The study, carried out by Xodus Group, an engineering consultancy with experience in the oil and gas, utilities, and renewable industries, concluded that there are a range of technically feasible options available to develop an offshore wind project off the coast of Guernsey. However, it also cautioned that due to higher costs, the majority of the project should be funded by the States of Guernsey to secure the lowest cost of finance.

Amongst the reports other findings were:

The current preferred site is offshore towards the 12nm boundary. This location is in relatively deep water and most suited to the new floating wind turbine structures;

The lowest cost site is likely to be in the shallow waters off the north coast (or any coastal site). However, this near shore location may have visual and other human impact.

Consideration should be given to pursuing an extended wave and wind data gathering programme that could be relatively low cost but high value for the future.

According to Xodus, the States of Guernsey Renewable Energy Team have been progressing the recommendations following receipt of the report.

Peter Barnes, Lead Officer for the Renewable Energy Team, said Wind technology is continuing to mature and will offer increased levels of security and independence of supply. Guernsey is well positioned to benefit from those developments.

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Study concludes that offshore wind viable in several Guernsey locations - Renewable Energy Focus

The Piper Alpha disaster in the North Sea, UK, which killed 167 people in July 1988, is the deadliest offshore oil rig accident in history.

Discovered in 1973 and brought on stream in 1976, Piper Alpha was one of the biggest offshore oil platforms in the UK producing more than 300,000 barrels of crude a day (about ten percent of the country's total crude production). The offshore platform started producing gas in the early 1980s and had three main gas transport risers and an oil export riser before disaster struck, destroying the entire facility causing an estimated loss of $1.4bn.

The Piper Alpha disaster occurred due to gas leakage from one of the condensate pipes at the platform on 6 July 1988. The pressure safety valve of the corresponding condensate-injection pump was removed during the day as part the routine maintenance of the pump. The open condensate pipe was temporarily sealed with two blind flanges. The temporary disc cover, however, remained in place during shift-change in the evening as maintenance work was not complete. The condensate-injection pump was not supposed to be switched on under any circumstances.

Communication errors however led the night crew staff at the platform to turn on the pump after the other pump tripped. It resulted in leakage of gas condensate from the two blind flanges causing gas ignition and serial explosions on the platform. Only 61 out of the 226 workers survived the disaster and it took close to three weeks to control the fire.

At the time of the disaster the platform was managed by Occidental in block 15 of the UK Continental Shelf, about 120 miles north-east of Aberdeen.

The Alexander L. Kielland was a semi-submersible platform accommodating the workers of the bridge-linked Edda oil rig in the Ekofisk field, about 235 miles east of Dundee, Scotland, in the Norwegian continental Shelf. The Platform, operated by Phillips Petroleum, capsized in March 1980, killing 123 people.

Only 89 out of 212 workers survived the accident and most died by drowning as the platform turned upside down in deep waters. The platform capsized after the failure of one of the bracings attached to one leg of the five-legged platform structure, after strong winds created waves of up to 12m high on the day of the accident.

Once the first broke, all bracings attached to the leg failed in succession, the platform lost one of its five legs and the entire structure tilted 30 degrees. Five of the six anchor cables snapped but the platform was stabilised for some time by the remaining single cable, which ultimately snapped.

Official investigation concluded that the root cause of the accident was an undetected fatigue crack in the weld of an instrument connection on the bracing.

The Seacrest Drillship disaster in the South China Sea 430km south of Bangkok, Thailand, killed 91 crew men on the 3rd of November 1989. The 4,400t drillship was anchored for drilling at the Platong gas field owned and operated by Unocal. The drillship was capsized by the Typhoon Gay which produced 40ft high waves on the day of the accident.

The Seacrest drillship, also known as The Scan Queen, had been operational in the Gulf of Thailand since 1981 as a drill ship for Unocal. The drillship was reported missing on 4 November 1989 and only found floating upside-down by a search helicopter the next day. The capsize was believed to have occurred so quickly that there was no distress signal and no time for the crew members to respond to the disaster.

Just six out of the 97 crew members onboard were rescued by fishing boats and the Thai Navy. Apart from the severe weather condition the seaworthiness of the drillship was questioned as the likely cause for the tragedy.

The ship also had 12,500ft of drill-pipe in its derrick, which was believed to have resulted in a unstable high centre of gravity.

The Ocean Ranger oil drilling rig disaster which occurred in the North Atlantic Sea off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, on 15 February 1982 is one of the deadliest offshore oil rig accidents in history. The offshore oil drilling capsized and sank killing 84 crew members onboard.

The semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling rig owned by Ocean Drilling and Exploration Company (ODECO) was hired by Mobil Oil of Canada for drilling exploration well at Hibernia field at the time of accident. One of the biggest rigs built by then, the 25,000t rig was 396ft long, 262ft wide and 337ft tall, with the capacity to operate 1,500ft beneath water and drill up to a depth of 25,000ft below the seabed.

The rig was capsized due to a very strong storm which produced 190km/h winds and up to 65ft (20m) high waves. On 14 February 1982, it was reported that a porthole window had broken and water had entered into the ballast control room of the Ocean Ranger. The ballast control panel was noticed to be malfunctioning two hours later.

Crew workers abandoned the rig and moved into the lifeboat stations but only one lifeboat with 36 crew members inside could be launched successfully. At least 20 crew were reported to be in the water before the rig sank between 3:07am and 3:13am after staying afloat for about one and half hours. Out of the 84 workers who drowned, 46 were Mobil Oil employees.

The Glomar Java Sea Drillship disaster which took place on 25 October 1983 in the South China Sea caused the death of 81 people when the drillship capsized and sank at depth of 317ft about 63 nautical miles south-west of Hainan Island, China, 80 nautical miles east of Vietnam.

The 5,930t Glomar Java Sea drillship was built by the Levingston Shipbuilding Company of Orange, Texas, in 1975 and delivered to Global Marine. The 400ft long drillship was contracted to ARCO China at the time of the disaster. The vessel had performed drilling for ARCO in the Gulf of Mexico between 1975 and 1881, and operated off the coast of California for some time before its arrival in the South China Sea in January 1983.

Operations ceased prior to the arrival of tropical Storm Lex as it approached from the east of the drilling site. Global Marine's office in Houston, Texas, reported that the drillship was experiencing 75kt (138.9km/h) winds over the bow, but the contact was abruptly lost.

No survivors were found in the extensive search operation conducted thereafter. The wrecked drillship was found in an inverted position 1,600ft south-west of the drilling site. Only 36 bodies were found, and the remaining 45 crew members were presumed dead.

The Bohai 2 oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Bohai off the coast of China in November 1979 is the sixth most fatal offshore oil rig disaster. It caused the death of 72 out of 76 people on board as the Bohai 2 jack-up rig capsized and toppled in the sea water.

The accident was caused by a storm which occurred while the rig was being towed. Fierce winds broke the ventilator pump of the platform causing a puncture hole in the deck resulting in extensive flooding.

The loss of stability due to flooding coupled with severe weather conditions eventually led to the capsizing of the jack-up. The accompanying tow boat could not rescue the crew members, who were also believed to lack proper training on emergency evacuation procedures and the use of lifesaving equipment.

The post-disaster investigations reported a failure in correctly stowing the deck equipment prior to towing. It was also reported that standard tow procedures were not followed given the bad weather conditions. The sunken jack-up rig was eventually salvaged with explosives by the Yantai Salvage Company in April 1981.

