http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-12-07/halliburton-worker-on-smoke-break-missed-bp-well-data.html

December 07, 2010, 4:10 PM EST
By Joe Carroll

Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) — A Halliburton Co. technician missed key signals that BP Plc’s doomed Macondo well was on the verge of blowing out because he was taking a smoking break, a federal investigative panel heard.

Joseph E. Keith, a senior unit manager for Halliburton’s Sperry subsidiary, told the U.S. Coast Guard-Interior Department panel in Houston today that he left his post aboard the Deepwater Horizon for about 10 minutes on the night of the April disaster to drink coffee and smoke half a cigarette.

While he was away from his monitors, pressure data indicated the well was filling up with explosive natural gas and crude, according to charts entered into evidence today by the panel in Houston. Keith said that had he seen the pressure data, he would have “called the rig floor” to warn fellow workers they were in danger.

The April 20 catastrophe killed 11 employees, injured 17, sank the $365 million Transocean Ltd. vessel and triggered the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Millions of barrels of crude gushed into the ocean for almost three months, fouling beaches, fishing grounds and marshes, and bringing deep-water oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico to a halt.

“Without someone watching those crucial data points, the people working on the rig had no way of knowing something was awry,” Robert L. Cavnar, former chief financial officer for El Paso Corp.’s oil-drilling business and author of “Disaster on the Horizon: High Stakes, High Risks and the Story Behind the Deepwater Well Blowout.”

Special thanks to Richard Charter

12/06/2010

Katie Howell, E&E reporter
The oil and gas industry will ask Congress to reverse the Obama administration’s plans for offshore drilling, the industry’s top trade group said today.

American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Jack Gerard told reporters that last week’s announcement by the Interior Department to keep unexplored areas in the Atlantic Ocean and eastern Gulf of Mexico off-limits to drilling for at least the next seven years was “taking the country in the wrong direction.”

“These are decisions that set the tone and framework for many years to come,” Gerard said. “This is much bigger than a short-term decision.”

The complexity of the issue demands Congress’ attention, he said.

“We believe an appropriate role for Congress is to provide significant oversight. There has been a bipartisan adverse reaction to what the administration has announced — it isn’t just about Democrats and Republicans,” Gerard said. “Key policies like OCS development, like greenhouse gas emissions, should not be made by unelected bureaucrats. They should be left to the Congress of the United States.”

Gerard added that API will “pursue whatever avenues we think are in the best interests of the American people,” when asked whether the group will seek legislation that expands leasing on the outer continental shelf.

Gerard said his group would look specifically to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and House Natural Resources ranking member Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), who will likely chair the committee in the Republican-led House next year. Bingaman and Hastings have both expressed disappointment with last week’s decision.

Gerard also touted a new poll out today that found 54 percent of respondents believe the new ban will lead to an increase in gasoline prices. And 54 percent predict the decision will be bad for the economy.

“We think this decision is clearly inconsistent with the view of the public,” Gerard said. “I don’t know what’s gone into the calculus, but hopefully, they’ll reconsider.”

The poll has drawn attention from Hastings and others. Hastings’ office, in fact, circulated the results among reporters this afternoon.

The Independent Petroleum Association of America’s president and CEO, Barry Russell, said of the findings: “The American people fully appreciate the critical role that domestic oil and natural gas production continues to play in ensuring our economy’s strength and our nation’s ability to compete in the global marketplace, especially as it relates to job creation here at home. Unfortunately, this administration clearly does not.”

Special thanks to Richard Charter

From: DOI_Events [mailto:DOI_Events@ios.doi.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, December 01, 2010 1:39 PM
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Salazar Announces Revised OCS Leasing Program

Date: December 1, 2010
Contact: Kendra Barkoff (202) 208-6416

Salazar Announces Revised OCS Leasing Program

Key Modifications Based on Ongoing Reforms, Unparalleled Safety and Environmental Standards, and Rigorous Scientific Review

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced an updated oil and gas leasing strategy for the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Based on lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Department has raised the bar in the drilling and production stages for equipment, safety, environmental safeguards, and oversight. In order to focus on implementing these reforms efficiently and effectively, critical agency resources will be focused on planning areas that currently have leases for potential future development. As a result, the area in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico that remains under a congressional moratorium, and the Mid and South Atlantic planning areas are no longer under consideration for potential development through 2017. The Western Gulf of Mexico, Central Gulf of Mexico, the Cook Inlet, and the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas in the Arctic will continue to be considered for potential leasing before 2017.

“As a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill we learned a number of lessons, most importantly that we need to proceed with caution and focus on creating a more stringent regulatory regime,” said Secretary Salazar. “As that regime continues to be developed and implemented, we have revised our initial March leasing strategy to focus and expend our critical resources on areas with leases that are currently active. Our revised strategy lays out a careful, responsible path for meeting our nation’s energy needs while protecting our oceans and coastal communities.”

Consistent with the President’s Executive Order on National Ocean Policy, today’s modified plan also confirms many actions announced in March, including environmental analysis to determine whether seismic studies should be conducted in the Mid and South Atlantic, and rigorous scientific analysis of the Arctic to determine if future oil and gas development could be conducted safely.

Lease sales in the Western and Central Gulf of Mexico under the 2007-2012 program are currently scheduled to begin in approximately 12 months, after the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE) completes appropriate environmental analyses that take into account effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Analyses and public meetings will also take place to help determine if additional lease sales in these areas should proceed as part of the 2012-2017 program.

