If you want to stop the government or fellow citizens from knowing the true extent of your wealth, you can do no better than move that money offshore. This time-honored strategy works well for those wishing to avoid taxation but remains a constant frustration to authorities trying to build progressive tax systems and stymie inequality and corruption: Its difficult to eat the rich if you cant figure out where they dine. Taxing peoples income directly remains particularly elusive for developing countries, which raise around one third as much from income taxes relative to their GDP as high-income countries (Figure 1). Reining in offshore tax evasion would be a step in the right direction.

What little evidence we have suggests that offshore evasion is at least as pronounced in poorer countries as it is in richer ones. Annette Alstadster, Niels Johannsen, and Gabriel Zucman used a combination of international deposit and portfolio data to estimate that the equivalent of 10 percent of global GDP is held in tax havens. Their country-level estimates, which are only as recent as 2007, reveal that as a percentage of GDP, poor countries stash just about as much of their wealth offshore as rich ones do, and that there are outliers at all levels of GDP per capita (Figure 2).

Micro-level work also suggests that offshore ownership is dominated by elites, and that secrecy is their best defense against the prying eye of tax authorities. Work by UCLAs Juliana Londoo-Vlez with Javier Avila-Mahecha found that rich Colombians were much more likely to hide wealth offshore, with over 40 percent of the top 0.01 percent engaging in the practice. But that same work found that bridging the information gap made a difference: Colombian elites that were named in the Panama Papers leak were substantially more likely to declare their wealth through a disclosure scheme run by the tax authority.

Leaks of financial data like the Panama Papers offer a useful snapshot for tax authorities, but how can they have more systematic, timely data on the offshore world? The solution put forward by the OECD suggests that tax authorities routinely gather and exchange relevant data on bank deposit ownership with each other. As of this year, 115 countries, including most tax havens, have signed up to the OECDs framework for the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI). The few studies that have been conducted show that when these exchange agreements are implemented, offshore wealth shrinksand does so rapidly.

But if you look at a map of who has signed up to AEOI, its hard not to spot the obvious: Poorer countries havent been able to take advantage of this information exchange. Only 7 percent of low-income and lower-middle income countries have adopted AEOI or committed to implementing it by 2023 (Figure 3).

This gulf in participation is driven by the fact that many developing countries currently lack the capacity to gather comprehensive data on what little wealth foreigners are stashing in their banks. To compound matters further, AEOI is based on a principle of reciprocity: To join the club, you have to be ready to share information with all of its members. Because of this, many developing countries remain shut out of a trove of information that would be useful for tracking down hidden wealth or corrupt assets.

We know from estimates produced by Alstadster et al. that developing countries hold about the same amount of wealth offshore as a proportion of their GDP. Those estimates are in part based on data produced by the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), which gathers and publishes data from mostly high-income countries on foreigners claims on bank deposits.

But there is some evidence that the international statistics may understate the true level of offshore wealth held by some countries. When the BIS assigns the ownership of offshore accounts, it relies on each banks own assessment of the residence of the ownerwhether it is a person or a company. There are two limitations to this approach. First, banks have little incentive to get this information right, so they will be more inclined to take an account owners claim of residence at face value. Second, and more importantly, if a persons wealth comes from their ownership of a company, the residence is assigned based only on where that person is located. This means that the accuracy of the BIS doesnt extend to shell corporations.

Data from AEOI reports should in theory make it easier to correctly identify the jurisdiction where the owners of offshore wealth reside. For certain types of corporations, banks are required to gather and share information on the ultimate owner or beneficiary of that account. This means that even if a corporation in a tax haven that will passively hold wealth is set up, once the tax haven and the home country sign up to AEOI, information on the account beneficiary will be disclosed. AEOI data isnt perfect: Most customers had warning before banks began gathering and sharing this information and may have moved their assets elsewhere before the light flooded in. But AEOI is still likely a big improvement on past frameworks.

Most countries keep data from their AEOI exchanges a secret, but the Australian Tax Office recentlyafter some nudging from civil society groupsreleased information on offshore ownership in 2018. These published figures will deviate from the BIS statistics for many legitimate reasons: Australia assigns the entire account balance to the jurisdiction of each owner of an account, so there is some double counting. BIS data also includes loans and doesnt cover the same range of financial institutions as the OECDs framework for AEOI statistics. Even so, the data released by the Australian Tax Office offers a rare opportunity to observe where and why the BIS may understate true levels of offshore wealth (Figure 4).

When one compares the two data sources, smaller economies with lower levels of deposits in Australia tend to have better coverage in AEOI statistics than they do in BIS data. As we move down in GDP per capita, the ratio of AEOI-to-BIS deposits increases from around 1-1 to 10-1, suggesting that official statistics may be obscuring the true levels of wealth held by developing countries, even in a non-tax haven country like Australia (Figure 5). By contrast, many jurisdictions commonly thought of as tax havens have lower levels of deposits in the AEOI statistics relative to those in the BIS statistics, reflecting the fact that many companies in tax havens are shell companies used to obscure the ultimate owner of assets.

Tax authorities in developing countries have much to gain from going after offshore wealth but are constrained in their ability to participate in the automatic exchange of information as constructed. Entities like the OECD, the World Bank, and Tax Inspectors without Borders have started to provide some technical assistance to developing countries to get them up to speed.

But these efforts will take time to move the needle. If we want to get data on offshore wealth into the hands of countries that need it the most, the OECD should consider relaxing the reciprocity restriction for automatic exchange of information for countries that meet predetermined criteria, either those below a certain GDP per capita or based on a recent metric of tax capacity. Until then, tax officials in developing countries can chase the rich as far as their national borders, but no further.

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Can developing countries rein in offshore wealth? - Brookings Institution

Property owners at the southern end of Litchfield Beach will return to the sea in search of sand for a renourishment project, abandoning plans to haul inland sand by truck.

State and federal agencies are taking public comments on the third version of a permit application by the Peninsula Property Owners Association to place up to 400,000 cubic yards of sand on the beach. The first two plans met with opposition from property owners in the Inlet Point community and Litchfield Beach.

The 33 lots at the Peninsula are part of the gated Inlet Point development, but also have their own association, which will fund the renourishment.

We want to appease as many people as we can, said Steven Traynum, project manager for Coastal Science and Engineering, which designed the project. With just the Peninsula, they would be paying for the whole thing.

The purpose of the project is to prevent storm damage. It will also allow the property owners to establish the states jurisdiction at the base of the dune that will be created. The state is due to revise its jurisdictional lines in 2022. Under the current conditions, Traynum said those lines would likely fall under or behind the current houses.

The POA first applied in April for permits from the state Department of Health and Environmental Control and the Army Corps of Engineers to place offshore sand on nearly a mile of beach. That was opposed by property owners in Inlet Point and Inlet Point South who said they didnt want to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in assessments for a project that would primarily benefit owners in the Peninsula, which was developed on property in a federally-protected coastal barrier.

The estimated cost of the project, for up to 700,000 cubic yards of sand, was $12 million.

In July, the Peninsula POA changed its permit application to allow up to 400,000 cubic yards of sand to be trucked to the beach over two or three years. That was estimated to cost about $8 million and would exclude the beach in front of Inlet Point South.

The revised permit drew hundreds of letters in opposition, many focused on the impact of the truck traffic on the roads and quality of life in the beachfront community. The work was estimated to require between 100 and 150 truck trips a day over three months.

While Traynum said the state Department of Transportation said the roads and the bridge onLitchfield Drive could handle the traffic, Coastal Science was concerned that the permit would be appealed.

The latest project will place offshore sand on the 2,700 feet of beachfront at the Peninsula. The POA is asking for a 10-year permit to allow for additional offshore sand to be used to repair storm damage.

