http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/585768/201109221832/Drill-Cuba-Drill.htm

This pretty much sums up Big Oil’s perspective. DV

Posted 06:32 PM ET
While rich domestic sources of oil remain off-limits to American producers, a foreign consortium will use this Chinese-built rig to drill for crude..

Energy Policy: Deep-water drilling will resume in the Florida Strait when a giant, semi-submersible oil rig en route from Singapore arrives later this fall. The bad news is it will not be American.

While U.S. oil and energy prices “necessarily skyrocket,” as President Obama once said they would under energy policies that have imposed a de facto ban on offshore drilling, a massive Chinese-built semi-submersible oil rig is on its way from Singapore to a drilling position off northwest Cuba perhaps as little as 50 miles from Key West, Fla.

The long-predicted move could come as early as November, as Spanish oil giant Repsol YPF leads an international consortium that will operate the rig known as Scarabeo 9. It wants to wait until the hurricane season ends before it begins drilling.

Six wells are planned to be drilled with this rig by the various international companies that own exploration rights off the north shore of the island.

Repsol drilled the only offshore well in Cuba in 2004 and said at the time it had found hydrocarbons. It plans to drill at depths of more than 5,500 feet, deeper than the blown-out Deepwater Horizon well that spewed 5 million barrels of crude into the Gulf of Mexico two summers ago.

Normally, what are called “economic zones” extend 200 miles off a country’s coastline. In some cases, there are conflicts based on resources and geography. In 1977, President Carter signed a treaty with communist Cuba that essentially split the difference and created for Cuba an “exclusive economic zone” extending from the western tip of Cuba northward virtually to Key West. Cuba then divided its side of the Florida Strait into 59 parcels and put them up for lease.

The U.S. Geological Survey recently estimated the North Cuban Basin contains as much as 9 billion barrels of oil and 22 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Other estimates range from 5 billion to 20 billion barrels of crude. Pools of oil and natural gas tend not to obey lines drawn on a map. It’s certain that at least some of Cuba’s wells will be tapping oil pools that straddle the boundary separating our zone from Cuba’s, meaning Havana will be getting oil that should be ours.

Meanwhile, the administration persists in pouring money into bankrupt solar-panel manufacturers as it imposes a seven-year drilling moratorium in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The Arctic National Wildlife refuge is off-limits, as are the nearby Beaufort Sea and most of the Chukchi Sea. What Gulf drilling remains is slowed by a snails-pace permitting process.

Robert Bluey of the Heritage Foundation says that allowing access to oil and natural gas resources now off-limits would increase U.S. crude oil production by as much as 2 million barrels per day by 2030, offsetting more than one-fifth of our oil imports.

According to the American Petroleum Institute, federal lands also hold an estimated 116.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil, enough to produce gasoline for 65 million cars and fuel oil for 3.2 million households for 60 years.

The argument against Gulf drilling has been the potential for oil leaks and spoiled beaches. Where are the environmentalists to protest this deal? Fact is, more oil bubbles up naturally from the sea floor than has ever leaked from oil platforms in the Gulf. They are in fact prime spots for tourist fishing since they act as artificial reefs for sea life.

The oil and gas resources of the Gulf of Mexico and the Outer Continental Shelf could be fueling American cars and heating American homes, not those in Beijing, Madrid or Havana. If Cuba and others can drill off the coast of Florida, why can’t we?

Special thanks to Richard Charter

I guess I never realized that old abandoned oil wells still have the potential to leak and create oil spills……..it’s an environmental threat that never goes away. DV

News Release
Date: September 19, 2011
Contact: D8 Staff
(504) 671-2020

NEW ORLEANS — The Coast Guard continues the response to a report of a crude oil discharge in Bayou Dupont and north Barataria Bay, Sunday.

The Coast Guard has determined that approximately 2,016 gallons of oil have been recovered from the site of the oil discharge in Bayou Dupont, near Wilkinson Canal in Jefferson Parish.

Response crews have secured the source of the first reported discharge and the second leak has ceased discharging. A third leak was discovered, Wednesday, near the southwest corner of the site and is no longer actively discharging. Containment boom has been placed around the leak by response crews.

Coast Guard Sector New Orleans is coordinating response efforts with the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office, Louisiana State Police, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and Louisiana Department of Natural Resources and Jefferson Parish Department of Environmental Affairs.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a report at 2:05 p.m., Sept. 11, from a Plaquemine’s Parish operator, that a pipeline from a platform was leaking crude oil into Bayou Dupont.

The platform and associated wellheads are classified as orphaned by LDNR with the last owner of record listed as Cedyco Corp. Under authority provided by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the Coast Guard issued an administrative order to Cedyco to secure the source of the discharge and to conduct clean-up operations. The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund has been opened to provide monetary support for any federal clean-up organizations. The Coast Guard contracted Oil Mop, an oil spill removal organization, for clean-up operations.