The Enchova Central Platform disaster in the Campos Basin near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, killed 42 people in August 1984. The accident occurred due to a blowout which caused a fire and explosion at the central platform of the Enchova field operated by Petrobras.

Most of the workers were evacuated from the platform by lifeboats and helicopter except for 42 workers who lost their lives during the evacuation process. Malfunctioning of the lowering mechanism of a lifeboat caused the death of 36, while six died as they jumped from the platform into the sea. The lifeboat remained vertically suspended because of the failure of the bow hook and eventually fell 20m deep into the sea as its supporting cables snapped.

Another disaster struck the Enchova platform on 24 April 1988 as one of its 21 wells blew out and eventually ignited. The well suffered a blow out while undergoing a work-over to convert it from oil production to gas production. The fire caused by the blowout on the platform led to massive damage topside, however all the workers were safely evacuated to the nearby floating accommodation ship without a single casualty.

The platform remained on fire for a month and Petrobras eventually drilled two relief wells to control the blowout. The platform was declared a total loss and replaced by a new facility that commenced production nearly 18 months after the accident.

The Mumbai High North disaster on 27 July 2005 in the Arabian Sea, around 160km west of the Mumbai coast, killed 22 people. Mumbai High North, one of the producing platforms of the Mumbai High field owned and operated by India's state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), caught fire after a collision with the multipurpose support vessel (MSV) Samudra Suraksha.

Strong swells, pushed the MSV towards the platform hitting the rear part of the vessel causing rupture of one or more of the platform's gas export risers.

The resultant gas leakage led to ignition that set the platform on fire. Heat radiation also caused damage to the MSV and the Noble Charlie Yester jack-up rig engaged in drilling operation near the platform.

The accident caused significant oil spill and a production loss of about 120,000 barrels of oil and about 4.4 million cubic metres of gas a day. ONGC opened a new platform at Mumbai High North in October 2012.

The Usumacinta Jack-up disaster, which occurred on the 23rd of October 2007 in the Gulf of Mexico, claimed 22 lives after a collision with the PEMEX-operated Kab-101 platform in the Bay of Campeche.

The Usumacinta Jack-up was positioned alongside the Kab-101 platform to complete drilling of the Kab-103 well. A storm with winds of 130km/h and up to 8m of waves created an oscillating movement, which eventually caused its cantilever deck to hit the production valve tree on the Kab-101 platform.

The collision resulted in oil and gas leakage leading to the closure of the safety valves of two production wells at the platform. The crew members were, however, unable to seal the valves completely, which resulted in continued leakage of oil and gas which eventually ignited causing fires on the platform. 21 people were declared to have died during the evacuation and one worker missing in the rescue operation was presumed dead.

The Usumacinta Jack-up also suffered two more fire breakouts in the month the followed, during well control operations. The fire was, however, extinguished without any loss of life and complete control of the well was achieved by the middle of December 2007. Approximately 5,000 barrels of oil was reported to have lost from the well without being recovered.

The C.P. Baker Drilling Barge disaster in the Gulf of Mexico on 30 June 1964 resulted in the death of 21 people and injured 22 after fires and a explosion occurred on the drilling barge.

C.P. Baker Drilling Barge constructed Reading & Bates in 1962 was deployed for drilling operation for Pan American Petroleum Corporation in block 273 in Eugene Island, Gulf of Mexico, at the time of the accident.

The two 260ft long hulls suffered a blowout on morning of 30 June 1964. Water gushed into the vessel through open doors on the main deck and the barge lost electric power soon thereafter.

The entire drilling barge was engulfed with fire and explosion just minutes of noticing the blow out. Only 22 out of the total 43 crew on board survived the disaster, most of which saved their lives by jumping from the port bow. The vessel sank upside-down in the water after heeling aft for around 30 minutes. The rescue operation confirmed eight as dead and 13 crew missing who were presumed dead.

Elgin and Franklin lie in the UK North Sea's Central Graben, approximately 240km east of Aberdeen and in water 93m deep.

Considered one of BP's most technically challenging projects ever, the Atlantis platform is the deepest moored floating dual oil and gas production facility in the world.

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The world's worst offshore oil rig disasters - Offshore ...

Building wind farms in the ocean is still more expensive than building them on land. But maybe not for much longer.

A new report from McKinseyfinds that fast growth, increased investment, bigger wind farms, falling costs and new technologies are driving new project bids to record lows in Europe.

Late last year, the Netherlands approved a bid for its cheapest offshore project yet, 54.50 ($61.10) per megawatt-hour, a sharp drop from the 72.70 ($81.50) per megawatt-hour bid for the same site just five months earlier. Denmark set its own record in a November auction, with a winning bid of 49.90 ($55.94) per megawatt-hour, down 50 percent from 2014.

Some of these bids are coming in at grid parity prices as well. In a German auction in April, the average winning bid for the projects was far below expectations, with some bids coming in at the wholesale electricity price -- meaning no subsidy is required.

One caveat: these are prices, not actual costs, McKinsey noted. Until the parks are actually built and running, it is impossible to know if they can be profitable at these prices. But companies would not be competing so fiercely -- the Dutch auction saw 38 bids -- if they didnt think they could be.

Offshore wind still costs about 40 percent more than onshore wind and 20 percent more than solar PV on a levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) basis -- about 120 to 130 per megawatt-hour for 2016 projects, according to McKinsey.

But because offshore wind is at an earlier stage of development, its prices can be expected to fall further, faster, thus improving its competitive position. Indeed, McKinseys normalized wind farm data, which creates comparable figures for different sites based on water depth, site preparation, subsidies and other factors, shows how a combination of improvements could lead to projects in 2020 coming in at costs 68 percent below 2010 figures, as the following chart indicates.

Bigger turbines are a big deal, driving much of the cost reductions. Just last week, Vestas released its 9.5-megawatt offshore turbine, two to three times bigger than the standard turbines from only a few years ago By 2024, 13- to 15-megawatt models will likely hit the market, McKinsey predicts.

Improved logistics and operations and maintenance could translate into savings of as much as 10 per megawatt-hour in LCOE. Some of this involves a degree of cooperation across operators in sharing crew transfer vessels, helicopters and jack-up barges -- specialized vessels with steel support legs that can be lowered to the sea floor to give them stability to lift heavy turbines. But improved operations start with the relentless application of advanced analytics to improve predictive maintenance, condition monitoring, and component replacement, McKinsey noted.

Contracting and procurement could add another to 5 to 10 percent in cost savings, a figure thats actually being exceeded by the more adept wind farm developers today, McKinsey noted. At several companies, this rigorous purchasing approach has translated into 15 to 20 percent price reductions in the procurement of turbines. Improving project execution could cut costs by another 3 to 5 percent, and as for financing, each percentage-point decrease in the cost of capital brings a 5 to 10 percent improvement in LCOE for renewables.

Europe holds 90 percent of the worlds offshore wind capacity, giving it a maturing supply chain, a high level of expertise, and strong competition, the report notes. This European expertise is now being applied to other markets such as the United States and Asia, with the promise of cheaper and better-planned and -executed projects driving increased investor interest and government support.

In the U.S., the countrys first offshore wind project in Massachusetts is finally moving ahead, and the state has a goal of 1.6 gigawatts of offshore wind in the next decade. New York's first offshore wind push will be a90-megawatt project30 miles southeast of Long Island, and the state wants to add up to as much as 800 megawatts of capacity -- a process that kicked off with Statoil's win of a development area off New York's coast for $42 million in December.

