Autonomous Offshore Power Trials Get Underway off Hawaii
With the advent of autonomy on and under the water, part of the value proposition is the ability to stay at sea, on station, to exponentially increase efficiencies. Have the ability to repower at sea is central to this effort, as an increasing number of companies work to solve the inherent technical and logistic problems.Columbia Power Technologies (C-Power) is commencing a six-month sea trial to test and validate its SeaRAY autonomous offshore power system (AOPS)…
OPINION: Drowning in Oil, Regulatory Measures to Keep Prices Afloat
These days history seems to be in the making on a daily basis. On April 20, 2020, the price of the NYMEX West Texas Intermediate Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures contract for May delivery plunged into the negative, forcing sellers to actually pay customers for taking the crude oil off the sellers’ hands. The historic drop came a little over a month after Russia and Saudi Arabia initiated crude oil price war…
OP/ED: Offshore Wind
Set to Soar, Taking Offshore Support Industry With it.Offshore energy development is opening a new front in the United States -- the Atlantic seaboard, with strong winds, a shallow continental shelf and a proximity to dense population centers is driving strong interest in offshore wind development. The offshore oil and gas supply chain stands to benefit in a big way from billions in coming investment. In fact, it is already playing a role.
US Offshore Wind Pipeline Reach 25.8GW
The U.S. offshore wind project development pipeline grew to a potential generating capacity of 25,824 MW across 13 states, including the Block Island Wind Farm commissioned in 2016.Projects totaling 21,225 MW have exclusive site control, meaning the developer has a lease or other contract to develop the site. Most of these projects are on the Eastern seaboard, with one in the Great Lakes, said Offshore Wind Technologies Market Report…
Canada Environment Minister: 'No Apologies' for Oil Sector Support
Canada's top climate change official on Thursday said she would make no apologies for the nation's support for its oil producers, saying environmental and economic policies must consider the needs of all Canadians.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has sought to cast Canada as a global leader in combating climate change, particularly since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew Washington's support…
EPA Announces Funding to Reduce Diesel Emissions
Preference given to fleets in areas facing air quality challenges. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of grant funding to modernize the nation’s diesel fleet by retrofitting or replacing vehicles with cleaner, more efficient diesel engines. EPA anticipates awarding approximately $40 million in Diesel Emission Reduction Program (DERA) grant funding to eligible applicants, subject to the availability of funds.
Statoil Aims to Sign Power Purchase Agreement in NY in 2018
Norway's Statoil aims to sign a power purchase agreement with a U.S. utility to develop an offshore wind power project off New York, a senior company official said on Tuesday. Statoil won a lease sale of 79,350 acres offshore New York, which could be potentially used to develop up to a 1 gigawatt (GW) capacity wind power park, by bidding $42.5 million last December. "Now we need to sign a power off-take agreement to develop the project.
Statoil’s NY Offshore Wind Project Named 'Empire Wind'
Empire Wind is the project name of Statoil’s offshore wind site located off the southern coast of Long Island, N.Y. “The name Empire Wind captures the pivotal role that this important project will play in helping New York achieve its ambitious renewable energy goal,” said Statoil’s Empire Wind Project Director, Christer af Geijerstam. The 79,350 acre site, secured by Statoil in a federal auction in December 2016…
Energy Industry Says 'No Thanks' to Trump Offer of Marine Sanctuaries
In a bid to boost energy development, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is considering shrinking or eliminating 11 marine sanctuaries designed to protect 425 million acres of coral reefs, marine mammal habitats and pristine beaches. The review is part of a broader strategy to open new areas to oil and gas drilling and “put the energy needs of American families and businesses first,” according to the order Trump signed in April that triggered it.