Approximately 13,080 feet of boom have been deployed to contain the oil and seven oil response boats, two skimmers and 59 personnel are on scene participating in the clean up.
LDWF is on scene to assess any impacts to wildlife. There are currently no reports of impacts to wildlife.

Other than the safety zone that was issued, there is no impact on fishing or recreational boating. All mariners are advised to avoid crossing boom or interfering with the response area and to avoid transiting through or fishing in any oiled areas. If oil sheen is spotted, it is requested that mariners report it to the National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802.

The LADEQ does not expect there to be any effect on seafood.

Coast Guard investigators have concluded that the sheens, oiled pelicans and tarballs reported this week in other parts of Barataria Bay are not related to this spill. The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the incident.

###
Saving Lives and Guarding the Coast Since 1790.
The United States Coast Guard — Proud History. Powerful Future.

Special thanks to Richard Charter

http://www2.highlandstoday.com/content/2011/sep/17/LAOPINO1-what-does-scott-really-think-about-drilli/

Highlands Today

Saturday, September 17, 2011
Published: September 17, 2011

The Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach, on drilling in the Everglades:
Gov. Rick Scott has some oily swampland he’d like to sell us. After presidential candidate Michele Bachmann suggested drilling in the Florida Everglades, fellow Republican Scott chimed in, saying the tiny amount of oil production that goes on in the Glades may not be enough.

He told The Economic Club of Florida he could support a “cautious” amount of new drilling. The Associated Press quoted him: “It’s my understanding, at least, (that) we haven’t had any problems in the Everglades to date.”

Funny, that’s pretty much what supporters of drilling in the Gulf of Mexico said until April 20, 2010, when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, burned, sank and unleashed a massive oil spill that stained beaches, killed wildlife and crippled the fishing and tourism industries in our region for a long, nightmarish season.

It was just like Scott’s sunny assessment of drilling in the Everglades. We hadn’t had any problems in the Gulf. Until we did.

And the problems may linger. After Tropical Storm Lee churned up the Gulf, tar balls began washing up on beaches near Gulf Shores, Ala.

Nobody knew whether the tar balls were left over from last year’s Deepwater Horizon spill. But, significantly, workers hired by BP – the oil company blamed for the spill – quickly began picking up the gooey stuff.

“It’s more proof,” said Gulf Shores city spokesman Grant Brown, “that there still are offshore tar mats (on the Gulf floor) and it’s washing ashore.”

Drilling proponents no doubt will argue that the Everglades won’t see any “deep water” drilling. Last year’s blown well off Louisiana was almost a mile down. But remember: In 1979, another Gulf oil leak took 10 months to plug, and it was in a mere 150 feet of water. Oops. Almost forgot. Rep. Bachmann didn’t talk only about drilling in the Everglades. She thought it would be nifty to see more drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, too. Terrific.

So here’s our advice to Floridians who cherish the Everglades, that carpet of green, brown and blue in the southern part of our state: If Scott and Bachmann have their way, you’d better start planning how to clean up after the disaster that’s bound to happen. And find some good lawyers.

Special thanks to Richard Charter

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/blames+poor+management+spill/5400865/story.html

BY REUTERS SEPTEMBER 14, 2011 9:04 AM

WASHINGTON – U.S. federal investigators on Wednesday blamed the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history on poor management and failure to respond to critical indicators by companies drilling the doomed Macondo well.

In their final report, investigators from the Coast Guard and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said BP made decisions that increased risks and Transocean misinterpreted a critical test prior to last year’s massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The likelihood of the blowout would have been less if workers from the British oil company, Halliburton Co and Transocean had been more careful, investigators probing the disaster said Wednesday. Increased awareness and vigilance from personnel at those companies “would have reduced the likelihood of the blowout occurring,” according to a 217-page report. Last year’s explosion on the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig killed 11 workers and spewed more than 4 million barrels of oil from the Macondo well into the sea.

The drilling disaster spurred a slew of investigations, lawsuits and regulatory reforms. The Justice Department has already sued the well’s owners, BP, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Mitsui Co Ltd., as well as Transocean. More charges could be brought, however, and the findings from federal investigators could provide fodder for lawsuits that BP and its contractors have filed blaming each other for the biggest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

A SERIES OF MISTAKES

Other official investigations of the spill have blamed the catastrophe on a series of mistakes made by BP and its partners.

Probes conducted by a presidential commission and the National Academies have said one key mistake was the rig crew’s decision to move ahead with the abandonment of the well despite tests that indicated problems with the well’s integrity. The presidential commission also blamed contractor Halliburton for faulty cementing on the well. The Coast Guard also released a draft report in April citing serious safety lapses in the lead up to the accident by Transocean, which as the owner the oil rig, falls under the USCG’s jurisdiction.