In order to reduce the cost of the project, the POA wants to be able to dredge in the spring and summer. Dredging is usually restricted to avoid sea turtle nesting season, which runs from May through October.

The wider dredging window means more contractors will be available to bid on the project and there is less likelihood work will be delayed by bad weather, Traynum said.

He doesnt expect the project will impact the sea turtles.

That area of the beach doesnt get a lot of turtle activity anyway, Traynum said. In its current condition, it has zero nesting habitat.

Since the dredging will take place around the clock for six to eight weeks, the main concern will be keeping lights from the project from disrupting turtles on adjacent beaches, he said.

In addition to creating a beach that will have 200 feet of dry sand at high tide, the project proposes to create a dune up to 15 feet high in front of the houses, according to the permit application.

Im not sure we will go that high, Traynum said. We wanted to get to the height of the walkovers.

Two other concerns raised about the first two versions of the project were the quality of the sand and the potential for the new sand to wash into Midway Inlet and Clubhouse Creek.

The offshore borrow area, about 3 miles northeast of Litchfield Beach, contains better sand than the site used for renourishment at Pawleys Island earlier this year, Traynum said.

The Pawleys sand had about 25 percent shell content. The Litchfield borrow area has about 7 percent shell content.

That material looks a lot more like the native sand than was put over on Pawleys, he said.

The evidence from the Pawleys Island renourishment also shows that the additional sand wont end up in the creek at Litchfield, Traynum said.

At the south end of Pawleys, the beach grew in front of the spit during the six months after sand was added to the north. Even with Hurricane Isaias in August, there was no sign that the sand washed over the spit, he said.

A concern shared by property owners at Pawleys Island and Litchfield is the silt clogging the creeks. Coastal Science looked at the sand in Clubhouse Creek as part of the Peninsula project.

Even if permits could be obtained, the creek contains only about 80,000 cubic yards of sand, Traynum said.

Comments on the revised permit application can be made online at epermweb.dhec.sc.gov.

Original post:

Beaches: POA revises project again to dredge offshore sand - Coastal Observer

Right now there is a low pressure system located to the west in a larger broad trough in the upper atmosphere, both together are producing deep low clouds and mild conditions across the area.

There was even some mist and drizzle last night into this morning near the coast. That looks likely again tonight as the low pressure center will make its closest approach to the area but a narrow miss to the west and south looks likely.

This miss sets the stage for a cloudy coastal start to Saturday with partly cloudy afternoon conditions before more clouds roll in Saturday evening. This will be quickly replaced by offshore winds for later Sunday.

This building of high pressure across The West will produce strong offshore winds into Monday morning, 15-25mph with some gusts past 30-40mph in some places.

These offshore winds will be dry and warm. Next week looks to feature above average temps across the entire area, and with months of no real rainfall the fire risk will be high.

The ridge of high pressure driving the warm weather looks to persist into Friday of next week.

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Mild Saturday turns quickly to offshore and warm conditions for next week - KSBY San Luis Obispo News

On the final day of the GOAL 2020 Virtual Conference, delegates tuned in to a virtual panel discussion on the future trajectory of the aquaculture industry. For panellists Dick Jones from Blue Ocean Mariculture, Neil Sims from Ocean Era and Philip Schreven from De Maas SMC, aquacultures future lies in the open ocean.

Neil Sims explained that by moving farming activities offshore, producers can take advantage of swifter and safer waters. The additional currents mean that sediments and effluents dont accumulate near farm sites, making aquaculture more environmentally friendly. In Sims view, offshoring can positively shift the public perception of aquaculture.

Though this seems like wishful thinking at the outset, there is some evidence for Sims opinion. Policymakers and NGOs like the Nature Conservancy and WWF see enormous potential in offshore aquaculture. The move could shore up global food security without harming the environment.

Despite the positive indicators on paper, offshore farm operations tend to be the exception instead of the rule. Ocean geographies and water depths are diverse, and aquaculture isnt suitable for every environment. In addition, the gear and technology needed to run offshore farms are expensive farms need to invest millions before they turn a profit. Offshore farms also need significant onshore infrastructure in terms of hatcheries and broodstock supply to run. Offshoring isnt feasible without onshore facilities.

The panel told delegates that offshore farming faces an uphill battle if it wants to become standard industry practice. Like nearshore and land-based farms, offshore operations must balance competing needs to keep businesses solvent. This tension was clear when the panel discussed the importance of scaling production while keeping an eye on sustainability.

Neil Sims stressed that offshore producers cant have one without the other. In his view, the scale of offshore aquaculture suffers if producers dont account for sustainability. Neglecting this has health and welfare ramifications for the fish and risks losing public buy-in. Likewise, placing an undue emphasis on sustainability without giving producers the ability to scale up means that producers wont gain a foothold in the market. In many cases, it means they wont stay in business long-term.

Though the White House issued an Executive Order (EO) in May 2020 to spur the growth of the US fisheries and aquaculture sector, the panellists didnt think the order was the best way to develop offshore farms. Despite giving additional resources to sector, Sims said that it doesnt give business owners a lot of long-term confidence. Executive Orders can be easily revoked by forthcoming administrations. For offshore aquaculture to make its mark, it needs a more long-term solution.

The panel mentioned the bipartisan Aquaculture Act as a key avenue for expanding offshore aquaculture. The new law establishes pre-permitted opportunity zones in federal waters for aquaculture producers. When farms begin operating in an opportunity zone, they can take advantage of a streamlined application and licensing process, allowing production to expand quickly.

The Aquaculture Act also gives an explicit regulatory framework and designates NOAA as the oversight agency for producers. The panel also stressed that the bill includes environmental protections, addressing a key concern of sustainability advocates.

The main question in the Q&A session focused on potential technological breakthroughs for offshore systems. From Dick Jones perspective, any technological breakthroughs in offshoring will be piecemeal. There wont be a single innovation that revolutionises the industry.

Phil Schreven told delegates that the next major step for offshore systems will be reducing the cost of sea cages. Any breakthroughs in that segment of production will change offshore farming dramatically. In his experience, though existing offshore units are well designed, transporting and installing a single cage can cost more than $10 million.

We have to get costs down, Schreven explained, thats difficult to do when were working with giant steel structures.

The panellists concluded that offshore aquaculture could help change the public perception of fish farming. Moving sea cages into the open ocean diminishes many of the environmental and safety criticisms that are levelled at near-shore farms. If the farms can become more feasible, offshore aquaculture could become the new industry standard.

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Aquaculture's offshore opportunities - The Fish Site

Wind turbines in the Irish Sea, in waters near the town of Llandudno, in Wales.

VladCa | iStock | Getty Images

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that he wanted the country to become the "world leader in low cost clean power generation."

Speaking at the Conservative Party annual conference, which was delivered virtually, Johnson stressed the importance of renewable energy sources, especially offshore wind.

"We believe that in ten years' time, offshore wind will be powering every home in the country, with our target rising from 30 gigawatts to 40 gigawatts," he said.

"You heard me right: your kettle, your washing machine, your cooker, your heating, your plug-in electric vehicle, the whole lot of them, will get their juice cleanly and without guilt from the breezes that blow around these islands," he added.

The pledge to increase offshore wind capacity was included in the Conservative Party's manifesto for the 2019 general election.

Johnson said he remembered how some people used to sneer at wind power 20 years ago, in an apparent reference to himself, given he had once claimed wind farms couldn't "pull the skin off a rice pudding." His comments criticizing the effectiveness of wind power were made in 2013, however.

The prime minister said 160 million ($207.46 million) would be invested in ports and factories to manufacture what he described as the "next generation of turbines" a move he later claimed would generate 60,000 jobs and also acknowledged the role floating offshore wind could play.

