Rick Fox: Shell in Alaska for long haul 11/25/2007
Although a lawsuit has put Beaufort Sea drilling on hold in 2007 company moved ahead with Chukchi seismic and other programs
Despite the setback of a court-enforced suspension of Shell's Beaufort Sea drilling program, Rick Fox, the company's Alaska asset manager, gave an upbeat assessment of Shell's progress in Alaska at th...

THE EXPLORERS 2007: Shell never really left Alaska 11/18/2007
2007 Beaufort drilling plans on hold due to a court order, Odom says will continue to listen, learn, work with local people
When Shell re-entered Alaska in October 2001 with the $2.4 million acquisition of 56,000 acres on the North Slope, Alaskans watched to see what the U.S. EandP arm of Royal Dutch Shell would do next. Fo...

DOI moving on OCS alternative energies 11/11/2007
Final PEIS issued; Minerals Management Service publishing interim policy for offshore technology testing before regulations completed
On Nov. 5 the U.S. Department of the Interior issued the final programmatic environmental impact statement for the alternative energy and alternative use program for the U.S. outer continental shelf....

ARCTIC ENERGY SUMMIT: High Arctic: industry's last oil and gas frontier 10/14/2007
There's one thing industry hopefully can look to when the Earth's offshore oil and gas resources south of the giant Arctic icecap are exhausted. Many geologists now believe this vast and frigid region...

Improving the mouse trap 10/14/2007
MMS requires capability to respond to an oil spill; research is finding improved ways to trap and remove oil from the Arctic offshore
While continuing research is improving the efficiency of cleanup techniques for oil spilled in ice-laden water, existing techniques for oil spill response in Arctic offshore waters have been proven to...

U.S. Gulf to get first FPSO 10/14/2007
Contracts include two oil shuttle tankers for 'ultra-deepwater' Cascade, Chinook discoveries; five years since MMS approved methods for use of floating production, storage, offloading systems
Some five long years have passed since the U.S. Minerals Management Service approved controversial rules and regulations governing the use of floating production, storage and offloading systems, known...

Feds will support Shell 10/14/2007
Luthi: MMS won't back off, stands behind decision to allow Beaufort Sea drilling
The federal government will fight to clear the way for Shell's exploratory oil drilling campaign in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska, a top U.S. official said Oct. 10. The U.S. Minerals Management Servic...

Blockbuster GOM lease sale 10/07/2007
Central Gulf of Mexico lease sale draws breathtaking $2.9B in high bids
Companies opened their wallets in a spectacular display of spending at Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 205, plunking down $2.9 billion in apparent high bids, by far the best showing for a U.S. Gulf...

MMS receives education pioneer award 09/30/2007
The U.S. Minerals Management Service has received an education pioneer award for the agency's contributions towards educating the public on alternative ocean energy sources, technologies and environme...

MMS calls for info for multiple-sale EIS 08/26/2007
The U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service is going to do a multiple-sale environmental impact statement for its proposed Beaufort and Chukchi seas lease sales, a procedure it a...

Gulf sale draws $289.9M 08/26/2007
Bidders go after Lower Tertiary prospects; Statoil leads in winning bids
Norway's Statoil took no prisoners in Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 204, accounting for seven of the highest single bids and nearly half of the entire $289.9 million in total winning bids submitte...

BP leads pack in the Gulf 08/19/2007
Drilling activity at record level in 'ultra-deepwater' Gulf, 15 rigs working
Exploration and production companies, despite a reported worldwide shortage of high-specification offshore rigs, have managed to set a new record for the number of "ultra-deepwater" floaters currently...

Court nixes drilling 08/19/2007
9th Circuit order kills Beaufort drilling this year, Shell reviewing options
Shell has crossed several major hurdles in its attempt to start an exploration drilling program in the Beaufort Sea during the 2007 open water season. But the latest obstacle, an Aug. 15 court order f...

MMS proposes February Chukchi Sea lease sale 08/12/2007
The Minerals Management Service has set Feb. 6 as the date for a proposed outer continental shelf oil and gas lease sale in the Chukchi Sea. Sale 193 would be the first Chukchi Sea outer continental s...

Between now and gas line 08/12/2007
Banks: How soon Prudhoe gas can be sold depends on unit activity in interim
How soon Prudhoe Bay natural gas can be sold into a pipeline without negatively impacting oil production will be determined by what Prudhoe lessees do in the unit between now and pipeline startup, Kev...

Two steps closer 08/05/2007
Shell, whalers sign agreement, Beaufort Sea ACMP determination final
Shell can check two more items off its to-do list for its planned 2007 Beaufort Sea drilling program. On July 24 the company finally signed a conflict avoidance agreement with the Alaska Eskimo Whalin...

Randall Luthi named to head MMS 07/29/2007
Randall Luthi, currently deputy director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has been named by Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne as director of the Minerals Management Service. Luthi is a...

9th Circuit suspends Shell Beaufort Sea drilling program 07/29/2007
On July 19 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit placed a temporary hold on Shell's 2007 Beaufort Sea drilling program while the court considers a motion to stay the program until the court ru...

Still more hurdles 07/22/2007
NSB, Earth Justice appeal EPA permit; Shell remains firm on Beaufort plans
Anyone who's placed bets on whether or not Shell will drill any exploration wells in the Beaufort Sea this summer must be having some sleepless nights. In the latest twist in the "will they, won't the...

MMS to complete whale study before North Aleutians lease sale 07/08/2007
The U.S. Minerals Management Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Mammal Laboratory are starting a $5 million, three-and-one-half-year study into the distr...

MMS plan for OCS lease sales approved 07/08/2007
Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne approved the MMS 2007-12 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program June 29. The program, which became effective July 1, has scheduled 21 lease...

House acts on BB leasing, OCS royalties 07/08/2007
Federal bill forces more study in Alaska's North Aleutian basin, renegotiation of oil and gas lease royalties; Bush threatens veto
The U.S. House of Representatives passed an Interior Department budget for 2008 June 28 that could negatively effect oil and gas development. The appropriations bill passed 272 to 155. Provisions in...

Kupcake on track for February drilling 07/08/2007
Given their proximity, if Savant prospect is connected to Liberty reservoir it could become part of BP-operated Liberty unit
Savant Alaska is on track to begin Kupcake drilling operations in February, Erik Opstad told Petroleum News June 30. The company has received approval of its oil discharge prevention and contingency p...

NSB issues challenge 07/01/2007
Commissioner to make final consistency decision for Shell's Beaufort drilling
The clock continues to tick toward Shell's planned start for its summer 2007 drilling program at its Beaufort Sea Sivulliq prospect, which is on the western side of Camden Bay off Alaska's North Slope...

Good news for Bristol Bay leasing 06/24/2007
Pro-drilling forces see Congressman's call for more studies as move toward responsible oil and gas development in sensitive area
Though a Democratic congressman has succeeded in getting language calling for more study of oil and gas development in Bristol Bay into an energy bill in Congress, leasing proponents are breathing sig...