Maley's Energy Blog

Link: Aaaaaannnnd….there goes Deepwater rig #2, to the Congo. #rsrh

Link: Salazar’s Deepwater Moratorium Shell Game (>not< Shell Oil!) #rsrh

As long as the final decision rests with Salazar, there’s a moratorium.

Link: ‘Son of Moratorium’ Exposes Clueless Dem Leadership

Link: Salazar to issue new & improved Deepwater Moratorium #rsrh

IOW, one that will finish off Louisiana’s economy for good?

Link: Can you say “Rush to Judgment”?

This is an important piece of forensic evidence, if one is interested in determining exactly what happened on the Deepwater Horizon.

But before understanding the accident, the Obama/Salazar team has imposed an arbitrary moratorium and cast the entire regulatory structure of the offshore into chaotic paralysis. All their changes may, in the final analysis, have no bearing on the true root cause of the accident. The result, though, is certain: a crisis has been effectively exploited to cripple an entire segment of the domestic economy and to permanently erode the fragile economies of Louisiana and the other Gulf states.

Link: No bluff: Deepwater drilling rig (+ jobs) leave Gulf of Mexico. #rsrh

One down, 32 to go.

Environmentalists and the Obama Administration consider all offshore wells to be equally risky, but it’s important to recognize the relative risk of grossly dissimilar types of wells.

Congress is considering a proposal to remove liability limits for all offshore well operators. That provision would effectively limit offshore operations to those companies big enough to self-insure: BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, maybe ConocoPhillips, and the foreign national oil companies. Independents, even the large independents, will be forced out pf domestic waters due to their inability to secure affordable insurance. 

The Gulf of Mexico has produced billions of barrels of oil and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas over the last forty years, at what most people would consider an acceptable level of risk. With the exception of Chevron, all the majors have left the shallow waters of the “shelf” for deepwater. Consequently, the effect of unlimited liability will be to kill off the shelf, the safest area to operate.

To assess the relative risk of various types of offshore wells, I’ve developed a simple point system. It’s not guaranteed to be precise, accurate or even complete, but it will help illustrate a point.

• Water Depth:  Shallow water – 1 point; Deep water – 100 points
• Location:  Far offshore – 1 point; Nearshore – 10 points
• Geologic control:  Development – 1 point; Exploratory – 10 points
• Product:  Gas – 1 point; Oil – 10 points
• Tree/BOP location:  Surface – 1 point; Subsea – 10 points
• Pressure regime:  Normal pressure – 1 point; High pressure – 10 points

For a well’s score, just multiply the point values together.

Example #1: BP’s Macondo well was a deepwater, high pressure exploratory oil well, far offshore, with a subsea BOP. Score: 100 x 1 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 = 1,000,000 points

Example #2: A shallow water, low pressure gas well, close to shore but in an area where several wells have been drilled before. Score: 1 x 10 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 = 10 points

As this illustration shows, the risk of a Macondo-type well— measured by its relative potential of harm to workers or the environment — is several orders of magnitude higher than the garden-variety wells drilled in the shallower waters of the Gulf.

It is possible to make rational, informed decisions about offshore energy policy. The Obama Administration seems determined to play to ignorant emotion, exploit the crisis, and permanently cripple the nation’s secure domestic energy supply.

Cross-posted at RedState.com.

Link: 5th Circuit rejects bid to restore deepwater drilling moratorium #rsrh

Not that this will make an immediate difference. The threat of a second moratorium is Sec. Salazar’s ace in the hole, and is sufficient to keep the rigs from returning to the wells. Confusion reigns in the BOEM, the rebranded MMS, which is struggling to get legal opinions from the Interior Department’s Solicitor.

Link: BP Bigwig on Climategate East Anglia Exoneration Panel

“He is accountable for technology strategy and its implementation across BP and conducting research and development in areas of corporate renewal. In this role, David also oversees the technological capability of the company.” …

Heckuva job, Davey!

“David also managed the Westlake Campus in Houston and led the development of a new approach to Petrotechnical Learning in E&P.”…

“In September 2001, he became Lord John Browne’s Executive Assistant in the company’s London headquarters.” Uh-huh. “Following that assignment, David was Vice President of Deepwater Developments in the Gulf of Mexico.”

Well, there have certainly been some deepwater developments lately!

Link: Obama/Salazar Jihad on Offshore Drilling Continues #rsrh