"As Saudi Arabia is to oil, the U.K. is to wind a place of almost limitless resource but, in the case of wind, without the carbon emissions, without the damage to the environment," he said.

According to figures from industry body RenewableUK, the U.K.'s operational offshore wind capacity stands at a little over 10.4 gigawatts. The U.K. is already home to a number of large offshore wind farms. These include Hornsea One, in waters off Yorkshire, England, which has a capacity of 1.2 gigawatts.

In response to Johnson's remarks, Hugh McNeal, RenewableUK's chief executive, said the government had "raised the ambition for offshore wind and renewables, and our industry is ready to meet the challenge."

"A green recovery with renewables at its heart will be good for consumers and jobs, as well as helping to meet our 2050 net zero emissions target," he added.

The pledge to ramp up offshore wind capacity was met with measured optimism from environmental organizations. Mike Childs, who is head of policy at Friends of the Earth, said Johnson's "U-turn" on wind showed "the renewables argument has clearly been won."

"Investment in off-shore wind is certainly critical for powering a cleaner, fairer future, but Boris Johnson mustn't ignore the huge contribution onshore wind could make too," he added, before going on to call for planning restrictions on onshore wind to be "urgently" reversed.

"We also need a comprehensive nationwide energy efficiency programme to create jobs, cut fuel bills, prevent people shivering in heat-leaking homes and help face down the climate emergency," he said.

In a tweet reacting to the news Jonathan Bartley, who is co-leader of the Green Party, said it was "good to see the Prime Minister's conversion" but noted that more detail was needed on how things would be funded. "It still falls far short of what is urgently needed and what could be achieved," he added.

Here is the original post:

UK PM Boris Johnson says offshore wind will power every home in the country by 2030 - CNBC

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) Virginia is in the race to be a leader in offshore wind energy in the United States. Dominion Energy has plans for an $8-billion offshore wind project in the next few years.

We are going to the coast of Virginias offshore wind pilot project, said Dominion Energy Project Manager Lloyd Eley.

Thursday morning, engineers and scientists from Dominion and Old Dominion University boarded a boat at the Virginia Aquarium to head 27 miles off the coast.

Its a perfect day to go out, Eley added.

Dominion Energy teamed up with Old Dominion to build and study two offshore wind turbines.

Old Dominion University is a maritime university, said ODU Executive Director of Programs and Partnerships Paul Olsen. We are very focused on maritime skills and maritime education.

Dominion built the 600-foot-high turbines and ODU is looking at the data. The goal is to have another source of future energy.

Hampton Roads is really relying on one or two initial sources of energy both nuclear and fossil fuels, Olsen added. Offshore wind along with solar will diversify our energy portfolio.

Soon, 200 more wind turbines will join the two. Dominion will start construction in 2024 and they should be operational two years later.

Its a very exciting moment, Eley said. I know the team has worked really hard with construction and managing of the logistics, the schedule and the budget especially in the midst of a pandemic. We are able to collect lessons learned for both the permitting side as well as the engineering, design and construction.

ODU just won a $775,000 grant from the Department of Defense to continue the development and implementation of offshore wind technology.

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10 On Your Side gets first look at offshore wind turbines - WAVY.com

More than 97% of British marine protected areas, created to safeguard ocean habitats, are being dredged and bottom trawled, according to data shared with the Guardian.

Nearly a quarter of the UKs territorial waters are covered by MPAs, set up to protect vital ecosystems and species, including harbour porpoises and dolphins. This network of parks is a symbol of the governments world leading target to protect 30% of ocean biodiversity by 2030.

However, analysis of fishing vessel tracking data from Global Fishing Watch (GFW), by Oceana, a conservation NGO, found that bottom trawling and dredging, the most destructive type of fishing on sea-floor habitats, is happening in 71 out of 73 offshore MPAs around the UK.

The vessels, from the UK, other EU countries and Russia, spent an estimated 200,000 hours trawling or dredging across the seabed in offshore MPAs in 2019, according to GFW algorithms based on their AIS (automatic identification systems) data, Oceana said.

The findings, which follow reports by Greenpeace of an increasing number of foreign supertrawlers fishing in the same sites, drew accusations that the government is misleading the public over paper parks that fail to protect Britains seas.

The government has insisted that the EUs common fisheries policy restricts its ability to implement tougher protections in MPAs. Trawling and dredging is not illegal in most offshore MPAs.

Oceana warned of an ecological emergency, calling on the government to introduce measures to protect the sites from 1 January, the end of the Brexit transition period, when it gains more control of its territorial waters.

The shadow environment secretary, Luke Pollard, said the government should publish plans of how it intends to honour its 30 by 30 oceans pledge and hold urgent talks with fishermen.

Melissa Moore, head of policy at Oceana UK, said: If the government really want to take back control of our waters, as they repeatedly claim, they should make a policy announcement today that theyll halt bottom-towed fishing gear by foreign and UK vessels in all marine protected areas. We dont want more trials, or other measures that merely rearrange the deckchairs, were in an ecological emergency and need action now.

Prof Callum Roberts, a marine scientist at Exeter University, said it was very disappointing bottom trawling and dredging was still taking place inside protected sites.

Roberts said: MPAs are highly ineffective. They are fake, they are paper parks. Theres a massive problem here and the government needs to address it. They are misleading the public, wasting resources, protecting nothing. They are not going to contribute to recovery of marine life, stem the loss of biodiversity or mitigate the impacts of climate change.

After decades of industrial fishing which had destroyed seabed habitats, only a ban on fishing in MPAs would allow marine life to thrive, he said. You cant negotiate with marine life. It doesnt work.

Pollard praised the 30 by 30 pledge, which Michael Gove signed up to when environment secretary. But that means ending fishing in MPAs. The government has not been honest enough with the fishing sector, he said.

There doesnt seem to be a timetable, there doesnt seem to be a plan and there doesnt seem to be a conversation with the fishing sector about how we can work with fishers to incentivise fishing outside marine protected areas.

Nine years is not very far away.

Conservationists have recently stepped up lobbying to safeguard marine parks. In September, Greenpeace dropped giant boulders from its ship into the Dogger Bank MPA, a North Sea breeding ground for cod, whiting and sand eels, forcing trawlers to avoid the area or risk damaging their fishing gear.

The Blue Marine Foundation wrote to the fisheries minister, Victoria Prentis, to say it would seek a judicial review unless the government commits to protecting Dogger Bank and other MPAs. A number of NGOs, including WWF and the Marine Conservation Society, also accused the UK, the Netherlands and Germany of breaching the EU habitats directive by failing to protect Dogger Bank from bottom-impact fishing.

There are indications that the government is under pressure to restrict fishing in protected marine sites, although it has to balance the promises it has made to UK fishermen and allow some access to EU boats. Last week, Zac Goldsmith described supertrawlers as gigantic tools of destruction and hinted at a ban on industrial fishing inside protected areas.

In response to Oceanas analysis, a Defra spokesperson said: We are putting sustainable fishing and the protection of our seas at the heart of our future fishing strategy. We have already set up a blue belt of protected waters nearly twice the size of England and the fisheries bill proposes new powers to better manage and control our marine protected areas.

Leaving the EU and taking back control of our waters means the government can introduce stronger measures, they said.

A Scottish government spokesperson said: Scotlands marine protected area network is already in excess of 30% of our sea area taking Scotland past the proposed new global target for 2030 currently being negotiated by the UN convention on biological diversity and each site is managed to achieve its conservation objectives by restricting activity which will hinder this, while allowing sustainable use to continue.

