Offshore Oil & Gas

 

A Crisis Could Be Brewing In The Gulf Of Mexico. According to Rigzone, “Jeopardized American energy security and a cost of thousands of U.S. jobs and billions in government revenue. That’s what we could see if there is a lapse in the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) five-year program for leasing in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a new analysis by the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA), which was prepared by Energy and Industrial Advisory Partners (EIAP). The next five-year offshore leasing program must be in place by July 1, 2022, but is well behind schedule, and no offshore lease sales can be held unless DOI implements a new program, API noted in a statement posted on its website. Nearly 60,000 jobs could be lost without the five-year offshore leasing program and a delay could mean nearly 500,000 barrels per day less in Gulf of Mexico production from 2022 to 2040, according to the report. On average, $1.5 billion per year in government revenue could be lost with reduced offshore production, the report noted. A lapse in the program would impact Louisiana more than any other state, costing thousands of jobs and millions in lost economic activity in Louisiana, the report highlighted. Nearly 14,000 jobs could be lost without the program and a delayed program could result in a loss of around $1.3 billion in contributions to Louisiana’s economy, according to the report.” [Rigzone, 3/30/22 (-)]

 

Marine Renewable Energy

 

Groups Call On Congress To Undo Offshore Moratorium. According to Politico, “Seven groups with diverse interest in offshore wind are pressing lawmakers to repeal the 10-year moratorium on offshore wind leasing in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, which is set to take effect on July 1. A provision in the stalled House-passed Build Back Better bill would have undone the Trump-era moratorium, and a similar measure was included in the House’s COMPETES Act. It was not, however, included in the Senate’s version of the China competitiveness bill. The groups complain the looming moratorium puts a cloud over the energy and economic potential of offshore wind. ‘In essence, much of the south had a vital and reliable renewable energy resource taken away from it, along with the jobs and economic development it would bring,’ says the letter, which was signed by the National Ocean Industries Association, the Business Network for Offshore Wind, American Clean Power Association, National Association of Manufacturers, Southeastern Wind Coalition, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Waterways Operators.” [Politico, 3/31/22 (=)]

 

Group Says Area Can Supply Equipment For Offshore Wind Industry. According to Herald Courier, “Southwest Virginia appears well positioned to manufacture secondary components to support future offshore wind energy development in Virginia and other states, according to a new study. The Xodus Group presented its research Wednesday, commissioned by InvestSWVA to support Project Veer, which showed the area offered multiple advantages for companies seeking to become involved in offshore wind energy projects. Project Veer is an economic development effort designed to explore entry points for the region’s manufacturers into the offshore wind supply chain. It is funded by the GO Virginia Region One Council, Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission and Coalfield Strategies. ‘The majority of major components are going to be imported for now,’ Delia Warren of Xodus told participants in a Zoom call Wednesday. ‘However, to make sure the industries are successful and to maximize economic contribution within the U.S., we’re going to have to make sure that supply chain is localized so as much manufacturing as possible can be done in the U.S.’” [Herald Courier, 3/30/22 (=)]

 

Maersk Vessel To Install Empire Wind Turbines Offshore Long Island. According to Offshore, “Empire Offshore Wind, a joint venture between Equinor and bp, has awarded a charter contract to Maersk Supply Service for a newbuild wind installation vessel. The vessel will be ready to work in the mid-2020s on the Empire Wind I and II offshore wind developments, performing installation of the Vestas V236-15MW wind turbines by means of a Jones Act-compliant spread. It will be supported by two newbuild tugs and barges, operated by Kirby Offshore Wind, which will transport the wind turbine components from the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal to the Empire Wind lease area, 15-30 mi (24-48 km) southeast of Long Island, New York. Maersk’s vessel is designed to remain in operation while the barges transport turbine components from the staging port on a continual basis. ‘The Maersk concept will ensure efficient installation of the Empire Wind turbines by using a dock-in feeder solution, which will improve safety by reducing the number of offshore lifts,’ said Trond Gulichsen, project director for Empire Wind.” [Offshore, 3/30/22 (=)]

 

Fisheries & Marine Life

 

AP | Maine Politicians Ask For Time To Comply With Whale Rules. According to Politico, “Maine’s congressional delegation and governor said today that the state’s lobster fishermen need more time to comply with new rules designed to protect rare whales. The rules are designed to protect North Atlantic right whales, which number fewer than 340 and are vulnerable to entanglement in fishing gear. The federal government is using the rules to impose new restrictions on when lobster fishermen can fish and what kinds of gear they can use. Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) and the four-member congressional delegation said one of the rules, which requires weak points in lobster lines, is essentially impossible for fishermen to comply with at this time. The rules call for gear conversion by May 1, but the new gear isn’t available to most fishermen, they said. The officials said the rule change should be kicked back to July 1. ‘The continued scarcity of required gear is making it increasingly unlikely that fishermen, despite their best efforts and those of suppliers, will be able to achieve timely compliance,’ the officials said in a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. NOAA will review the officials’ letter and provide a response as soon as possible, said Allison Ferreira, a spokesperson for the agency. She declined to comment further. NOAA is within the Department of Commerce.” [Politico, 3/30/22 (=)]

