Tag: Oil Leases

Win One For Flipper

Awhile back the Obama admin decided to let there be Arctic drilling…..and the environmentalists went batcrap crazy.

Then Shell had problems with 2 of its drilling rigs…..I mean major problems…..those solved they leased an ice breaker from Finland or Sweden or some country of the North……after they took possession they found a gash in the side of the ship and it had to go dry dock to be fixed……after clashes with environmental groups over the ship it finally made it to the Arctic and then wok could begin……

But after some time looking for the “black oil”….Shell has issued a statement…..

Royal Dutch Shell says it will cease exploration in Arctic waters off Alaska’s coast following disappointing results from an exploratory well backed by billions in investment and years of work. This is a huge blow to Shell, which was counting on offshore drilling in Alaska to help it drive future revenue. Environmentalists, however, had tried repeatedly to block the project and welcomed the news. Shell has spent upward of $7 billion on Arctic offshore exploration, including $2.1 billion in 2008 for leases in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s northwest coast, where an exploratory well about 80 miles off shore drilled to 6,800 feet but yielded disappointing results. Backed by a 28-vessel flotilla, drillers found indications of oil and gas but not in sufficient quantities to warrant more exploration.

Shell will end exploration off Alaska “for the foreseeable future,” the company said, because of the well results and because of the “challenging and unpredictable federal regulatory environment in offshore Alaska.” Environmental groups had warned oil exploration in the ecologically fragile Arctic could lead to increased greenhouse gases, crude oil spills, and a disaster for wildlife. “Polar bears, Alaska’s Arctic, and our climate just caught a huge break,” the oceans program director for the Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement. “Here’s hoping Shell leaves the Arctic forever.” Analysts say that since the Chukchi and Beaufort seas contain an estimated 26 billion barrels of recoverable oil, further exploration in decades to come is probably inevitable

And the peasants danced!

Who will be the next sucker to attempt an Arctic drilling operation?

WIN one for the earth!

The British Are Coming!

Something wicked this way comes……..(Ray Bradbury)

Just outside my front door was the world’s worst environmental disaster ever……..the impact of the oil spill is still being felt and who knows what will be the results of future tests to determine water quality…..BP has ponied up about $50 billion in damages….and there is still NO definitive proof that all is okay…there are a wealth of opinions on the subject….most come from the American Petroleum Institute…..a think tank to convince the multitude that the oil industry is a somehow safe…….I have my doubts.

But thanx to the lame brain thinking of ‘drill baby drill’ the British (BP) are allowed to resume their work in the Gulf……..

BP is taking a big step in its recovery following 2010’s massive oil spill. The US has agreed to lift the 2012 ban that kept the oil company from doing business with the US government—including seeking contracts in the Gulf of Mexico. That means the company can begin competing for new contracts and leases as early as next Wednesday’s scheduled Gulf auction—though its path to the Gulf isn’t quite as neat as that. Per the agreement, it will have to meet increased ethics, corporate governance, and safety requirements, and must foot the bill for annual reviews by an independent auditor for the next five years. Those results will be handed over to the EPA, which can take action should the agreement be “breached,” the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal report. It’s “the best news BP has gotten since the accident,” notes an oil company analyst; to wit, the Journal points out that the 2012 injunction saw the company lose the opportunity to renew military fuel contracts valued at $2.3 billion. “BP has to get back into the hunt in order for them to score.” Others, unsurprisingly, aren’t as thrilled with the news. Activist group Public Citizen says the decision “lets a corporate felon and repeat offender off the hook for its crimes against people and the environment.” Craig Hooks at the EPA, however, says it’s “a fair agreement that requires BP to improve its practices in order to meet the terms we’ve outlined together.”

Wonder what this piece of good news cost BP?  Cash was undoubtedly passed around…but the big question should be….who got the cheddar?

Sex, Drugs And Oil

Been a slow day on the campaign trail because the two candidates have called a truce during the celebrations of the 9/11 thing. But never fear there is always a good, cheesy story coming out of Washington.

U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne on Thursday said he was “outraged” by department workers who had sex, used drugs and took gifts from employees at regulated oil companies, while one senator called for a Bush administration official to resign over the scandal.

The Interior Department’s inspector general issued a scathing report on Wednesday that found “a culture of substance abuse and promiscuity” at the department’s Minerals Management Service, whose employees handled billions of dollars in oil and natural gas supplies that were turned over by companies as in-kind royalty payments for drilling on federal lands.

“I am outraged by the immoral behavior, illegal activities, and appalling misconduct of several former and current long-serving career employees in the Minerals Management Service’s royalty-in-kind program,” Kempthorne said. “We will take swift action to restore the public trust.”

In response to the inspector general’s report, Luthi had said that “I do not believe Americans have lost financially,” but admitted “it is too early to tell” if government workers gave oil companies financial favors at the expense of taxpayers.