In Asia, China has made offshore wind part of its five-year energy plan, and Korea and Taiwan are also considering offshore wind as part of their future energy mix, the report noted. Although in some areas of the world, the LCOE of offshore wind may never become at par with, say, solar PV, the value it can bring -- as less-intermittent baseload power generation near urban demand centers, offsetting supply deficits from solar PV in winter -- can make it a valuable addition to the energy mix.

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Offshore Wind Reaches Cost-Competitiveness Without Subsidies - Greentech Media

Trump and Zinke Must Disavow Plans to Re-Create Troubled Offshore Drilling Agency Common Dreams WASHINGTON - Today's Bloomberg News report that President Donald Trump and U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke are considering re-creating the ineffectual and corrupt structure of America's offshore oil drilling regulator would be a disaster for ... and more »

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Trump and Zinke Must Disavow Plans to Re-Create Troubled Offshore Drilling Agency - Common Dreams

Germany, Belgium, Denmark, and a body of 25 energy companies have signed a pledge to increase Europes offshore wind capacity by a whopping five times over the next decade. This unprecedented push should not only supply the continent with ample clean energy, but also drive the price of offshore wind down in the future, making it more than competitive with fossil fuels.

Middelgrunden offshore wind farm off the shore of Copenhagen, Denmark. Image credits Lars Plougmann / Flickr.

Plopping wind farms offshore is one of those things that just makes perfect sense: its both easier and cheaper to install turbines at sea than on mountains,it doesnt use up valuable real estate driving installation prices even lower, all making for avery price competitive power source. While still controversial in the US, offshore wind has its roots firmly set down in Europe and many countries on the old continent are aggressively developing the technology. Because of this, offshore wind became one of the most efficient and fastest growing energy markets and its only going to get better.

Thats becauseGermany, Belgium, and Denmark have joined 25 high profile European energy companies, such as Dong Energy and Siemens Gamesa, to up offshore wind generation to a huge60 gigawattsin the next decade to put things into perspective, Europes current total offshore wind capacity totals roughly 13 gigawatts. Thats 4gigawatts a year, amounting to an almost fivefold increase over the next ten years.

But unlike the power these turbines will churn out, the announcement doesnt come out of the blue. The pledge comes hot on the heels of plans to construct an artificial island with some 7,000 offshore turbines in the North Sea by 2050. Such ambitious projects are hoped to start a domino effect, as the experience and efficiency gained from the works will slash installation prices around the world, making offshore turbines even more attractive (and more importantly, affordable) for other countries.

Existing European offshore windprojects have already lowered costs by 48%overthe last two years, and the technology is projected to become very competitive with new fossil fuel generators (such as natural gas power) by 2030.

With this Joint Statement, said Giles Dickson, chief executive officer of industry group WindEurope, leading businesses and governments are taking the next step by committing to cooperate on the deployment of big volumes for offshore wind energy.

The project ties into Europes efforts to develop low-carbon electricity generation systems to meet its emission reduction targets a 40% slash compared with 1990 levels by 2030 and its leaders are gambling that if theypave the way, other countries will follow suit in a bid to reach their own Paris pledges.

And given that WindEuropeestimatesthat about one quarter of the EUs electricity demand could be supplied via offshore wind for an average cost of54 euros/megawatt hour in the most favorable locations, were likely going to see a lot more of these turbines in the future.

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Germany, Belgium, Denmark, pledge to quintuple the EU's offshore wind in a decade - ZME Science

Published on June 8th, 2017 | by Joshua S Hill

June 8th, 2017 by Joshua S Hill

MHI Vestas Offshore Wind has unveiled the next iteration in its V164 wind turbine series, a 9.5 megawatt turbine that is larger than the giant London Eye ferris wheel.

Only four months after the company unveiled its 9 megawatt (MW) wind turbine, MHI Vestas (the resulting collaboration between parent companies Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Vestas Wind Systems) unveiled the latest V164 wind turbine, the V164-9.5 MW. This currently ranks as the most powerful serially-produced wind turbine in the world, according to MHI Vestas, with massive 80-meter blades that result in a swept area of 21,124 meters-squared, larger than the London Eye.

OneV164-9.5 MW wind turbine alone could power 8,300 UK homes.

As a leader in the offshore wind industry, we are committed to lowering the cost of energy through innovative turbine technology, said Jens Tommerup, CEO of MHI Vestas. The launch of our V164-9.5 MW turbine is a testament to that leadership and to the ingenuity of our engineers and technicians. The V164-9.5 MW is built on the industry-leading V164 platform, the most powerful platform in operation. Just one single turbine is now capable of powering more than 8,300 UK homes.

MHI Vestas V164-8 MW wind turbines are already in operationat the258 MW Burbo Bank Extension offshore wind farm, located off the coast of Liverpool, in England, and will be installed at the370 MWNorther offshore wind power plant in Belgium.

Im very proud of our team for their hard work in launching our next generation turbine, the V164-9.5 MW, added Torben Hvid Larsen, Chief Technology Officer at MHI Vestas. With only minimal design changes, including a redesigned gearbox and cooling system upgrades, this turbine continues the legacy of the proven V164 platform and is available now to all MHI Vestas customers.

Check out our new 93-page EV report.

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Tags: MHI Vestas, MHI Vestas Offshore Wind, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, V164, V164-9.5 MW, Vestas Wind Systems

Joshua S Hill I'm a Christian, a nerd, a geek, and I believe that we're pretty quickly directing planet-Earth into hell in a handbasket! I also write for Fantasy Book Review (.co.uk), and can be found writing articles for a variety of other sites. Check me out at about.me for more.

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MHI Vestas Offshore Unveils 9.5 Megawatt Wind Turbine - CleanTechnica

6/8/2017

LONDON -- Empyrean Energy plc, the oil and gas development company with interests in China, Indonesia and the United States, is pleased to announce that a 3D seismic survey has commenced on its 100% owned Block 29/11, offshore China. Block 29/11 is approximately 1,800 km2 and is situated approximately 200 km SSE of Hong Kong in water depths ranging from 340-600 m. Empyrean has the right to conduct exploration under a Geophysical Survey Agreement and a subsequent right to enter a pre-negotiated Production Sharing Contract with China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).

Empyrean has contracted China Oilfield Services Limited (COSL) to complete the Survey. The Survey will cover an area of approximately 580 km2 and is expected to take approximately 40 days to shoot. The data acquired will then be processed and interpreted, which will take approximately 90 days.

The Survey will cover a number of exciting leads and prospects that have previously been identified on 2D seismic by Ameco Corporation (now part of BP) and CNOOC on Block 29/11. These include Jade and Topaz, two significant prospects which the Company believes will benefit from the current 3D seismic program.

Importantly, the Survey will also include the acquisition of 3D seismic over recent discoveries immediately to the west of Block 29/11. This excellent cooperation between Empyrean and CNOOC is designed to greatly enhance both parties technical understanding of the producing formations in the region and, specifically, over the areal extent of the Survey. Empyrean has a 100% working interest in Block 29/11 during the Geophysical Survey Agreement period. Once the Company has signed a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) with CNOOC, CNOOC will have a back-in right to a 51% interest in the licence in the event of a commercial discovery.

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Empyrean Energy commences 3D seismic survey offshore China - WorldOil (subscription)

TAIPEI Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world's largest contract chipmaker, said on Thursday it will consider sites in Taiwan before offshore options when it decides the location of a multi-billion dollar foundry early next year.

The Taiwan government is helping the company find the ideal location for an advanced technology 3-nanometer chip plant, it added.