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Revealed: 97% of UK marine protected areas subject to bottom-trawling - The Guardian

COLLABORATION

gain knowledge get attention make contact

In three weeks the 14thedition of Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference opens its virtual doors! Enough said about the challenges and limitations that Covid-19 poses to all of us and our industry.Muchcan be done especially online to connect with our peers, have experts inform us about the latest ideas and technologies and grab the attention of our customers without showing them our products and services in person. At OEECs first virtual edition, all this and more is possible. Have a look below at what you can expect after logging in on 27-28October.

What to expect?

OEEC creates the perfect opportunity for people working in the offshore energy industry to establish new business relationships and maintain existing ones. You can expect plenty of interaction, information, presentations and innovations, lots of which will be live-streamed. We built a studio in RAI Amsterdam from which talk shows and discussions will be recorded and broadcasted.

In summary, OEEC 2020 offers:

As you can see, our philosophy of connecting maritime and offshore companies and people to create (sustainable) solutions forms the basis of this event.

Offshore Energy Talks

During these live-streamed 25-minute sessions, experts share their in-depth insights. For example, Energy Transition Consultant Ellen van der Veer will talk about Unlocking the full potential of the North Sea, while Sir Chris Fox, spokesperson Business and Industrial Strategy in the House of Lords, will discuss the role of the UK and the North Sea. Of course, you can ask questions via the chat.

In addition to this presentations will be held by the experienced editors of Offshore-Energy.biz on topics such as Fossil Energy, Offshore Wind, and Sustainable Shipping.

Company showcases

Pick and choose a topic or company of your interest from the varied list of presentations by industry employers and specialists. Get a feel for their culture, values and what its like to work there.

Live Talk Shows

These online talk shows cover relevant topics in the maritime, offshore and energy sector. Guided by an experienced moderator, a group of experts discusses a topic and answers questions live in our studio. Of course, you can (digitally) meet them afterwards.

Some of the topics you can expect are the Future of Energy Transition, Business in Changing Times, Marine goes Green and Heavy Lift developments

Round table sessions

If you want more focus or if you want small group interaction more than one-to-one contact, then hosting your own Round Table is ideal. You can use it for whatever you want; brainstorms, product introductions, recruitment and more. Stay focused and have time to really interact by inviting up to 8 people.

Offshore Energy Award

View the online awards ceremony of the Best Innovation Award. An expert jury will choose between the remaining nominees:

Matchmaking

Meet, share knowledge and get to know each other with the Navingo Matchmaking programme. Every participant has access to the basic features of this proven network tool. If you like it, you can upgrade toFull Event Accessor even toYear Round Access, so you can keep networking long after the event.

This is how we seek to fulfil our role of connector in these turbulent times. We hope to see you inside!

The Facts

OEEC is part of the Offshore-Energy.biz platform launched earlier this year. It combines editorial insights, (online) events, news, print, marketing and high-end info in one platform, making it a connector of communities.

That this no empty claim is shown by the facts: the OEEC platform has a total of 440,000 monthly users, 581,000 social followers and 118,000 newsletter subscribers. If you add Navingos career platform the place to be for vacancies and news in the maritime industry and its niche news portals, it offers you an outreach of 700,000 users per month, 630,000 social media followers and a whopping 130,000 newsletter subscribers!

If that isnt a great way to stay informed or get in touch with your clients and community, what is? Still not convinced? Check out what visitors and exhibitors say about OEEC on http://www.OffshoreEnergy.biz.

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Offshore Energy's 14th Edition Live and Virtual! - Offshore WIND

Yesterdays speech to the virtual Conservative party conference was classic Boris: amusing metaphors, whimsical slogans and grand rhetoric. The prime minister has pledged to usher in a green industrial revolution that will help us bounce back greener from Covid-19.

One of the most significant announcements was the scaling up of the offshore wind sector. The government intends to quadruple offshore wind capacity by 2030, with a promise to power all our kettles, lights and electric cars from clean, guilt-free electricity.

It is a bold and ambitious target, requiring the installation of one wind turbine every weekday for the next 10 years, costing almost 50bn in capital investment. If this sounds familiar, its because this commitment from the Tory party was already made in its 2019 election manifesto, with the full backing of the offshore wind industry.

The prime minister announced 160m for ports and infrastructure in Teesside and Humber, Scotland and Wales, needed to build and service these turbines, but if these plans are to benefit communities as well as reducing emissions, the goal must be to keep the jobs and manufacturing contracts in the UK. Just last month, contracts to manufacture the platforms for 114 wind turbines off the coast of Scotland were won by a US corporation that intends to manufacture and ship them from China and the UAE, taking advantage of lower production costs in those nations.

Last year, EDF awarded contracts for a significant portion of its windfarm supply chain to Indonesia, ignoring the opportunity to invest and develop local manufacturers in Fife, despite the windfarms being located just off its coast. The offshore wind sector has nonetheless set a target of 60% British content in windfarms by 2030, up from roughly 50% today. A more concerted effort from government and business alongside trade unions could help achieve that target while creating green jobs and supporting the clean growth of towns and cities across Britains coast.

The striking omission in the prime ministers speech was any mention of onshore wind a technology that is currently the cheapest way to produce energy in the UK but has been crippled over almost five years through government policy. The onshore wind sector did receive a minor reprieve earlier in the year, when the government agreed to allow onshore wind to participate in competitive auctions, but rigid planning rules mean that an equally guilt-free source of electricity might miss out on powering a green industrial revolution. The Conservatives continue to harbour a misapprehension that onshore wind faces opposition from constituency voters, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. The renewable energy auctions next year will support more onshore wind, but most of it is likely to only be in Scotland.

Instead, the offshore wind sector is the goose that lays the golden egg, as is evident in the prime ministers desire to make the UK Saudi Arabia for wind energy. The success of offshore wind wasnt merely down to a technical ability to harvest the gusts, but an important story of state-led intervention. Renewable energy targets set with the EU in 2010 provided the legal imperative to scale up wind and solar energy, while an early gamble on expensive wind projects using taxpayers money led to a massive innovation boom. So far in 2020, consumers have paid more than 800m to support the offshore wind industry through their energy bills.

An ambitious policy initially funded by the taxpayer has now made the prime minister eat his own words when he farcically claimed, in 2013, that wind energy couldnt pull the skin off a rice pudding. The sector has now come such a long way in just seven years that we are looking at the prospect of negative subsidy projects, where offshore wind will start paying consumers back over the lifetime of their generation.

As the climate crisis accelerates and the government remains off track to meet its own net-zero target, offshore wind cannot remain the panacea for all our problems. A public investment-led innovation approach is now needed in sectors like transport, agriculture and industry, where emissions are harder to cut and new stakeholders need to be engaged. In many ways offshore wind is out of sight and largely out of mind for British citizens, but the next phase of rapid decarbonisation needs to happen in our homes, neighbourhoods and cities, where the changes will be more visible.

The government is expected to launch Johnsons 10-point plan to achieve net zero in the next few weeks, trailing the runup to the major climate summit being hosted in Glasgow next November. The prime minister is clearly enamoured by hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage (CCS), calling himself an evangelist of these technologies. But, as with all announcements, whether action matches the rhetoric remains to be seen.

The green agenda is right up there for No 10, and that is a good thing. Now the PM needs to back his idioms and metaphors with significant money.

Chaitanya Kumar is head of environment and green transition at the New Economics Foundation

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More offshore wind is welcome, but we have to keep the jobs it creates in the UK - The Guardian

The Governors Energy Office is receiving more than $2.1 million from the U.S. Department of Commerces Economic Development Administration to advance an economic roadmap for establishing Maine as an offshore wind power industry leader.

State agencies and other stakeholders, including the University of Maine, will develop a comprehensive offshore wind roadmap aimed at creating jobs and growing talent in Maine with a focus on floating technology.