 

Sea-Level Rise

 

Companies Will Have To Disclose ‘Material Information’ On Climate Risks Under Global Standards. According to Politico, “Companies will have to disclose ‘material information’ about the sustainability and climate risks facing their business under draft global plans. The International Sustainability Standards Board, established at the COP26 Climate Summit to come up with a ‘global baseline’ for green disclosures to investors, published Thursday its first two proposed standards for sustainability and climate-related disclosures. ‘These proposals define what information to disclose, and where and how to disclose it,’ said Emmanuel Faber, chair of the ISSB. While the requirements are voluntary, individual jurisdictions could choose to make them mandatory. The EU is currently legislating to require 50,000 companies make green disclosures, and is working on its own related standards. … For climate change, companies would have to disclose how global warming may affect their business model, strategy, cash flows, access to finance and cost of capital. They’ll also have to identify transition risks, like the move to a low-carbon economy, and physical risks, like flooding or rising sea levels — and explain for the latter whether those risks are acute or chronic. Plus, companies will have to reveal their greenhouse gas emission levels.” [Politico, 3/31/22 (=)]

 

Global Flood Losses Hit $82 Bln Last Year, As Study Highlights UK Risk. According to Reuters, “Flooding cost the global economy more than $82 billion last year, accounting for nearly a third of all losses from natural catastrophes, reinsurance agency Swiss Re Institute reported Wednesday. In some parts of Europe, such losses could climb. A new study in the journal Nature found that stormy seas around Scotland and northern England have unleashed an increasing number of extreme storm surges in recent decades. ‘Floods affect nearly a third of the world population, more than any other peril,’ said Martin Bertogg, head of catastrophe perils at Swiss Re, in a statement. In 2021, there were more than 50 severe flood events across the world, often triggered by extreme rainfall and coastal storm surges. Scientists long thought that more severe flooding along low-lying coastlines was driven only by the world’s rising sea levels, caused by climate change melting polar ice and warming ocean waters so they expand. But scientists found that, in northern areas of the United Kingdom, stronger and more frequent storms over the North Atlantic since 1960 led to more extreme storm surges, according to the Nature study released Wednesday. The increased storm activity was as much to blame for the increase in extreme storm flooding as was sea level rise.” [Reuters, 3/30/22 (=)]

 

Op-Ed: How Are We Still Subsidizing Climate Change? According to an op-ed by Tefere Gebre in The Hill, “Sorting trash and recyclables is a tough, dirty job. If that’s what you do to make ends meet, you deserve some basic dignity: decent wages, health care, job security and a lunch break would be a bare minimum. That’s what I helped fight for when we unionized the workforce in Orange County, Calif. These folks were largely immigrants, and their employer took full advantage of them — they even had to schedule in advance when they could take a bathroom break. Although we won them some well-deserved protections, climate change threatens to sweep the rug out from under them. Increased temperatures will make the worksite even worse. Drought and water restrictions will make it harder to shower off at the end of the day. Rising sea levels threaten to flood coastal areas and disrupt the waste handling process. A glass full of clean, drinkable water is fast becoming a luxury item. I think often about my family and friends back in Orange County. What they face is a stark reminder that there won’t be any jobs on a dead planet. At the forefront of the climate crisis — right now, not down the road — are workers, poor people, mostly people of color. They have been paying a disproportionate price for what is happening now and yet they’ve had the least to do with heating up the climate and screwing up the planet.” [The Hill, 3/30/22 (+)]

 

Ocean Health & Management

 

Braces, Sex Pills, Fake Eyeball Among Bizarre NJ Beach Trash. According to Associated Press, “Volunteers picked up a record amount of trash from New Jersey’s beaches last year, with plastic items dominating the haul, and bizarre castoffs including male enhancement pills, a set of braces, a glow-in-the-dark condom and a Turkish Airlines hygiene kit found on the sand as well. The Clean Ocean Action coastal environmental group released its annual report Wednesday on the result of the prior year’s beach sweeps. Over 10,000 volunteers picked up over half a million items along the state’s 127-mile (204-kilometer) coastline in cleanups held in spring and fall of 2021. And some of it was just head-scratching, if not stomach-turning. A hunk of human hair; a full set of dentures (‘I TOLD you not to take your teeth to the beach!’); a thong; a used narcan kit (used to revive drug overdose victims); several marijuana bags (empty, of course); a bullet casing, and a fake eyeball were among items picked up. There also was a parking ticket; a lottery ticket; a glue stick; a mini-refrigerator; a toilet brush; a TV remote control; a Mason jar filled with (we hope) liquor; a plastic monkey, and a set of rosary beads, possibly from someone praying for the cast of characters that left all this behind.” [Associated Press, 3/30/22 (=)]

 

 

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