"We do not exclude locations in other countries, but a Taiwan location will be our first consideration," acting spokeswoman Elizabeth Sun told reporters on the sidelines of a shareholders' meeting.

The plan comes at a time when other tech heavyweights, like Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, which goes by the trade name of Foxconn, and Japan's SoftBank Group Corp, look to deepen investment in their U.S. businesses. This follows Donald Trump's presidential win last year, built on a campaign promise to boost American manufacturing and jobs.

TSMC Chairman Morris Chang said in January he would not rule out a U.S. plant but added that such a move would involve sacrifices for both the company and consumers, pointing to the benefits of being able to shift engineers across the firm's Taiwan factories.

TSMC, a major supplier to Apple Inc, has also flagged plans for the development of 5-nanometer chip plant. A Taiwan location for that factory is under environmental review, Sun said.

The contract chipmaker's plans for new plants come in the wake of record sales and profits last year and an upbeat outlook for 2017 as the shift to mobile computing creates robust global demand for its products.

"This year should also be a pretty good year. Our stock price is very, very good and healthy," Chang told shareholders on Thursday.

The stock closed up 0.7 percent at a record high to value the firm at T$5.52 trillion ($184 billion), boosted by Chang's comments and as shareholders approved a cash dividend of T$7 for 2016, up from T$6 a year earlier.

Its shares have climbed steadily over the past seven years and this year it surpassed Intel Corp in market value.

Chang played down TSMC's decision to pull out of the race for Toshiba Corp's highly prized chip business, saying after 6-7 weeks of intense deliberation earlier this year, the company decided the acquisition didn't fit with its strategy.

"This kind of opportunity will be there in the future," he told shareholders.

Toshiba aims to name the buyer for its $18 bln chips business next week, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

(Reporting by Jess Macy Yu and J.R. Wu; Additional reporting by Murali Anantharaman; Editing by Sam Holmes and Edwina Gibbs)

BRUSSELS The European Union wants to make it easier for law enforcement authorities to get electronic evidence directly from tech companies, such as Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google, even when stored in another European country.

BEIJING Alibaba Group Holding Ltd expects revenue growth of 45-49 percent in the 2018 fiscal year, said Chief Financial Officer Maggie Wu on Thursday during an investor conference in Hangzhou, China.

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TSMC will consider Taiwan sites ahead of offshore ones for new foundry - Reuters

What is 'Offshore'

Offshore identifies any item that is located or based outside of one's national boundaries. The term "offshore" is used to describe foreign banks, corporations, investments and deposits. A company may legitimately move offshore for the purpose of tax avoidance or to enjoy relaxed regulations. Offshore financial institutions can also be used for illicit purposes such as money laundering and tax evasion.

Offshore can refer to a variety of foreign-based entities or accounts. In order to qualify as offshore, the accounts must be based in any country other than the customers or investors home nation, existing somewhat separately from the persons other resources and assets.

In the terms of business activities, offshoring is often referred to as outsourcing. This is the act of establishing certain portions of the business functions, such as manufacturing or call centers, in a nation other than the one in which the business most often does business. This is often done to take advantage of more favorable conditions in a foreign country, such as lower wage requirements or looser regulations, and can result in significant cost savings for the business.

Offshore investing can involve any situation in which the investors reside outside of the nation in which they are investing. This may require the creation of accounts in the nation in which the investor wishes to participate.

Offshore banking involves the securing of assets in financial institutions in foreign countries. This practice, which may be limited by the laws of the customers home nation, can be used to avoid certain unfavorable circumstances should the funds be kept in a financial institution in the home nation. This can include the avoidance of tax obligations as well as making it more difficult for these assets to be seized by a person or entity in the home nation. For those who work internationally, the ability to save and use funds in a foreign currency for international dealings can be a benefit. This can provide a simpler way to access funds in the needed currency without have to account for rapidly changing exchange rates.

Due to the fact that banking regulations vary from nation to nation, it is possible the country in which your funds are located does not offer the same protections as other nations.

Businesses with significant sales overseas, such as Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp., may take the opportunity to keep related profits overseas in markets with lower tax burdens. In 2015, it was estimated that $2.10 trillion in profits were held overseas, across 304 U.S. corporations, which was an 8% rise when compared to 2014.

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Offshore Definition | Investopedia

Offshore wind giant Dong Energy has become the first to plug an offshore wind farm into a battery system to store power to be used as needed.

The world-first hybrid system has powered up on the Merseyside coast to store electricity generated from the first phase of Dong Energys 90 megawatt (MW) Burbo Bank wind farm in order to help to balance the frequency of the power grid.

The new 2MW battery system helps to combat criticism that renewable power could lead to flickering light bulbs, or even blackouts, by disrupting the normal power grid frequency of around 50 hertz.

Richard Smith, National Grids head of networks, said the system operator plans to call on Dong Energy to release electricity into the grid to help stabilise the frequency.

"I'm looking forward to seeing how the Dong Energy solution of storage connected to the offshore wind farm will provide services to help us respond to day-to-day operational challenges," he said.

Benj Sykes, Dong Energys UK boss, told The Telegraph last month that battery storage technology is a game changer for the booming offshore wind market.

Mr Sykes was speaking ahead of the launch of the second phase of the Burbo Bank offshore wind project which uses the worlds largest operating wind turbines to produce almost 260MW of power.

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Dong Energy plugs offshore wind farm into world-first battery system - Telegraph.co.uk

June 7, 2017 Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Offshore wind turbines built according to current standards may not be able to withstand the powerful gusts of a Category 5 hurricane, creating potential risk for any such turbines built in hurricane-prone areas, new University of Colorado Boulder-led research shows.

The study, which was conducted in collaboration with the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado and the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, highlights the limitations of current turbine design and could provide guidance for manufacturers and engineers looking to build more hurricane-resilient turbines in the future.

Offshore wind-energy development in the U.S. has ramped up in recent years, with projects either under consideration or already underway in most Atlantic coastal states from Maine to the Carolinas, as well as the West Coast and Great Lakes. The country's first utility-scale offshore wind farm, consisting of five turbines, began commercial operation in December 2016 off the coast of Rhode Island.

Turbine design standards are governed by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). For offshore turbines, no specific guidelines for hurricane-force winds exist. Offshore turbines can be built larger than land-based turbines, however, owing to a manufacturer's ability to transport larger molded components such as blades via freighter rather than over land by rail or truck.

For the study, CU Boulder researchers set out to test the limits of the existing design standard. Due to a lack of observational data across the height of a wind turbine, they instead used large-eddy simulations to create a powerful hurricane with a computer.

"We wanted to understand the worst-case scenario for offshore wind turbines, and for hurricanes, that's a Category 5," said Rochelle Worsnop, a graduate researcher in CU Boulder's Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (ATOC) and lead author of the study.

These uniquely high-resolution simulations showed that under Category 5 conditions, mean wind speeds near the storm's eyewall reached 90 meters-per-second, well in excess of the 50 meters-per-second threshold set by current standards.

"Wind speeds of this magnitude have been observed in hurricanes before, but in only a few cases, and these observations are often questioned because of the hazardous conditions and limitations of instruments," said George Bryan of NCAR and a co-author of the study. "By using large-eddy simulations, we are able to show how such winds can develop and where they occur within hurricanes."

Furthermore, current standards do not account for veer, a measure of the change in wind direction across a vertical span. In the simulation, wind direction changed by as much as 55 degrees between the tip of the rotor and its hub, creating a potentially dangerous strain on the blade.

The findings could be used to help wind farm developers improve design standards as well as to help stakeholders make informed decisions about the costs, benefits and risks of placing turbines in hurricane-prone areas.

