Energy Today - February 18, 2011
Rayola Dougher
Posted February 18, 2011
Bloomberg: Oil Companies Complete Spill Containment System: Marine Well Containment Co., a nonprofit group whose founders include Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips, said an initial response system for future oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico has been completed. The status of potential containment systems has been a focus for regulators following a record offshore U.S. oil spill at BP Plc's Macondo well in the Gulf last April. The U.S. Interior Department said Jan. 25 that it was refusing to issue deep-water exploration permits because energy companies hadn't shown a capability to respond to a massive spill. The system includes a subsea capping stack with the ability to shut in flowing oil or to send crude to surface vessels using flexible pipes and risers, Marine Well Containment said today in a statement. Other initial members of the group include Chevron Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc. The achievement fulfills a plan to deliver a system within six months of starting the well containment project, Marty Massey, the organization's chief executive officer, said in today's statement. Reuters: Government ordered to act on Gulf oil drilling permits: A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Interior Department to decide in the next 30 days whether to approve five pending permits to drill in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The permit requests from London-based Ensco Plc have been in limbo since the BP oil spill and the department's insistence that oil companies meet tough new safety requirements before they can get approval to explore for crude or natural gas in the Gulf. The judge's order does not require the department to approve the permit requests, but only to decide their fate within a month.
Rigzone: API: Admin. Tax Hike Will Harm Jobs, Decrease Govt Revenue: API President and CEO Jack Gerard said raising taxes on the oil and natural gas industry, as the administration is proposing in its budget, would harm job creation and lower government revenues long term: "It's no surprise the administration is proposing yet again to raise taxes on the U.S. oil and natural gas industry. But it's still a bad idea and comes at one of the worst times in our economic history. The administration continues to ignore the fact this industry is among the nation's largest job creators and delivers enormous revenues to government at all levels. The industry pays income taxes, royalties and other fees totaling nearly $100 million every day and pays income tax at an effective rate far higher than most other industries. "Besides eliminating thousands of new potential jobs, the increases, over the long term, would actually lower revenue to the government by many billions of dollars as a result of foregone revenues from projects the tax hikes would prevent going forward.
The Washington Post: Oil companies unveil spill containment system: A group of oil companies led by Exxon said Thursday it has built a system that can stop an undersea oil spill within weeks, a critical step toward resuming drilling in the deepest parts of the Gulf of Mexico. The group said its combination of equipment and support vessels can contain a spill similar to BP's massive gusher, which took almost three months to plug. Some of the equipment was used by BP in containing its well blowout last year. Regulators have demanded that oil companies demonstrate the capability to contain the blowout of an underwater well before granting permits to drill again in Gulf waters deeper than 500 feet. Exxon said this system meets that demand and should have no trouble gaining government approval. The group's engineers consulted with regulators during development, Exxon said.
Additional Resources:
CNN.com: Rising gasoline prices may change driving behavior
The New York Times: Judge Tells Government to Resume Permits for Drilling