to have Congress and whatever administration it is to take a long hard look at the RFS and come to the epiphany that if we want to limit our reliance on foreign sources of crude oil the best way to do it is to develop our own resources and forget this totally anti-consumer anti-environment anti-common sense approach to national security which is mandating biofuels and renewables.”
At the end of May, Drevna warned the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: “The policies of the administration and EPA continue to support a war on fossil fuels that ultimately harms consumers, workers, the economy and our country’s national security.”
AFPM is a 110-year-old trade association which represents 98% of US oil refiners that process 18 million barrels of oil a day with a combined annual revenue of $725 billion.
In April, the US Energy Information Agency forecast that US gasoline demand this summer – usually a peak period – is expected to be the lowest in 11 years, partly due to rising gasoline prices at the pump and more fuel efficient vehicles.
Next month, Sunoco‘s Philadelphia refinery will become the latest in a number of refinery closures which have resulted in a 4% decline in refining capacity in the US since last year.
Overall, gasoline demand in the US declined since the 2008 spike at $147 a barrel and flattened since the subsequent global economic recession, said Drevna.
Biofuels Seen as a Small but Growing Threat
Although advanced biofuels are at de minimis levels of production this year, Raymond James equity research analysts forecast 800 million gallons of production by the end of 2013.
Meanwhile, the 133.93 billion gallons of gasoline consumed in the US last year contained about 12.87 billion gallons of ethanol, accounting for 9% of each gallon pumped into tanks.
Advanced biofuel and ethanol production are unlikely to make too much of a dent in the US liquid fuel market which is expected to sell 186 billion gallons of gasoline and diesel this year.
But AFPM sees mandates on alternative sources of liquid fuels for transportation and chemicals as a direct threat to the industry – and the American economy.
“We don’t think [biofuels] should be mandated whether it’s corn ethanol, biofuels or biodiesel until such time as those products are as efficient, reliable and abundant as gasoline and diesel produced from petroleum,” said Drevna. “Until they are able to compete head to head then let the free market decide, let the consumer decide.
…E15 goes way beyond what makes sense.” – Drevna
“The RFS was based on ideology and political science rather than reality and real science. We believe it needs to be significantly modified to prevent harm to American consumers and the economy.”
But the RFS2 has not been without its problems. Earlier this year, the EPA had to revise down its quota for cellulosic ethanol from 500 million gallons to 10.5 million gallons as advanced biofuels are still at zero commercial production. But refiners were still fined $6.8 million by the EPA – part of what Drevna said was a “hidden tax” for the consumer as costs were transferred to the consumer.
US ethanol producers last year reached saturation point of production for its domestic market as a 10% blendstock in gasoline. EPA’s decision to raise the maximum percentage blend to 15% is potentially dangerous, said Drevna.
A recent Coordinating Research Council (CRC) study found that there are at least 5 million vehicles on American roads which are at risk of failure with 15% ethanol blended fuel.
“We don’t think the EPA has the authority to bifurcate the fuel system. How much corn are we going to use to blend when we have enough oil under our own feet and off our own shores? We’re not anti-ethanol but E15 goes way beyond what makes sense.”
Related articles
- Is ethanol now the “biofuels Solyndra?” (hotair.com)
- Biofuels May Emit More Greenhouse Gases Than Thought (theepochtimes.com)
- Environmental benefit of biofuels is overestimated (tginnovations.wordpress.com)
- Biofuel mandates could close more refineries, officials warn (mb50.wordpress.com)
Continents of the World
Mb50's "Liquid Mud" Rant 