Both Halliburton and Transocean strongly dispute these findings, however.

Unlike some of the earlier probes, the report from the Coast Guard and BOEM included findings about Macondo’s blowout preventer, which was supposed to act as a last line of defense against a major spill. A forensic review commissioned by the federal team found that an off-center pipe stopped the device from operating properly.

REGULATORY CHANGES

In addition to the legal impacts of the federal report, the team’s investigation may lead to further changes in the regulatory landscape for offshore drilling.

Following the Gulf spill, the government imposed a raft a new rules aimed at preventing another disaster and began a complete reorganization of the scandal-prone offshore drilling agency, which was then known as the Minerals Management Service.
The new rules, coupled with a temporary moratorium on deepwater oil exploration, slowed oil and gas development in the Gulf significantly.

Oil drilling activity is picking back up in the region, with 20 deepwater floaters drilling in area, up from 4 at this point last year, according to a Barclays Capital Research note. Bromwich said the team’s findings would help guide future regulatory efforts for his agency, but he does not anticipate the report will call for any immediate changes in drilling rules.

Special thanks to Richard Charter.

http://www.npr.org/2011/09/12/140405282/cuban-offshore-drilling-plans-raise-u-s-concerns

National Public Radio
September 12, 2011

by NICK MIROFF

An oil rig built by China is now en route to the deep waters off northwest Cuba, where it could begin drilling exploratory wells as soon as November.

Recently, U.S. oil spill experts were in Havana, including the man who co-chaired the investigation into last year’s BP Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The U.S. group says long-running American trade sanctions stand in the way of proper spill preparation and a coordinated cleanup if something goes wrong on the wells that are just 60 miles from the Florida Keys.

Offshore oil drilling is banned along the Florida coastline. But the Cuban operation will be so close to U.S. shores that ocean currents could carry a spill through the Florida Keys, and foul beaches along the Atlantic Coast.

When former EPA Administrator William Reilly met with Cuban officials in Havana last week, he said the Cubans were serious about safety, even quoting from recommendations he’d written in the Deepwater Horizon report.

I have the impression they are deeply aware, very conscious, and quite apprehensive about what could go wrong.
– William Reilly, former EPA administrator who spoke with Cuban officials about offshore drilling

“I have the impression they are deeply aware, very conscious, and quite apprehensive about what could go wrong,” he said. “They know they’ve never regulated oil and gas in the offshore environment before. They know it’s an order of magnitude more sophisticated and more risky. They’re going to go very deep. All of those are going to require training, expertise and a culture they’ve not had. They’ve got a lot to do.”

The rig will not be operated by Cuba, but by foreign partners, led by the Spanish energy company Repsol. Geologists have estimated there may be 5 billion to 20 billion barrels of undersea oil off the island’s northwest coast, enough to make Cuba a significant producer.
A major find would also be a huge boost to the cash-strapped Cuban government, and Florida lawmakers have criticized the delegation’s trip, saying it lends “credibility” to the drilling plans.

Dan Whittle is an attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund, which organized the trip. He defended its goals.

“By all accounts, Cuba intends to start drilling as early as November or December. So we can’t simply hope it won’t happen. If and when Cuba drills, it’s simply imperative that we be at the ready to ensure that they get it right, that they do it safely and in an environmentally sound manner,” he said. “So this isn’t about politics. It’s about protecting our beaches, our shores, our fisherman, our communities.”

Unexpected Alliance

Cuba’s drilling plans have made for some unusual alliances between environmentalists like Whittle and oil industry veterans pushing for the U.S. to engage Cuba on contingency planning.

Lee Hunt is president of the International Association of Drilling Contractors, which is based in Houston and represents rig operators.

He said Cuba wants American help and has not cut corners on safety. Cuba has also sent hundreds of engineers to be trained with deep-water experts in Norway and Brazil. The rig, Hunt added, will have even more advanced safety mechanisms than the Deepwater Horizon.

“We don’t need to be afraid of a Chinese rig working in Cuban waters. They’re working everywhere around the world. We don’t need to have excessive anxiety over a Spanish oil company. They’re a world-class operator,” he said.

“What we do have a concern with are the impediments to the operator and contractor acquiring, in a timely fashion, the appropriate technology for prevention, and in the event of a disaster, for spill response and containment,” he added.

Hunt said thousands of jobs could be created if American drilling equipment suppliers and cleanup contractors along the Gulf Coast were licensed to do business with Cuba. If not, he said, cleanup supplies might have to come from as far away as England or Brazil.

Special thanks to Richard Charter.