The grant will be matched with $267,624 in state funds and $112,457 in local funds, including funding from the Maine Technology Institute and in-kind contributions from the University of Maine, which is part of a consortium developing a floating offshore wind pilot project.

This investment will build on Maines national leadership on floating offshore wind power, according to U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine.

For generations, Maine has been one of the nations energy leaders, and this project will bring in new opportunities to grow our states clean energy economy, Collins and King said in a joint statement.Thanks to our states extensive coastline, coastal communities, and the work of brilliant innovators in our state, a Maine offshore wind industry has the potential to become a leading energy provider for our region.

They said the funding will help open the door to a new source of clean energy and create good-paying jobs. Gov. Janet Mills said the award will advance the states commitment to fighting the impacts of climate change.

This important award will give Maine a roadmap for growing our clean energy economy in collaboration with our heritage industries, especially fishing, in order to support our states economic recovery from COVID-19 and sound the call that Maine intends to be a global competitor, innovator and leader in floating offshore wind, Mills said in a statement.

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Maine gets $2 million to help advance offshore wind power - Press Herald

U.S. utility giant Dominion Energy (NYSE:D) is shifting its profile, looking to get cleaner and greener. That's nothing unique; many peers are heading in the same direction. However, it recently embarked on a huge offshore wind project that investors need to watch. Here's what is going on.

Dominion Energy recently made headlines for canceling a massive pipeline project called Atlantic Coast. At the same time, it agreed to sell most of its existing pipeline business to Berkshire Hathaway. That move will materially shrink Dominion's business and result in a dividend cut. This is a big move in some ways, but not really a change in the trend for Dominion.

Image source: Getty Images.

For more than a decade, Dominion has been shifting toward more regulated and conservative businesses. The first material step in this process was exiting the oil drilling business. The pipeline business was still desirable at that point because it was predictable and there were expansion opportunities. However, a change in tax law in 2018 shifted the funding math on building new pipelines, and legal, regulatory, and environmental headwinds to projects have continued to increase. Since pipelines are no longer as predictable, Dominion is selling most of its midstream business to focus on its utility operations.

Once it has slimmed down, the utility expects that its growth rate will increase and that it can quickly resume dividend increases. To put some numbers on that, Dominion is projecting that growth after the business reset will be in the 6.5% range, with dividend growth (backed by a modest 65% payout ratio) coming in just slightly below that at 6% or so annually. Both are solid numbers for a utility of Dominion's size. The reason for all that growth will be that there's shifting and changing taking place in the utility space. That includes general upkeep of existing assets and spending to improve grid reliability. However, there's another piece of the spending story that's going to be a big long-term benefit as well -- clean energy.

Companies like Dominion are quickly building solar and onshore wind facilities in the United States. Regulators are generally happy to see such spending and, thus, are more likely to approve rate requests. That said, the big clean energy project to watch at Dominion is happening in the waters off Virginia. In fact, the utility recently completed the construction of a two-turbine, 12-megawatt project roughly 27 miles off the Virginia Beach coast. That's enough juice to power 3,000 homes.

It's understandable if you aren't exactly impressed. The truth is that, at around $300 million or so, this is a tiny project -- for now. The goal is for Dominion to learn by doing. That includes figuring out how the construction process plays out and what it's like to operate the turbines on an ongoing basis. Those learnings will be put to good use as Dominion builds out the full project, which is 2.6 gigawatts in size and can power 650,000 homes.

Dominion Energy Virginia Offshore Wind Project

Electric capacity

2.6 gigawatts

Cost

Roughly $8 billion

Total stages

Four -- a pilot test followed by three 800-megawatt construction phases

Current status

Pilot project construction completed

Final in service dates

Between 2024 and 2026

Information source: Dominion Energy.

At this point, Dominion expects the offshore wind project to cost around $8 billion and take until 2026 to fully complete. This is not a small investment or one that will wrap up quickly. But Dominion isn't trying to do it all at once, as the two-turbine pilot test shows. Indeed, once it is happy with this test, the real investment begins, but it will be spread over three phases. Each phase will provide roughly 800 megawatts worth of power.

Like the pilot, the goal is to learn from each of the stages so that the next phase of development can be handled more easily. It also allows the company to stop at multiple points along the way if things aren't going as smoothly as hoped. That said, these are still the very early days of the project, which won't really start in earnest until around 2023. But long-term investors need to start watching now for the updates on this big dig. In fact, at this point in time, Dominion's wind farm is the largest offshore wind project in the Americas, so this project is important for Dominion, but also for the entire U.S. utility sector.

Now that Dominion has completed the construction of the two pilot turbines, the best place for investors to get updates will likely be in quarterly conference calls. At this early stage, the updates are likely to be pretty vague and sparse, but as long as the company remains upbeat on the results it's achieving, the next big step to look for is the green light on the first of the three major construction stages. While that stage won't really start in earnest until 2022 or 2023, the go/no go decision will likely happen much sooner.

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The Largest U.S. Offshore Wind Farm Has Its First 2 Windmills - Motley Fool

Battling blowout at a natural gas well near its home in eastern Assam, Oil India Limited (OIL) has resumed its operations off the Andaman Islands after almost three decades.

OIL, headquartered in Dibrugarh districts Duliajan, last handled any exploration and production activity off the islands in the Bay of Bengal in the 1980s. The public sector Navaratna company resumed its seismic survey in its Andaman offshore blocks on October 8.

Seismic survey usually precedes all oil and gas exploration activity.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited, Indias largest exploration company, had drilled six wells off the Andaman shores during the 2013-14 fiscal without commercial success or production.

After 2014, we are the only company to venture into the Andaman waters for exploration activities. But while ONGC were in deep waters, we are getting into shallow waters with a sophisticated multipurpose data acquisition vessel, an OIL spokesperson said.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas had awarded 32 blocks under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy through two rounds of bidding in January and February, 2019. OIL won bids for 12 blocks, including two covering an area of 9,616.7 sq km in shallow waters off the shores of Andaman Islands.

Excerpt from:

OIL resumes Andaman offshore operations - The Hindu

The Army Corps of Engineers will open a public comment period on a permit application for a fish farming pilot project off Floridas southwest coast, following demands from critics and a newly issued pollution permit.

Hawaii-based developer Ocean Era LLC is proposing its Velella Epsilon aquaculture project, a single net pen system to raise up to 20,000 Almaco jack fingerlings, in the Gulf of Mexico about 45 miles southwest of Longboat Pass-Sarasota Bay.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Sept. 30 issued a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit allowing the fish farm to discharge up to 80,000 pounds of wastewater during its pilot production cycle.

The proposed aquaculture system would be deployed for one period of 12-18 months, which will represent one production cycle including a 12-month rearing timeframe and 6 months for initial cage deployment and water quality and benthic sampling, time between stocking and harvesting, and the removal of gear at the project conclusion, according to the Corps public notice of application.

The projects equipment will include the net pen deployed on an engineered multi-anchor swivel mooring system, secured with three 3-ton drag anchors set in four to 10 feet of sandy sediment on the sea floor, according to the notice.

The net pen would be constructed using 4-millimeter copper wire to make 40-millimeter (1.57 inch) square mesh, with 2-inch steel chain and rope mooring lies. GPS transponders on the pen would send automated reporting of the pens position, while video cameras allow farm staff to remotely monitor conditions in and around the pen.

Local skeptics question how the pen will survive tropical storms, and the application goes into some detail about that.

The net pen design is very flexible and self-adjusts to suit the constantly changing wave and current conditions. As a result, the system can float on the surface of the ocean most of the time at an operational position, the application states.