"The study will help inform design choices before offshore wind energy development ramps up in hurricane-prone regions," said Worsnop, who received funding from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program to conduct this research. "We hope that this research will aid wind turbine manufacturers and developers in successfully tapping into the incredibly powerful wind resource just beyond our coastlines."

"Success could mean either building turbines that can survive these extreme conditions, or by understanding the overall risk so that risks can be mitigated, perhaps with financial instruments like insurance," said Professor Julie Lundquist of ATOC and CU Boulder's Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI), a co-author of the study. "The next stage of this work would be to assess how often these extreme winds would impact an offshore wind farm on the Atlantic coast over the 20-to-30-year lifetime of a typical wind farm."

The findings were recently published online in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, a publication of the American Geophysical Union.

Explore further: Utility plans vote on New York offshore wind project

More information: Rochelle P. Worsnop et al, Gusts and Shear Within Hurricane Eyewalls Can Exceed Offshore Wind-Turbine Design Standards, Geophysical Research Letters (2017). DOI: 10.1002/2017GL073537

A New York utility is set to vote later this month on a plan to construct an offshore wind farm off eastern Long Island.

There has been a hiccup at the nation's first offshore wind farm as it prepares to start delivering power.

Local authorities approved the largest offshore wind farm in the United States on Wednesday, to be located near Long Island and capable of powering some 50,000 households.

For the past 24 years, Mark Z. Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford, has been developing a complex computer model to study air pollution, energy, weather and climate. A recent application ...

(Tech Xplore)A small team of researchers with Sorbonne Universit and cole Nationale Suprieure des Arts et Mtiers-ParisTech has found that using flexible blades on a wind turbine can dramatically increase its efficiency. ...

A new design for gigantic blades longer than two football fields could help bring offshore 50-megawatt (MW) wind turbines to the United States and the world.

Rising seas are making flooding more common in coastal areas around the country. Now, a new study finds that sea-level rise will boost the occurrence of moderate rather than severe flooding in some regions of the United States, ...

India is now two and a half times more likely to experience a deadly heat wave than a half century ago, and all it took was an increase in the average temperature of just 0.5 degrees Celsius (less than 1 degree Fahrenheit), ...

Using seismic data and supercomputers, Rice University geophysicists have conducted a massive seismic CT scan of the upper mantle beneath the Tibetan Plateau and concluded that the southern half of the "Roof of the World" ...

Scientists at The Australian National University (ANU) have found that independent estimates from geology and biology agree on the timing of the breakup of the Pangaea supercontinent into today's continents.

Offshore wind turbines built according to current standards may not be able to withstand the powerful gusts of a Category 5 hurricane, creating potential risk for any such turbines built in hurricane-prone areas, new University ...

Scientists at The University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) have found that a devastating combination of global warming and El Nio is responsible for causing extreme temperatures in April 2016 in Southeast Asia.

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I think Al Gore said storms will get bigger in the future so what do we do, build the most vulnerable power system to storms, brilliant !!

Is there any type of power plant that isn't vulnerable to category 5 eye wall winds?

I am not generally a proponent of building "better technology" on a never ending scale to deal with problems the existing technology has caused since the newer technology tends to create problems of it's own. In this case I fervently hope to be proven incorrect. Since we are not wise enough of a species to greatly reduce the number of our species we will simply have to make do with structures that can handle the situational stresses we have created or excacerbated.

50 k wind and the wind turbines shutdown.

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Offshore wind turbines vulnerable to Category 5 hurricane gusts - Phys.Org

Danish wind manufacturer MHI Vestas launched a 9.5-megawatt offshore turbine this week. The machine is an upgrade from the company's 9-megawatt model released earlier this year.

In January, Vestas reported that its new machine -- an 8-megawatt-capacity turbine that can be uprated to 9 megawatts at certain sites -- generated216,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity in one day. That was a record for any commercial offshore wind turbine, according to the company.

Vestas also says its 9.5-megawatt model, which features blades that are 80 meters long, can produce enough electricity to power more than 8,000 U.K homes.

"With only minimal design changes, including a redesigned gearbox and cooling system upgrades, this turbine continues the legacy of the proven V164 platform and is available now to all MHI Vestas customers," saidTorben Hvid Larsen, the company's chief technology officer,in a statement.

Vestas is at the leading edge of turbine design. Windpower Monthly has a list of the biggest turbines on the market today. The Vestas V164 8-megawatt model topped the rankings.

In less than a year, the V164platform was expanded to 9.5 megawatts.

Manufacturers are regularly developing turbines rated in the 5- to 8-megawatt range. Some are already looking beyond 10-megawatt designs -- and researchers are even toying with the idea of 50-megawatt capacity turbines.

"For many years, 3- to 4-megawatt turbines were standard; now 8- to 10-megawatt models are common, and by 2024, 13- to 15-megawatt models will likely hit the market," wrote McKinsey researchersin a recent analysison the economics of offshore wind.

"This reduces the cost per megawatt. Even as turbines have become larger, they have also become better. In the 1990s, the expected lifetime of offshore wind parks was only 15 years; now it is closer to 25 years, and new sites project an operational lifetime of 30 years."

Meanwhile, energy supermajors are looking to use those mega-turbines to build out mega-projects.

Shell said this week it is eyeing 10-gigawatt offshore wind parks, according to Recharge News.

We believe that a few large, integrated projects up to 10 gigawatts, with an anchor tenant who takes the biggest risk for about half the project, need to be developed to ensure we all learn how best to do this" saidMark Gainsborough, the executive vice president of Shell New Energies, speaking at a European offshore wind conference.

Shell has an equity stake in half a dozen offshore wind farms around the world. In December, it partnered with Mitsubishi and a group of Danish companies to develop a 700-megawatt offshore project.

What's driving wind technology change? Listen to our Interchange episode with Ryan Wiser, who discusses the evolution of turbine size and applications.

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Vestas Launches 9.5-Megawatt Offshore Wind Turbine; Shell Looks ... - Greentech Media

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DONG Energy to Incorporate Batteries Into UK Offshore Wind Farm ... New York Times Danish state-controlled utility and wind power developer DONG Energy will install a battery system at its Burbo Bank Offshore wind farm off the coast of Britain to ... Dong to link Burbo Bank to battery in offshore wind first | RechargeRecharge (subscription) Dong Energy to launch battery solution at offshore windfarmOffshore Wind Journal Dong to add 2-MW battery at UK offshore wind farmRenewables Now (subscription) all 5 news articles »

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DONG Energy to Incorporate Batteries Into UK Offshore Wind Farm ... - New York Times

MOSCOW Some of Russia's super-rich have given up residency to escape a 2014 law requiring them to disclose offshore assets, wealthy businessmen told Reuters, a practice that could keep billions of dollars hidden from Moscow's tax authorities.

Interviews with more than a dozen people familiar with the practice -- including prominent tycoons, wealth managers, lawyers and current and former officials -- suggest a swathe of Russia's national wealth is now in the hands of a new class of semi-exiled oligarchs, who keep bases in their homeland but escape its tax net by spending fewer than 183 days a year there.

"You can scold them, call them unpatriotic, but the fact remains: the budget has lost out," Vladimir Potanin, one of Russia's ten richest men, told Reuters about the practice.

Potanin, co-owner of Arctic mining giant Norilsk Nickel, said he has remained a tax resident of Russia but watched as many of his peers moved out in response to the 2014 law.