In connection with today’s announcement, BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich stated that he is in the process of completing an agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) through which NOAA will collaborate with BOEMRE in the environmental analyses for OCS planning.

Interior and BOEMRE remain committed to working with all relevant partners and stakeholders as we enact and build upon key reforms in this vital industry.

A fact sheet on the announcement is at www.doi.gov.

A map of the Revised Alaska OCS Oil and Gas Strategy is at www.doi.gov.

A map of the Revised Lower 48 OCS Oil and Gas Strategy is at www.doi.gov.

FACT SHEET

GULF OF MEXICO

Lease sales in the Western and Central Gulf of Mexico under the 2007-2012 program are currently scheduled to proceed in late 2011 or early 2012, after the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE) completes appropriate environmental analyses.

Interior will also soon begin public meetings and environmental analysis to inform decisions about when and where lease sales in portions of the Gulf of Mexico currently not under congressional moratorium will be held during 2012-2017.

Most of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico planning remains under a Congressionally-mandated drilling moratorium and is not proposed for leasing in either the 2007-2012 program or the 2012-2017 program.

ALASKA

Offshore drilling in Alaska is under careful review and consideration by the Department of the Interior and BOEMRE. These efforts include scientific and environmental studies, public meetings, and additional analysis of oil spill response capabilities in the Arctic.

BOEMRE will soon begin to hold public meetings in Alaska to gather important public input and information for an environmental impact statement that will help inform Secretary Salazar’s decision on whether and where to schedule Alaska lease sales under the 2012-2017 program. The public meetings will cover the Beaufort, Chukchi, and Cook Inlet planning areas.

Decisions about the 2012-2017 program will be informed by an ongoing United States Geological Survey (USGS) assessment of resources, risks, and environmental sensitivities in Arctic areas, and input from other federal agencies, including the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Though no further lease sales in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas will be held under the 2007-2012 program, BOEMRE will continue to honor existing leases in the Arctic. Currently, one application to drill (APD) in the Arctic is pending before BOEMRE. The APD, submitted by Shell, proposes to drill one exploratory well in the Beaufort Sea in the summer of 2011. BOEMRE is processing that permit request. The Bureau is preparing additional environmental analysis of the area in light of Shell’s permit application, which it will release for public comment prior to making a final decision on the application. BOEMRE is working closely with other federal agencies that also must approve aspects of the proposed drilling activity, including NOAA and the Environmental Protection Agency.

If Shell’s proposed drilling operation is approved, BOEMRE would have safety personnel on site throughout the drilling operation to monitor the operation and hold them accountable for compliance with BOEMRE’s drilling safety and environmental regulations.

MID AND SOUTH ATLANTIC

Because the potential oil and gas resources in the Mid and South Atlantic are currently not well-known, Interior will move forward with an environmental analysis for potential seismic studies in the Mid and South Atlantic OCS to support conventional and renewable energy planning. No lease sales will be scheduled in the Atlantic in the 2007-2012 program or in the 2012-2017 program.

For more information about the offshore oil and gas strategy announced today, visit www.doi.gov.

###Special thanks to Richard Charter

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/dispatches/energy/7684-white-house-oks-potential-alaska-offshore-drilling

This is the price we pay for banning oil on the East and West coasts and in the Gulf of Mexico. DV

Patti Epler | Dec 1, 2010

The White House has decided to allow potential drilling in areas off Alaska’s northern coast, but officials say they’ll be cautious when deciding to approve exploration plans and leases. According to an Associated Press story (via the Anchorage Daily News), the federal government won’t pursue exploration off of the East Coast and Florida for at least the next seven years. Read much more from the AP, here.

Meanwhile, both Alaska senators are applauding the decision because it means Shell oil company may be able to move ahead with plans to drill an exploratory well in the Beaufort Sea this coming summer. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said in a press release that Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar called her this morning to tell her that all existing leases not under congressional moratorium would be honored. That means Interior will resume consideration of Shell’s application to drill test wells in the Beaufort in summer 2011, she said.

“This isn’t a slam dunk but it’s a step in the right direction, at least in Alaska,” Murkowski said.

Shell’s Alaska spokesman, Curtis Smith, said in an e-mail that the company is hopeful the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will complete its review in an expeditious manner.

“Today’s announcement was a positive one for Alaska and acknowledges that responsible oil and gas exploration can take place in the Arctic,” Smith said. “While Shell continues to make plans to drill in 2011; a final decision on our Beaufort Sea drilling permit is needed soon for Shell to continue to pursue 2011 exploration drilling.”

Environmental groups, who are still opposed to offshore drilling in the Arctic until companies demonstrate they can respond to and clean up an oil spill there, took Salazar’s announcement a bit differently, interpreting it as a statement that more environmental review is needed before Shell can proceed in the Beaufort Sea.

The groups were glad to hear that there will be a supplemental environmental assessment, although Shell said the review is essentially the same one that has already been done. More than a dozen local and national conservation organizations joined in the prepared statement and called for a full environmental impact statement before Shell can proceed. That process generally takes at least a year.

Special thanks to Richard Charter

http://www.npr.org/2010/11/29/131660871/deep-water-dive-reveals-oil-on-bottom-of-gulf
Special thanks to James Cervino and Coral-list