European Oil Majors Enter U.S. Offshore Wind Markets
Statoil, Shell, DONG Energy turn to U.S. offshore wind; oil firms bring big budgets, offshore tech and risk experience. Some European oil majors have made inroads into the emerging U.S. offshore wind energy market, aiming to leverage their experience of deepwater development and the crowded offshore wind arena at home. Late entrants to the offshore wind game in Europe, which began with a project off Denmark 25 years ago and is now approaching maturity…
Statoil Eyes Japan, US for Floating Wind Projects
Norwegian oil company Statoil is targeting Japan and the U.S. states of California and Hawaii to expand its floating offshore wind turbine business, the head of its New Energy Solutions business told Reuters. Statoil will later this year open the world's first floating wind turbine park off the coast of Scotland, a technology that allows wind energy to be harnessed further out at sea where wind speeds are typically higher.
Oil Firms, on Track for Biggest Gain in Five Weeks
U.S. oil inventories fell by more than forecast last week; OPEC-led production curbs expected to be extended. Oil prices on Friday were on track for their biggest weekly gain in five weeks, helped by expectations of an extension of OPEC-led output cuts and buoyed by falling U.S. crude inventories. Benchmark Brent was trading 5 cents higher at $50.82 per barrel at 1141 GMT, on target for a 3.5 percent rise on the week. U.S. light crude oil was up 2 cents at $47.85.
Fire hits California refinery
An explosion and fire at an oil refinery in Torrance, California, on Saturday forced the partial shutdown of the plant, leading oil traders to expect a spike this week in West Coast gasoline prices. Police and the plant owner said no one was hurt in the fire, which was extinguished by local firefighters. Two years ago, a fire at the same plant led to its closure for several months and a sustained increase in West Coast gasoline prices for more than a year.
US Appeals Court Hears Arguments on Scope of Petrobras Class Action
Attorneys for Brazil's state-controlled oil company, Petroleo Brasileiro SA, asked a U.S. federal appeals court on Wednesday to decertify a class of investors trying to recoup billions of dollars in losses stemming from a sprawling corruption scandal. Petrobras, as the company is known, and its bank underwriters argued that it is not clear buyers and sellers of the company's securities, traded on exchanges all around the world, were doing transactions in the Unites States.
New Task Force for California Offshore Renewables
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the State of California held the inaugural meeting of the California Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force today in Sacramento, Calif., to begin planning for future renewable wind and wave energy development opportunities in federal offshore waters along the Golden State. California is the 14th U.S. coastal state to form a renewable energy task force to provide critical information to the decision-making process…
US Awards $20 Mln for Wave and Tidal Energy Projects
The U.S. Energy Department announced 10 organizations have been selected to receive more than $20 million in funding for new research, development and demonstration projects that advance and monitor marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) energy systems, which generate electricity from ocean waves and tidal currents. These projects will aim to improve the performance of MHK systems and advance environmental monitoring…
Statoil Renewables Chief Aims to Cut Offshore Wind Cost
Over the last few years we have invested NOK 20 billion ($2.40 billion) in profitable renewable investments. "The potential of bigger turbines offshore ... brings the cost down. "So we see a bright future for cost reduction potential on offshore wind projects. "The most attractive markets going forward will be in northern Europe but also in the U.S.
Another Step toward Wind Energy off California
BOEM assessing competitive interest in proposed floating wind turbine project site offshore Morro Bay, Calif. Signaling a major step forward in supporting wind energy development in federal waters offshore California, U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Abigail Ross Hopper announced that the department is issuing a Request for Interest in a lease area requested by Trident Winds, LLC for its proposed 765 megawatt (MW) floating wind energy project.
How the Marshall Islands became a top U.S. Crude Destination
Best known for diving, lagoons and the island that gave the world the name for the bikini swimsuit, the Marshall Islands is now gaining attention as a top-five destination for U.S. crude exports despite the lack of a refinery to process the oil. The shipments to the Marshall Islands, a tiny atoll nation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, are a quirk of U.S. regulations, providing a vivid example of how…
Tesoro Settles Pollution Cases with US DOJ, EPA
U.S. oil refiner Tesoro Corp said on Monday it has reached a $10.4 million settlement with the United States for air quality violations at refineries in six Western states. Under the settlement, Tesoro will also invest $400 million in technology to better control air emissions at operations in Alaska, Northern California, North Dakota, Utah, Hawaii and Washington. The settlement also requires Tesoro to…