When a storm approaches the area, a valve would be opened to flood the system with water, causing the entire net pen array to submerge but be maintained several meters above the sea floor and still able to rotate around the MAS (multi-anchor system) and adjust to the currents. A buoy would remain on the surface, marking the net pens position.

After the storm, air would be pumped back into the system via a hose to make the net pen buoyant again and to resume normal operational conditions.

Along with local critics, the plan is opposed by Dont Cage Our Ocean, a coalition of environmental, fishing and food safety advocates who challenged the National Marine Fisheries Service in federal court on its authority to regulate offshore aquaculture.

A federal appeals court in August ruled NMFS cannot have that regulatory power without Congress specifically granting it a move now afoot with a new bill in the Senate to create a regulatory framework for fish farming in federal waters.

Meanwhile the opponents say they will appeal the EPA water permit.

"It is extremely disappointing that the federal agency specifically tasked with environmental oversight could say that there is a "finding of no significant impact" for an industrial fish farm facility that will grow over 70,000 pounds of fish in one space, off the already struggling, fragile coast of Florida, where in recent years there has been unprecedented red tides, massive coral die off and other serious ecological challenges. Issuing this permit is a slap in the face to everyone in the Gulf," said Marianne Cufone, Director of the Recirculating Farms Coalition.

Original post:

Feds move toward permitting offshore Florida fish farm - National Fisherman

Read: What are the Panama Papers?

Trumps name came up more than 3,500 times in the documents; although he was not implicated in any wrongdoing, many of his customers, business partners, and other associates were. The Panama Papers, still the largest data leak in history, sketched a picture of elites in revolt: a growing refusal of obligation to the societies that had allowed them to become wealthy and powerful. That point was underscored 19 months later by the Paradise Papers, another offshore leak involving prominent figures as varied as Queen Elizabeth II and Trumps secretary of commerce, Wilbur Ross. Both leaks showed that the offshore economy had produced something dangerous to the rest of us: a noblesse without the oblige. They also showed that the phenomenon was global.

As part of my research, I interviewed 65 wealth managers in 18 tax havens. Their clients used offshore tools to facilitate a way of life not only luxurious but libertineone that exempted them from what most average people would regard as basic obligations to society, and gave them the freedom to do what might get other people in trouble. In other words, they aspire to the same lifestyle Trump has exemplified for decades, including his tax dodging and the gold-plated bathroom fixtures on his private jet. Although he is undeniably different from his recent predecessors in the Oval Officeparticularly in his swaggering defiance of laws he swore to uphold and protect on Inauguration DayTrump is the ideal representative of the elite insurgency. His offhand remark while filming Access Hollywood 15 years ago could serve as the unofficial motto for the whole offshore world: When youre a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.

David A. Graham: Trump is flaunting his impunity

A similar ethos was expressed more eloquently by a Geneva-based wealth manager I interviewed; she spoke of her clients as people above nationality and laws. Another in the Cayman Islands described his offshore clientele as a pretty global bunch, with a lot more in common with each other than with the people of their own countries. To study the offshore world, I needed to enter it fully, so I spent two years training to become a wealth manager myself. The job, I learned, consists of law avoidancehelping clients dodge creditors and legal judgments, along with the claims of ex-spouses and disgruntled heirs, is as much a part of the wealth managers role as facilitating tax evasion. The result was, as I wrote in The Atlantic in 2015, a libertarian fantasy made real.

Since entering politics, Trump has followed the elite-insurgency playbook, not just refusing accountability, but flaunting his impunity. In 2016, he bragged that paying little in taxes made him smart. The novelty of his defiance lay in its openness. Only four years previously, the GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney had sounded defensive when conceding that he had legally reduced his income-tax rate to 14 percent. I pay all the taxes that are legally required and not a dollar more, he said in a debate. Then came Trump. Far from explaining or apologizing where his taxes were concerned, he simply scoffed at the idea of anyone holding him accountable.

Read more from the original source:

Trumps Very Ordinary Indifference to the Common Good - The Atlantic

In the wake of the Fifth Circuits August 2, 2020 decision holding that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) lacked authority to regulate aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico, the Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture Act, or the AQUAA Act (Act), is making waves once again in Congress.

Although the Act has been floating around for a few years, with its most recent reintroduction in the House in March 2020, the Fifth Circuits decision (as B&D previously discussed), coupled with the Presidents May 2020 Executive Order emphasizing the governments policy to facilitate aquaculture projects through regulatory transparency, have revived momentum for establishing a federal regulatory system for offshore aquaculture.

The Act proposes thedevelopment of a sustainable marine aquaculture industry through a new federal regulatory regime headed by an Office of Aquaculture (Office) that will sit within NMFS at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.The Office would coordinate regulatory, scientific, outreach, and international issues related to aquaculture, as well as collaborate with the National Sea Grant college program to conduct outreach and engage with stakeholders.Generally, the Act aims to reduce the United States seafood trade deficit by expanding the domestic supply of seafood through sustainable aquaculture and opening the United States exclusive economic zoneto potential permit holders of offshore aquaculture facilities.

Under the Act, the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) would assess and inventory areas that are appropriate for offshore aquaculture.Once identified, these areas would be open for permitted offshore aquaculture.Entities interested in conducting offshore aquaculture activities must submit a permit application to the Secretary, specifying, among other things, the proposed location of the aquaculture facility, the type of aquaculture, and emergency response plans. The Secretary would then review the permit application to determine if it complies with the purpose and requirements of the Act.

The Act explicitly states that future offshore aquaculture facilities must comply with all applicable statutes, rules, and regulations.Potential permit-holders should therefore be aware of the implications of any federally-permitted project with potential impacts on marine mammals, endangered species, water quality, and the states coastal zones.And each permit will likely be required to undergo review pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act.

The Acts future is uncertain as it must still pass Congress and, even then, there will be a lengthy rulemaking and structuring process to follow.However, the seafood industry continues to push for utilization of these offshore resources and the insufficiency of the current regulatory regime is adding support for the bills passage. With offshore aquaculture at the heart of controversy for many coastal communities who rely on traditional methods of seafood harvesting for livelihood or who rely on open waters for recreational useoften beyond the states coastal zonethe bill, if passed, will affect the entire seafood industry.

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Federal Authority for Offshore Aquaculture Reappears on the Horizon - JD Supra

Denmark's rsted owns the first offshore wind project in the U.S., the 30-MW Block Island wind farm.Source: Scott Eisen/Stringer via Getty Images

Utilities and oil majors from Europe are slicing up the Eastern Seaboard when it comes to the burgeoning U.S. offshore wind industry, with fewer domestic-owned developers so far putting money into a sector that is expected to balloon over the coming decade.

BP PLC became the latest company to enter the fray in September, when it bought into two offshore wind developments owned by Norway's Equinor ASA, the Beacon Wind and Empire Wind projects, which between them have development potential of 4,400 MW, including an 816-MW state contract already awarded for Empire Wind. The joint venture between the two oil and gas firms follows a host of deals and leasing rounds that have seen the major players of Europe's own offshore boom take the lead in the sector's next big market.

Denmark's rsted A/S, Spain's Iberdrola SA and the BP-Equinor joint venture now own just over 11,600 MW of planned projects along the coast, while Dominion Energy Inc. and Eversource Energy the next two top owners are sitting on a combined 4,500 MW of projects, according to an S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis.

Between them, the two U.S.-based companies own less planned capacity than global market leader rsted alone and, aside from Public Service Enterprise Group Inc., there are only a handful of other U.S. companies involved in several early-stage projects making up a small slice of the more than 20,000 MW of projects already announced or under development.

While project capacities are subject to change as developers bid into different state auctions, an undeniable trend is emerging: With energy and power giants from Denmark, Spain, Norway and the U.K. crowding out inexperienced domestic developers, the U.S. offshore wind market will be far from American-made.