Two other people on Forbes Magazine's list of the 100 richest Russians told Reuters they had given up Russian residency to escape the law, speaking on condition that they not be identified to avoid hurting their Russian business dealings.

Two more declined to say whether they had done so, but, like Potanin, said they also knew many fellow oligarchs who had.

No official data has been made public on how many people have given up Russian residency to escape the law, or the overall size of the assets they have shielded from Russian tax jurisdiction through the practice.

But Russian law firm Egorov, Puginsky, Afanasiev and Partners said it had conducted a survey of around 300 wealthy Russians and found as many as 40 percent of those with offshore companies had given up residency in Russia. Another 9 percent transferred the assets to relatives who are not tax residents.

The law, popularly known in Russia as "de-offshorizatsia", requires all Russian taxpayers to declare their interest in offshore companies they control, on which they can then become liable to paying tax in Russia. It is similar to the standard practice in most western countries, but represented a change for Russia, where previously taxpayers could hold interests in companies abroad without declaring them.

The change was a high-profile initiative of President Vladimir Putin, widely interpreted as a way to force Russians to do their patriotic duty by investing in their homeland. While there is no suggestion that it is illegal to avoid the law's requirements by giving up Russian residency, those who have done so told Reuters they accepted they were thwarting the law's aim.

In response to Reuters questions, Russia's economy ministry said the de-offshorization law was in line with global practice.

It said improving the investment climate was a government priority, with positive results, as demonstrated by Russia's improved ranking in the World Bank's ease of Doing Business index. Russia is now ranked 40th, up from 92nd in 2014.

The Kremlin declined to comment. The finance ministry did not reply to a request for comment by the time of publication. In response to a list of questions, the tax service said the number of tax cases it was pursuing against Russians with foreign tax exposure was rising, but it did not directly address the questions.

The impact of tax exiles giving up Russian residency is heightened because so much of the country's wealth is concentrated in the hands of relatively few people. According to Forbes, the 200 richest Russians have $460 billion in wealth, equivalent to nearly a third of Russia's nominal GDP.

"People are forced to decide: do they keep their business in Russia or become citizens of the world and take their assets offshore," said Konstantin Korishchenko, a former deputy head of the Russian central bank.

A former official who has kept close ties to the Kremlin and talks often to Russian oligarchs said that by his estimate a third of Russia's top 500 businesspeople had left the country over the past three years, in part because of the new law.

"IT'S IMPOSSIBLE NOW"

Some familiar with the practice said wealthy Russians were giving up their residency because they feared that disclosing their offshore companies would open them to the risk of the information being leaked to business rivals, or even abused by corrupt officials for spurious prosecutions or blackmail.

"The first thing that entrepreneurs say is that there is a big sense of mistrust: mistrust toward each other, mistrust towards the state," said Andrei Sharonov, dean of the Moscow School of Management, Skolkovo, which offers an MBA program.

Sitting on the leather sofa in his office in one of Moscow's most prestigious commercial addresses, one of the tycoons who gave up his residency told Reuters he made the move reluctantly.

Leaving his homeland for most of the year was a wrench. But because of the investment climate in Russia, he and his partners were looking for buyers for their Russian businesses and focusing instead on international holdings, he said.

"I would stay here and would continue paying taxes here if it was not for this law," the businessman told Reuters. "It's impossible now."

He now spends his time mostly in a European Union country where his family has settled some time ago, or traveling to meetings around the world. Such a lifestyle, he said, has become common among his peers since the law was passed: "Lots of people lived here and paid tax. Now they don't."

Another Russian businessman, a billionaire who also gave up his Russian residency over the de-offshorization law, told Reuters he and fellow tycoons were worried that it could be followed by further measures, tougher on businesspeople.

After three years of deep recession, Russia's economy is stabilizing but has not yet returned to the steady growth needed to begin making up lost ground.

The de-offshorization law is one of several factors discouraging investment in Russia, said Chris Weafer a senior partner at Russia-focussed consultancy Macro-Advisory Ltd.

"Its completely unrealistic to talk about raising growth rates to 4 percent, as Russian officials hope, without a sharp increase in inward investment," he said.

Businesspeople who spoke to Reuters said complying with the new rules meant they incurred hefty fees to lawyers and accountants to audit their offshore assets and prepare tax returns, they had to deal with a mountain of paperwork, and at the end risked having to paying more tax.

Several said privacy was also an issue, in a country where vendors at flea markets sell CDs purported to contain leaked information from the tax authorities' databases.

In the law firm's survey, almost two third of respondents said that they or their clients had encountered problems with leaks of confidential information from state services.

Ultimately, people do not trust the authorities to keep their information safe, said the businessman on the Forbes list of 100 richest Russians who did not reveal whether he had given up his residency.

"No one wants to show the money."

(Additional reporting by Darya Korsunskaya, Oksana Kobzeva, Svetlana Reiter, Anastasia Lyrchikova, Alexander Winning, Andrey Ostroukh, Kira Zavyalova and Olga Sichkar; editing by Peter Graff)

WASHINGTON The U.S. and Mexican governments reached a new agreement to significantly shift their sugar trade mix, but U.S. sugar producers have failed to endorse the deal, leaving question marks over whether it could still sour broader trade relations.

SINGAPORE/LONDON A campaign by leading Arab powers to isolate Qatar is disrupting trade in commodities from crude oil to metals and food, and deepening fears of a possible jolt to the global gas market, where the tiny Gulf state is a major player.

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Declare offshore wealth? Russia tycoons would rather ship themselves off shore - Reuters

Maltese prime minister Joseph Muscat was sworn in for five more years on Monday (5 June) despite aggressive revelations about offshore firms.

His Labour Party won 55 percent of the votes on Saturday, according to a first count by the electoral commission, beating the opposition Nationalist Party with 44 percent.

He described the result as a big vote of confidence after having called the elections to restore his authority amid corruption allegations.

These involved leaks that his wife, his chief of staff, and a minister had secret offshore accounts in accusations that remain under investigation.

"You have confirmed your confidence in the movement despite one of the most negative electoral campaigns in the country's history, Muscat told supporters in Valletta on Saturday.

Those who thought that the Maltese people would choose negativity dont truly know the Maltese people, because the Maltese people choose positivity, optimism, energy, goodwill, unity and equality, he said.

Simon Busuttil, the Nationalist Party leader, resigned after his defeat.

But he urged magistrates to continue their probes into the offshore leaks.

The fact that Joseph Muscat won the election does not mean that what happened has now been erased. It does not mean that the crimes committed have been forgotten. I hope Muscat at least realises that politics have to be cleaned up, Busuttil said.

Maltas president, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, the same day called on both parties to end their aggressive and abusive language.

The result clears a potential embarrassment for the EU, whose rotating, six-month presidency is currently being held by Malta.

Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, said in a letter to Muscat that: Your result is a remarkable tribute to your leadership over the last years.

Muscat, who is 43 years old, promised to cut taxes and raise pensions in his campaign, underlining the islands mini-boom in his past four years in power.

He also pledged to legalise gay marriage, building his international reputation on civil rights.

His strong new mandate saw 92 percent of Maltas 342,000 eligible voters cast a ballot.

