Results tagged “offshore”

A Walton Sun (Florida) op-ed, authored by geoscientist Al Swiercz and published last week, discussed the benefits of offshore drilling for Florida residents and the United States. Swiercz said that exploration would "not only protect the beauty of our beaches, but allow us to reap the benefits of offshore exploration," including tax revenues, jobs--including "blue-collar" rig jobs which pay upwards of $75,000 per year--and great fishing areas around offshore platforms.

At least three oil companies announced yesterday they were shutting in some production as Ida began to bear down on oil and natural gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. BP, Chevron and Marathon reduced production and evacuated some of their offshore facilities. Also, the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) stopped offloading tankers as sea conditions began to deteriorate.

As I've discussed on this blog, I recently traveled with a group of bloggers to visit man-made islands where drilling for oil and natural gas occurs in coastal waters--the THUMS Islands in Long Beach, CA.

Another voice in the news can be added to the list of those favoring increased access to our nation's offshore oil and natural gas resources. Last week, a Florida Sun-Sentinel op-ed authored by Dave Mica, executive director of the Florida Petroleum Council, discussed the new jobs, increased revenues, and energy security that offshore energy development could bring to the nation and the state of Florida--all with minimal impact to the surrounding environment.

Virginia Delegate Chris Saxman--a featured speaker at the Richmond Energy Citizens rally--authored an op-ed in today's Richmond Times-Dispatch highlighting the one-year anniversary of lifting the Congressional OCS moratorium and the continued lack of progress on offshore energy development.

U.S. oil and natural gas drilling rose slightly in the third quarter of 2009, but it still was quite sluggish. "API's Quarterly Well Completion Report: Third Quarter" showed that total well completions rose 10.2 percent from the second quarter of this year, but the total number of wells and dry holes was down 46 percent from 2008's third quarter.

An op-ed in last week's Osceola News Gazette by Florida state representative Mike Horner discussed the importance of domestic oil and natural gas production, and how production could bring additional revenues, thousands of well-paying jobs, and greater energy security to Florida and our nation.

This week's episode focuses on a recent tour of the THUMS Islands, a group of four manmade islands in California's Long Beach Harbor, where oil and natural gas are produced. The episode also features sound bites from Frank Komin, president of Occidental Petroleum, and Charlie Plant, production manager of White Island.

Thank you to my friend and fellow blogger James for allowing us to feature his commentary here. This was originally posted at his own blog, Observations.

Our government still has not figured out what to do about the dependence on foreign oil that everybody agrees is an unacceptable situation.

One year ago, the 30-year old ban on offshore drilling along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts expired, opening the opportunity for the United States to drill for more of its own oil and natural gas. What has happened since then to make America more energy self-sufficient?

Architect Joesph Linesch (1924-1996) had a vision for Long Beach, California--to become the Riviera of the West, a nearly fantasy-like harbor rivaling the buildings and landscapes he designed for Disneyland and Epcot Center. Between 1965 and 1968, he created structures and landscaping that make the oil production facilities here look like a high-end condominium complex.

Thursday was another gorgeous day in Long Beach, with blue skies and a pleasant breeze blowing along the harbor. At Lighthouse Point, children picnicked with their families while fishermen on a nearby pier caught croakers for supper. At the docks, you could hear seals barking at the Aquarium of the Pacific as tourists returned to shore on boats offering whale watching tours.

Long Beach has many attributes, among them a moderate climate, one of the busiest seaports in the United States and facilities that lure tourists to the area, including a massive convention center. But most residents here aren't aware of the hidden resources that have contributed so much to the City of Long Beach.

"A lot of residents don't know there is oil and natural gas development going on here," explained Curtis Henderson, the city's manager of oil operations.

No one likes to watch sausage being made, but most of us enjoy sausage. That seems to be the case with oil and natural gas, too. The vast majority of Americans enjoy the benefits afforded by these energy-rich fuels, but some Americans would prefer not to see how they are produced.

The City of Long Beach successfully addressed the "sausage-making issue" back in the 1960s when it passed a resolution allowing several oil companies to produce energy in its harbor. It said the companies could create man-made islands to drill for oil and natural gas in the coastal waters, but in return the companies had to disguise their activities. The companies agreed, and the THUMS Islands were born.

Today is your last chance to write to the government to support the Five-Year offshore drilling plan. At the close of business today, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) will end the public comment period, tally the emails and letters, write a report on its findings, and help the Secretary of the Interior decide whether to implement the government's offshore drilling plan.

The Committee on Natural Resources in the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing today on a proposal called the Consolidated Land, Energy and Aquatic Resources Act of 2009. While it's often referred to as an energy bill, it's actually an Un-Energy bill.

If passed, this bill would consolidate the leasing functions of the Minerals Management Service (MMS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) into a single office at the Interior Department. At present, the MMS manages the leasing of offshore land for energy development, and the BLM manages a similar process for onshore leasing.

Back in February, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that he was extending the public comment period for the Draft Proposed Program on Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) energy development. The comment period ends right around the corner--September 21, 2009--and at this time the Minerals Management Service (MMS) will analyze comments and make recommendations.

Yesterday's Richmond Times-Dispatch editorial, "Energy: Drill, Baby" discussed the nation's current and potential energy reserves and stressed the importance of increased access to oil and natural gas:

"...The country needs a broad spectrum of reliable and abundant energy sources. But fossil fuels will continue to make up a major part of the equation for years, if not decades. Start drilling--now."

As API President and CEO Jack Gerard noted a couple of days ago, the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 13-10 on Tuesday to open the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and natural gas development.

This should be welcome news to American consumers. If this amendment is enacted as part of the Senate's proposed energy bill, the United States finally will be able to harness the power of the area's abundant energy resources that have been off-limits for many years. It's estimated that the eastern Gulf contains 3.7 billion barrels of oil and 21.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, which are huge deposits by any measure. Producing the energy will create jobs, generate revenues for government and make more domestic energy available to consumers.

Yesterday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 13 to 10 in favor of opening the Eastern Gulf of Mexico for additional oil and natural gas leasing.

By allowing greater access to leasing in promising areas of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, Senator Dorgan's amendment stands to strengthen our economy and help the American people by creating new jobs, adding new energy resources and providing new revenues to federal, state and local governments.

In this week's episode, I talk with Kevin Book, a principal at ClearView Energy Partners, LLC, about energy legislation being considered in Congress. We also briefly discuss energy security issues and the recent rise in oil and gasoline prices.