"They are more playing second fiddle to the large international partners," Deepa Venkateswaran, an analyst covering European utilities at Alliance Bernstein, said of the U.S. companies involved. "It's a very different landscape to onshore wind and solar."

And as states keep increasing offshore wind targets and take steps to solicit more projects, the outsized foreign influence has served to raise political risks for developers looking to convince American lawmakers that the blossoming market will be a boon to U.S. industry.

That has given ammunition to opponents of offshore wind projects, especially commercial fishing interests whose coordinated opposition helped stall a decision by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on whether to approve the proposed 800-MW Vineyard Offshore Wind Project. That project, which could be the first utility-scale offshore wind farm in federal waters, is a joint venture of Denmark-based Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners K/S and Avangrid Renewables LLC, a subsidiary of Iberdrola-owned Avangrid Inc.

Brandon Burke, policy and outreach director for the Business Network for Offshore Wind, noted that states are looking to develop just under 30,000 MW of offshore wind capacity by 2035 more than Europe has installed over the last three decades. So it makes sense for American companies to partner with Europeans with more experience, as Dominion, Eversource and PSEG have all done.

Still, Burke said that during a quickly accelerating energy transition, American companies particularly domestic oil and gas majors, which have decades of experience in building offshore infrastructure are missing out on a chance to diversify.

"It really is a huge opportunity, really a once-in-a-generation opportunity, to build an industry," Burke said.

'Putting your eggs in many baskets'

While the majority of planned U.S. offshore wind capacity is in the hands of European developers, the industry has to date been defined by partnerships and joint ventures. That includes all three of the largest U.S. players, who have each linked up with rsted for their initial projects.

The Danish company just completed the 12-MW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Pilot Project with Dominion only the second offshore wind farm to be completed in U.S. waters, which Dominion plans to chase with the 2,600-MW Virginia Beach Offshore Wind project, to be built in three phases between 2024 and 2026. By building the smaller plant for Dominion, rsted reserved the exclusive right to negotiate a stake in the Virginia Beach project, too.

The pilot project underscored the lack of a real U.S. supply chain for offshore wind projects. To get around the Jones Act, which prohibits foreign vessels from transporting goods between U.S. ports, the material for the wind farm was manufactured in Europe and shipped to Halifax in Nova Scotia, from where it was delivered to the project site. Dominion is now investing in a Jones Act-compliant ship, and rsted and Eversource have also inked a deal to build one. European companies are also participating in capacity auctions to invest in U.S. port infrastructure.

"That's why we're working to really develop that U.S.-based supply chain and this installation vessel is one of those steps," said Jeremy Slayton, a Dominion spokesperson.

rsted is also jointly developing one project with PSEG in New Jersey, the Garden State Offshore Wind Farm, and four large-scale offshore projects with Eversource the Bay State Offshore Wind, South Fork Wind Farm, Revolution Wind Offshore and Sunrise Wind Offshore Farm projects.

rsted declined a request for an interview for this story. But Michael Ausere, vice president for business development at Eversource, said that in 2015, the company began noticing the falling prices of offshore wind in Europe and found a natural partner in the Danish utility.

"We're talking about building a generation resource in a marine environment, and that's not something we've done before," he said. As important as rsted's experience in building offshore wind farms was its knowledge of the costs involved, he added.

Grzegorz Gorski, COO of Ocean Winds, the joint venture company founded last year by EDP Renovveis SA and Engie SA to pool their offshore wind operations, said risk-sharing partnerships are a necessity in offshore wind, where the cost of a single project can run into the billions of dollars.

"It's about putting your eggs in many baskets," Gorski said.

Ocean Winds is developing the Mayflower Wind Offshore Project off the coast of Massachusetts together with Royal Dutch Shell PLC and already co-owns offshore projects with companies including Mitsubishi Corp., Sumitomo Corp. and Repsol SA in Europe. In the U.S., Gorski said seabed leases are already so expensive that risk-sharing is even more important. Leases have so far run up to $135 million, in addition to rent payments, and prices are expected to rise further in future auctions.

"It's a nice chunk of money, and you are years away from [a final investment decision] without the guarantees that you will actually reach it," Gorski said. "Because of this, it's better to have half of one project than one project."

Ocean Winds' risk-sharing approach has been mirrored by others, said Meike Becker, another Bernstein analyst: Aside from BP and Equinor, Avangrid has brought in financial investor Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners on two of its projects, Vineyard Wind and Park City Wind Offshore, making the Danish investment firm another major player in the U.S. sector.

'We don't have a religion about joint ventures'

While rsted's approach has been to partner up with local utilities to break into the U.S. market, Becker said Iberdrola has a built-in advantage through Avangrid, its subsidiary, while EDPR and Engie already have substantial onshore operations in the country.

"These guys are actually very familiar with the U.S. So they're just sticking to their home market," she said.

Eric Thumma, Avangrid's interim head of offshore wind, said the company has been able to combine Iberdrola's experience in bringing projects all the way into operation with its own expertise on the U.S. market, pointing to a mutually beneficial relationship likely also envisioned by companies like rsted and Eversource.

In the future, Thumma said Avangrid could decide to pursue more projects on its own. The company already has another project announced without partners attached, the Kitty Hawk Offshore Wind Farm in North Carolina.

"Whether we do it with partners or alone is really going to be case by case, examining those specific lease auctions and where the market is going," Thumma said.

Others are similarly non-committal.

"We don't have a religion about joint ventures," said Dev Sanyal, BP's executive vice-president for gas and low carbon energy. "We look at companies and partners and, if there is a natural fit ... we do it."

'A huge market on paper'

Industry observers say BP paid a steep price for its entry deal with Equinor, which cost the company $1.1 billion and, aside from the two projects in New York and Massachusetts, also includes the possibility of additional developments. Other companies looking to get in might also be willing to pay a premium, given the scale and security promised by the market in the long term.

"You can see they wanted an entry into this market, so they paid a pretty high price, given the projects are not yet constructed," said Bernstein's Venkateswaran. "That might be reflected in the prices people are ready to pay [going forward]."

Sanyal said that getting access to land was an important factor in the company's decision to partner up with Equinor one of only a handful of companies to have already secured seabed rights. The last lease auction was held nearly two years ago and the industry is itching for more. A Bureau of Ocean Energy Management spokesman told S&P Global Market Intelligence that the agency is in "planning stages for additional wind energy areas in the Gulf of Maine, the New York Bight, offshore the Carolinas, California and Hawaii."

"It's a huge market on paper, but not that easy to capture it if you don't have a lease," Venkateswaran said. "So people sitting on top of land have an advantage."

Sanyal said he expects the market to get "a lot more competitive," given the attractive fundamentals. Companies that have yet to make a splash along the U.S. coastline but could be tempted to take a stake include European offshore heavyweights like RWE AG and oil major Total SE, as well as unlisted U.S. investors like Berkshire Hathaway Energy, according to Bernstein.

More West Coast centric developers could also join the fray as development areas expand, said Avangrid's Thumma.

"It's conceivable to see a few more players come into the field, particularly as the geographic focus changes," Thumma said. But he added that the significant entry hurdles of offshore wind would nonetheless limit the number of players, suggesting that the lines have been drawn to a large extent.

"You have to have some financial wherewithal to be in this market," he said.

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European developers build out dominance in US offshore wind race - S&P Global

W&T Offshore, Inc. WTI is likely to gain from its huge acreage position in the Gulf of Mexico. However, levered balance sheet and weak commodity prices are concerns.