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Offshore leaks fail to harm Maltese PM - EUobserver

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Germany, Belgium, Denmark and Industry Pledge Huge EU Offshore Wind Expansion New York Times LONDON Germany, Denmark and Belgium joined with 25 companies on Tuesday to back a pledge to increase Europe's offshore wind capacity almost fivefold in the next decade. The joint declaration, signed by energy ministers for the three countries and ... Europe Sees Fivefold Boost to Offshore Wind Under 60 GW Pledge ...Bloomberg Germany, Denmark and Belgium pledge fivefold increase to the world's offshore wind capacity in a decadeThe Independent Power produced at UK's Race Bank Offshore Wind FarmRenewable Energy Focus Recharge (subscription) -reNews -City A.M. all 22 news articles »

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Germany, Belgium, Denmark and Industry Pledge Huge EU Offshore Wind Expansion - New York Times

Exclusive Consultancy goliath Ernst & Young is planning to outsource a number of IT jobs to India in its latest wave of outsourcing.

An email from EY, seen by The Register, told staff it has decided to work with India-based Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to deliver its application support.

It said: "We recognise this is a big change that affects our people and we have sought to minimise the impact on them. We have already notified the people impacted by this decision and we will support them during this transition.

"The majority will be redeployed within EY or offered a role at TCS to support the EY account. We are also working through the notification process for incumbent suppliers."

According to one insider, almost all the roles in the 300-strong in-house app support and developer team have been earmarked for offshoring. The team spans EMEA and the US, and works with IBM, SAP and Microsoft to deliver tax, audit and fraud investigation tools for EY globally.

This is the third round of outsourcing at EY since 2015. The company has already outsourced its help desk function to TCS, and its more in-depth support services to India and Buenos Aires. The moves will affect both the US and UK.

Before the outsourcing process started in 2015, there were around 600 IT people in the UK. By the time it ends that number is expected to be fewer than 100, said the insider.

"Outsourcing was always in the background as a cost pressure, especially as EY was advising other companies to do it," he added. "In 2012 they brought in a global CIO from Goldman Sachs who parachuted in her own people in the US firm and ripped the heart out of a global organisation, experienced people in Germany and UK were sidelined and managed out and then the cost cutting started.

"That CIO, Mo Osborne, is now leaving end of June and a chunk of her appointees are going too."

An EY spokesman said the outfit regularly reviews its processes and systems. "Following our recent, independent IT strategy review, we are in the process of transforming how we deliver IT services to provide market differentiation for our clients.

"We are still finalising the recommendations from the IT strategy review and once this has been completed we will then be able to assess the potential impact on our people."

A number of large organisations have shown renewed interest in offshoring large swathes of their workforce to India. In December, Capita said it will axe roughly 2,250 staff, which includes sending more jobs to the subcontinent.

British Airways has also offshored a chunk of its workforce to TCS.

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Consultancy titan EY to offshore hundreds of jobs to India - The Register

President Trump signed an executive order in April, opening the possibility of offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time in more than 30 years. First, energy companies will survey the ocean floor with sound to try and locate oil reserves. Russ Zimmer

President Donald Trump gestures as he answers a question from a members of the the media after signing an Executive Order in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, April 28, 2017. The Executive Order directs the Interior Department to begin review of restrictive drilling policies for the outer-continental shelf.(Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP)

The new oil rush in the Atlantichas officially begun.

With an executive order, President Trump in April rolled back a ban on oil and gas exploration in the Atlantic Ocean.

Now, energy companies are in a race to figure out what's under the ocean's floor.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Monday it is considering five permits that are essential to allowing theindustry to conduct seismic tests in the Atlantic Ocean.

ELECTIONS: Here's where the NJ gubernatorial candidates stand on top issues

Environmentalists opposing the president's action worry about anotherDeepwater Horizon a calamity in which 11 offshore oil rig crew members were killed and 4 million barrels of crude spewed into the Gulf of Mexico.

After all, ahalf-million Shore jobs are supported by tourism and another 50,000 by fishing. Those two industries, which would be devastated by an environmental disaster at sea, accountfor about 1 in every 8 employed people statewide.

But ocean advocates have another concern ahead of any drilling the possible harm to marine life caused by seismic surveying.

The equipment used to find subterranean oil reserves requires repeated discharges of piercing sound, which can confuse sea creatures and damage their hearing.

I think it has an effect on the communication between juvenile marine animals and their mothers," saidBob Schoelkopf, executive director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine."The interference could separate a whale from its calf, which depends on the mother for nursing purposes."

OFFSHORE DRILLING: Pros and cons for NJ

Commercial fishermen say seismic testing coulddisrupttheir livelihood.

"They need to find a better way to test for oil reserves other than seismic testing," saidCaptain Jim Lovgren, who sits on the board of directors of the Fishermen's Dock Cooperative inPoint Pleasant Beach."The loud decibels of sound created by it absolutely scatter our fish population."

In this May 14, 2015, file photo, the oil drilling rig Polar Pioneer is towed toward a dock in Elliott Bay in Seattle. Working to dismantle his predecessor's environmental legacy, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday, April 28, 2017, aimed at expanding drilling in the Arctic and opening other federal areas to oil and gas exploration.(Photo: ELAINE THOMPSON/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Meanwhile, the oil industry, some researchers and government regulators all say the mapping can be done responsibly by following carefully considered rules to protect marine mammals and fish populations.

Marty Durbin is executive vice president and chief strategy officer for the American Petroleum Institute, the only national trade association that represents all aspects of America's oil and natural gas industry. (Handout/TNS)(Photo: Handout, TNS)

"We do have concerns about how these types of activities may hurt marine mammals but also we believe that we put measures in effect that will allow us to offset them," said Jolie Harrison, chief of the Permits and Conservation Division in theNOAA Fisheries' Office of Protected Resources.

PRIMARY DAY: Your voter's guide

The applicants all companies that provide geophysical data to the oil and gas industry are seeking access to asurvey area that stretchesfrom the Delaware Bay south to Cape Canaveral in Florida.

Seismic surveying, sometimes called seismic testing, is a method of usingsound and science to create a picture of what's below the surface of the seabed.

Watch the video above for more on the science involved.

Oil and gas exploration requires this kind of intelligence in order to know where to drill.

Before you're going to do anything else you're going to need the results of those seismic surveys, said Marty Durbin, executive vice president and chief strategy officer of the American Petroleum Institute, during a conference call last week.

SHARK RIVER PARK BODY: Brookdale student arraigned in murder of Brick man

During seismic testing, there is thepotential for injury to marine mammalsor the disruption of their behavioral patterns caused by the testing, which is performed with an instrument called an airgun,saidthe NOAA's Harrison.

This is referred to as "a take."

"A take would include a mortality, which we certainly do not anticipate here at all," she said. "It includes an injury. When we think of injury from the impact of sound we typically think of hearing impairment, which there is a small potential for here."

NUCLEAR: Oyster Creek going away, but not its radioactive waste

Airguns are towed in an array behind a ship and fireoff a pulse of soundtoward the sea floor at regular intervals. Different frequencies penetrate deeper and deeper and then the echoes bounce back to sensors that surround the airguns.

An example of an airgun used in seismic testing.(Photo: Courtesy of the USGS)

The speed by which the different frequencies return createsa comprehensive image of what's below the surface.

To achievethis, the volume of the airguncan be loud, sometimes the equivalent of a jet taking off from 1,000 feet away.

#NJgov: Which candidate has got the best electricity plan?

To safeguard marine mammals, independent observers are positioned on the deck of every ship performing seismic tests. Adevice is also used to monitoranimals below the surface of the water.

If a protected animal, such as a whale, is detected within 5 kilometers of the ship, testing is stopped until they are out of range for at least 30 minutes.

The ship used as part of the seismic survey to gather ancient evidence of sea level change from the sea floor off New Jersey in 2015.(Photo: Courrtesy of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University)

Just a couple years ago, Rutgers Professor Greg Mountain found himself in the middle of a firestorm over seismic testing off the coast of New Jersey.

Mountain, a geologist who is also a researcher with Columbia University's vaunted Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, was trying to gather evidence on the ocean floor of rising sea levels from 30 million to 40 million years agoinformation that could furtherour understanding of climate change.

Mountain says he was under constant criticism for seismic testing from all corners environmentalists, fishermen, even Gov. Chris Christie.

He was comparedto infamous Nazi Dr.Josef Mengele at one point, a charge that Mountainsaid "almost brought me to my knees."

Mountain, who said he feels"a close connection with the environment,"spent months at sea performing these tests and "never once have I seen a harmed animalnever once. No animal floated to the surface, dazed or injured. Nothing. Nada. Zip."

Watch Gov. Christie talk about Mountain's plan in the video below.

Archival clips off past protests in New Jersey over seismic testing and oil drilling. iPhone by Dan Radel.

While seismic testing might be the battle, the war is offshore drilling.

"Trumps plans for seismic testing along our coast are not only environmentally damaging on its own, but it will lead to offshore drilling that could threaten our coasts even more, said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, in a statement.

Oil spills don't need to be of the magnitude of the BP Gulf spill to be damaging.

THE SHORE ECONOMY: NJ tourism spending rose nearly 3 percent in 2016

Schoelkopf, of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, recalled the effects of a February 2004 tanker leak of a few hundred gallons of oil that slicked60 miles along the New Jersey coastline and left globs of tar balls on the beach.

Being a coastal state just about any amount of an oil spill will have an effect on the ecosystem,"Schoelkopf said."I remember answering calls after an oil bargethat leaked oil. It mixed with sand and made tar balls on Brigantine beaches. They were like cement boots for the birds. They couldnt fly.

In this file photo, a gull with oil-soaked feet, rests on a railing as a clean-up crew from Miller Environmental Group, Inc. cleans up the oil spill on the beach in Bradley Beach, February 5, 2004.(Photo: File Photo)

One hundred and sixty-nine birds were affected; 114 died.

OIL SPILLS: Notable spills in U.S. water, 1989-2011

In 2014, the NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration was called to 117 oil spill sites.

Because of ocean currents, a spill wouldn't need to be off the coast of New Jersey in order to effect the Shore.

"If they drill off the South Carolina coast a spill might not reach New Jersey," said Captain Lovgren, who pilots a trawler called the Sea Dragon,"but anything north of Cape Hatteras will get into the Gulf Stream and be carried to us."

BEACH REPORT: Bacteria high in Long Branch

FISHING: Sea bass, get them while they're hot

TRUMP: Activists want NJ to fight climate change without feds

Russ Zimmer: 732-557-5748, razimmer@app.com;Dan Radel: 732-643-4072; dradel@gannettnj.com

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Offshore drilling would begin with a literal bang - Asbury Park Press

By Casey Conely news@fosters.com

DURHAM Town councilors on Monday endorsed a resolution calling for a focused look at offshore wind development.

The measure, which passed 7-1, urges Republican Gov. Chris Sununu to ask the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to form a task force dedicated to exploring commercial wind power in the Gulf of Maine. Councilor Firoze Katrak opposed the resolution and Councilor Carden Welsh was absent.

The benefits would be potentially federal grants to researchers (at UNH), investments in the local offshore region by wind energy companies and opportunities in the port of Portsmouth, said Mary Downes, who sits on Durhams Energy Committee.

It could lead to reduced reliability on other forms of energy we have to import and pay a lot of money for, she continued.

Durham became the first Seacoast community to approve the resolution, which is backed by several alternate energy organizations, including a state affiliate of the climate group 350.org and Durham-based Seacoast Anti-Pollution League.

Doug Bogen, an organizer with the Seacoast Anti-Pollution League, said the effort is in its early stages. However, the group hopes to build on recent local successes. Energy commissions in Dover, Durham and Portsmouth already have backed the resolution.

The climate is changing, Bogen told Durham councilors Monday, and we need to act much more (quickly).

The town councils approval follows President Trumps decision to pull the U.S. out of the 2016 Paris Agreement aimed at reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. Power plants that burn fossil fuels are a major producer of greenhouse gases.

In spite of the change weve seen at the federal level," Downes said, "there is a lot we can do at the state and federal level and this is one concrete action we can do."

Supporters argue offshore wind would be a boon for the environment and the New England economy. For instance, waters off New Hampshires sliver of coastline offers potential to generate to 2,600 mW of electricity more than enough to power the entire state, according to data from a 2010 federal Dept. of Energy report.

Large scale, commercial wind development also would support hundreds and potentially thousands of jobs, according to data provided by the Seacoast Anti-Pollution League.

Mondays resolution passed with little debate. Councilor Kenny Rotner pointed out the measure requires no financial commitment from the town.

Katrak likened alternative energy projects that require subsidies to reverse Robin Hood measures.

They take money from poor people and give it to the rich people, he said, suggesting costs of subsidies are borne by poorer residents.

In other town council news Monday, councilors made clear the towns consultants will share expert testimony related to the Seacoast Reliability Project transmission line with the state Site Evaluation Committee (SEC). Eversource has proposed building the line.

The town hired The Woods Hole Group and GeoInsight to review Eversources conclusions related to the project, and residents have expressed concern such data would not be submitted to the SEC. The SEC will consider approving the project this fall.

Town Administrator Todd Selig recommended the town ask its consultants to submit a report to the SEC, and councilors agreed, voting 8-0. Such a request will cost additional money, but roughly $35,000 is still available from an initial $90,000 allocation approved earlier this year.

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Durham Town Council backs resolution supporting offshore wind - Foster's Daily Democrat

The Commerce Department is proposing to grant five permits to survey the Atlantic coastline's seabed, a move that activists oppose because they see it as part of President Trump's plan to expand offshore drilling.

The proposed permits, filed on Monday for publication in the Federal Register, would allow companies to use high-powered air guns to conduct seismic survey activity. But environmental groups say the survey technique is harmful to marine mammals and other sea life and should not be used.

"The threats of seismic airgun blasting alone are bad enough, but it's also the first step to offshore drilling, which could lead to the industrialization of coastal communities and the risk of another BP Deepwater Horizon-like disaster," said the large conservation group Oceana. "The time to protect our coast is now."

The Commerce Department, however, is warning that any comments submitted to the agency in opposition to, or suport of, oil and natural gas drilling will not be accepted. The agency is accepting comments on its proposed permit authorization for 30 days.

"Comments indicating general support for or opposition to hydrocarbon exploration or any comments relating to hydrocarbon development (e.g., leasing, drilling) are not relevant to this request for comments and will not be considered," the notice read.

President Trump in an April executive order began the process of reversing the Obama administration's ban on drilling off the Atlantic Coast. The proposed survey activity is the first step in opening up oil and natural gas drilling on the East Coast by assessing what lies beneath the seabed.

Although the survey actions may help in planning future drilling operations, the action being taken does not allow any actual drilling to take place. That approval is still being worked out by the Interior Department.

The Commerce Department's fisheries division issues the permits, which allow companies to incidentally harm whales, seals and other aquatic mammals through conducting their activities.

"An authorization for incidental takings shall be granted if [the National Marine Fisheries Service] finds that the taking will have a negligible impact on the species," the notice read.

The survey area will stem from northern Florida to Delaware.

Excerpt from:

Activists: Trump's Atlantic coast survey is the 'first step to offshore drilling' - Washington Examiner