Headquartered in Houston, TX, W&T Offshore is a leading oil and natural gas explorer, with operations primarily focused on resources located off the coast of Gulf of Mexico (GoM). This has enabled the company to develop significant technical expertise in the major prolific oceanic rift basin. As of Dec 31, 2019, it reported proved reserves of 157.4 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBoe), up 87% from 2018-end reserves of 84 MMBoe. Total proved reserves of the firm comprise roughly 40% liquid.

Lets take a closer look at the factors that substantiate its Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

The prolific oil and gas offshore fields in the GoM shelf have been primarily boosting the companys production since inception. Discoveries in those fields, located at a water depth of 500 feet, will likely boost W&T Offshores production further. The GoM provides unique advantages, including low decline rates, world-class permeability and significant potential reserves that are untapped.

W&T Offshore is growing its presence in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico fields, wherein production has increased more than 500% and proved reserves have surged nearly 900% over the past eight years. The company acquired interests in the prospective Heidelberg field in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico. Notably, it was the highest bidder on two blocks in the Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 254. The lease sale incorporated deepwater Garden Banks block 782 and shallow water Eugene Island Area South Addition block 345. Moreover, the deep-water discoveries made in recent years have enhanced the companys prospects.

W&T Offshore closed the Mobile Bay acquisition from ExxonMobil last year. The assets, located in the eastern region of the GoM, include some onshore processing facilities adjacent to W&T Offshores existing properties. The move added net proved reserves of 74 MMBoe to the companys portfolio. Of the total reserves, the vast majority is proved developed and producing. Moreover, it closed the remaining 25% stake acquisition in the Magnolia Field during the first quarter. These acquisitions are expected to deliver significant synergies and cost savings to the company.

Story continues

Despite an adverse operating environment, W&T Offshore is managing to keep investors happy with positive adjusted EBITDA. In fact, it delivered positive earnings surprises in all the last four quarters, with an average of 731%. Moreover, the company decreased spending in early-2020 to ensure free cash flow generation.

W&T Offshore, Inc. price-eps-surprise | W&T Offshore, Inc. Quote

However, there are some factors holding back the stock.

As of Jun 30, 2020, W&T Offshore had a total debt of $624.2 million, with a cash balance of only $36.5 million, reflecting a weak balance sheet. This can hurt the company's financial flexibility.

The coronavirus pandemic has dented global energy demand, which has caused the shift of oil prices to the bearish territory. With liquids comprising 48% of total production volumes, the weak commodity pricing scenario might hurt the upstream business.

In the trailing 12-month period, it reported a negative free cash flow of $61 million. As commodity prices are not expected to improve anytime soon, the cash flow situation will be under pressure. We have to wait and watch how the companys actions will counter the situation.

Despite significant prospects, W&T Offshores balance sheet weakness and weak commodity price scenario are concerning.Nevertheless, we believe that systematic and strategic plan of action will drive its long-term growth.

Some better-ranked players in the energy space include DCP Midstream, LP DCP, Apache Corporation APA and Matador Resources Company MTDR. While DCP Midstream has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Apache and Matador Resources hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can seethe complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

DCP Midstreams bottom line for 2021 is expected to skyrocket 156.4% year over year.

Apaches bottom line for 2021 is expected to surge 84.3% year over year.

Matador Resources sales for 2021 are expected to rise 12.2% year over year.

Experts extracted 7 stocks from the list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys that has beaten the market more than 2X over with a stunning average gain of +24.3% per year.

These 7 were selected because of their superior potential for immediate breakout.

See these time-sensitive tickers now >>

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportApache Corporation (APA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportWT Offshore, Inc. (WTI) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMatador Resources Company (MTDR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportDCP Midstream Partners, LP (DCP) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

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Hold on to W&T Offshore, Here's Why We Think It'll Grow - Yahoo Finance

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Construction has started on the Hywind Tampen offshore wind farm project, located 140km off the coast of Norway. It is set to be the worlds largest floating offshore wind farm.

The farm, representing a total investment of approximately 460 million, will comprise 11 8 MW Siemens Gamesa wind turbines, floating in waters of up to 600m in depth.

The wind farm will lie between two oil and gas fields Snorre and Gullfaks which are part-owned by Equinor, the developer of the Hywind project. It will have a total capacity of 88 MW and the electricity generated is expected to cover about 35% of the annual power needs of the gas fields.

Hywind Tampen will be the first floating offshore wind project to supply renewable power to oil and gas installations.

Equinor says a reduction in CO2 emissions of some 200,000 tonnes per year is also anticipated.

Norwegian engineering company Kvrner has been awarded the contract to deliver 11 floating concrete hulls for the project, and a Kvrner apprentice, Arne Linga, along with Norways Prime Minister, Erna Solberg, got construction underway at a recent ceremony, by starting the first cutting robot.

Equinor president and CEO Eldar Stre said of the project, Hywind Tampen is a new chapter in Norways narrative as an energy nation. With support from the Norwegian authorities, were not only building Norways first offshore wind project; were refining floating offshore wind technology along with the Norwegian supplier industry.

He added, Eighty percent of the worlds offshore wind resources are located in deep water areas and are available for floating offshore wind projects. If we can use projects like Hywind Tampen to make floating offshore wind competitive with other forms of energy, the technology will be able to deliver large-scale renewable power and contribute to a more sustainable global energy supply. A floating offshore wind market will also open up considerable industrial opportunities for Norwegian industry.

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Norway launches offshore wind project | Article | KHL - KHL Group

Highlights

40 GW capacity target confirmed for 2030

Offshore covered 10% of demand in 2019

Project pipeline big enough, but grid challenge

London Every home in the UK -- Europe's third-largest economy -- will be powered by electricity from offshore wind farms within a decade, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a speech to the Conservative Party conference Oct. 6.

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Johnson said the government would raise its target for offshore wind capacity by 2030 from 30 GW to 40 GW, providing funding of GBP160 million ($207 million) for offshore wind ports like Teesside and Humberside.

The announcement will fuel debate on the viability of the government's targets and the long-term implications for pricing. The UK government is due to publish an energy white paper alongside a heat and buildings strategy this autumn.

The following are key facts around energy policy in the UK.

Offshore wind has become more competitive in the UK power sector with the cost of installation falling in successive auctions.

Platts Analytics forecasts UK demand to recover from COVID-19 losses by 2022, supported by electrification of transport. Forecasts for total UK demand in 2030 range from 300 TWh up to 322 TWh.

The 40 GW target is not new the government had confirmed the target in December 2019 but it is hugely ambitious.

Excerpt from:

FACTBOX: Every UK home to be powered by offshore wind by 2030: PM - S&P Global

South Koreas Kepco Engineering & Construction Company (Kepco E&C), a unit of Korea Electric Power Corporation, has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) to cooperate on the development of floating nuclear power plants.

Under the agreement, the two companies will jointly advance technology development for offshore nuclear power plants with the combination of Kepcos expertise in nuclear power plant design and DSMEs know-how in shipbuilding.

Kepco E&C has been developing Bandi-60, a small modular reactor (SMR) for offshore use, since 2016 and the company believes the development of a floating offshore nuclear power plant equipped with Bandi-60 is expected to gain momentum from the partnership.

The synergy between Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineerings excellent marine floatation design and manufacturing technology and the advanced nuclear technology of Korea Electric Power Technology is expected, said Yeom Hak-gi, director of Kepco corporate R&D subsidiary, the Korea Electric Power Research Institute.

In 2017, Chinese companies China National Nuclear Power (CNNP), Jiangnan Shipyard, Shanghai Electric Power, Shanghai Guosheng Group and Zhejiang Zheneng Electric Power established a joint venture to develop floating nuclear power stations. China planned to build 20 floating nuclear power stations to support offshore activities including oil and gas drilling and island development.

Originally posted here:

South Korean power company partners with DSME to develop offshore nuclear power plants - Splash 247