Monthly Archives: July 2017

Dominion Energy Virginia has signed an agreement and strategic partnership with Denmark's Dong Energy to construct two 6-megawatt turbines 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach.

In an announcement on Monday, Dominion Energy said that it remained sole owner of the project, and that the two businesses would start to refine agreements for engineering, procurement and construction. The business added that it was the mid-Atlantic's first offshore wind project in a federal lease area.

"Virginia is now positioned to be a leader in developing more renewable energy thanks to the Commonwealth's committed leadership and Dong's unrivaled expertise in building offshore wind farms," Thomas F. Farrell II, Dominion Energy's chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

"While we have faced many technological challenges and even more doubters as we advanced this project, we have been steadfast in our commitment to our customers and the communities we serve."

Virginia is a member of the U.S. Climate Alliance, a coalition made up of states including California, Hawaii, New York and Oregon, all committed to upholding the Paris Accord and taking action on climate change.

Commenting on the news regarding Dominion Energy Virginia and Dong Energy, Governor Terry McAuliffe said it marked "the first step in what I expect to be the deployment of hundreds of wind turbines off Virginia's coast that will further diversify our energy production portfolio, create thousands of jobs, and reduce carbon emissions in the Commonwealth."

"Today's announcement advances our efforts to build a new Virginia economy that is cleaner, stronger, and more diverse," he added.

At the end of 2016, America's first offshore wind farm, located off the coast of Rhode Island, commenced commercial operations.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, offshore wind resources "are abundant, stronger, and blow more consistently than land-based wind resources."

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Dominion Energy Virginia and Dong Energy team up for offshore wind project - CNBC

The well encountered hydrocarbon bearing reservoir (Lower Cretaceous) and oil samples were obtained. Preliminary analysis indicates 31 API oil quality. Further work is being undertaken to integrate this discovery with FAN-1 to establish the potential commerciality of the deep water, basinal resource seen in these two wells.

FAN South-1 islocatedin ~2,175 m water depth,~90 km offshore intheSangomarDeep Offshore block and 30 km southwest of the FAN-1 exploration well.The well reachedTD of 5,343 m, targeting dual prospects: an Upper Cretaceous stacked multi-layer channelized turbidite fan prospect and a Lower Cretaceous base of slope turbidite fan prospect, similar to the FAN-1 oil discovery in 2014. FAN South -1 is being plugged and abandoned.

The rig is now moving location to commence operations at the SNE North exploration prospect, 15 km north of the SNE-1 discovery well and the most northerly location yet tested, on trend with the highly successful SNE field. SNE North is targeting a prospective volume of more than 80 MMbbl of total resource in multiple objectives. The well is located in ~ 900 m water depth and the projected TD of the well is 2,800 m.

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Cairn Energy announces results of FAN South-1 well, offshore Senegal - WorldOil (subscription)

Lebanon's capital, Beriut, may one day be powering its economy with a steady stream of domestically produced natural gas. Getty Images.

Lebanon, a country that unlike many of its neighbors has faced high energy prices for a generation, wants to become a natural gas exporter by the end of this decade.

To realize its ambition, the government will need to take on the new role of managing foreign oil and gas companies that are set to compete in its first and long-delayed offshore licensing round.

Speaking last week on the Houston-leg of a government roadshow, Lebanons Minister of Energy and Water Cesar Abi Khalil said he is pushing companies to turn in their bids by 15 September so contracts can be awarded as soon as November.

In this licensing round we have managed to attract 51 of the biggest companies in the world to pre-qualify and express their interest, he said, adding, This is five times the total number of companies that have participated in all the licensing rounds that have occurred in our part of the world.

The interest level speaks to the potential of the blocks on offer, the minister said. On auction are five of the countrys 10 offshore areas where potential gas-rich reservoirs lie untapped. The country is using the production-sharing agreement model to launch its domestic energy sector and will place revenue in a sovereign wealth fund that will serve as an investment vehicle.

The Lebanese governments short-term aim is to use newly produced gas for electricity generation so it can do away with expensive fuel-oil burning power plants. Longer-term goals include using gas to bolster domestic manufacturing and transport sectors.

Meeting domestic demand might not be such a tall order. With a population of 5.8 million people, Khalil said the output equivalent of two offshore wells would quench Lebanons entire gas need, which is not expected to exceed an annual consumption rate of 0.5 Tcf by 2030.

In terms of exporting the product, Lebanon will have several possibilities. They include tapping into the Arab Gas Pipeline, using a proposed Syrian pipeline that would terminate in Turkey, laying a new subsea pipeline to Cyprus, or a floating liquefied natural gas facility. There are too many options, Khalil quipped.

The upcoming tender was supposed to have been completed 4 years ago. In acknowledging that, Khalil blamed the political environment created by national elections for the holdup. This is the price of democracy, he said, before explaining that recently passed legislation on the matter shows that the government is running straight ahead for the 15th of September.

But with the delays came a couple of silver linings for the government. One is that the extra time allowed for several more companies to become qualified to participate in the auction. The other, and possibly more significant, is that the government was able run more seismic surveys and process the data.

Lebanon is maybe the only country in the world that has achieved a complete seismic survey for its maritime waters before even launching the licensing round, Khalil said, adding that the governemnt's confidence in the subsurface data is bolstered by the number of natural gas seeps that have been identified on the seabed which coincide perfectly with some of the prime drilling locations.

With so much seismic data in hand, the government expects companies to move quickly and achieve first delivery of commercial gas supplies by 2019. However, such a deadline may be hard to achieve considering that the first contracts cannot be signed until the end of this year and offshore projects often require several years to materialize.

Further challenging expidious work offshore Lebanon is the 80% local work content rule that the government will requirea hurdle that the minister said can be very easily cleared in part because of the number of qualified Lebanese that already work in the global oil and gas industry.

In addition to Lebanons unexplored geology, there are also uncertainties involved with its regional politics. Lebanon remains locked in a prolonged state of war with neighboring Israel, with the last major armed conflict taking place in 2006. The two countrys problems extend offshore where there is an ongoing dispute over their shared maritime border.

While three of the five blocks to be auctioned exist along this southern border, Khalil tried to put concerns to rest by explaining that these areas have received the most attention from offshore companies. However, he did say that the border dispute means that the few prospective reservoirs that do span the border line will not be the first to be drilled, by us or by them.

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Lebanon Eager To Award First Offshore Contracts, Become Gas Exporter - Journal of Petroleum Technology

A recently- published research paper based off of a study conducted by Oregon State University researchers on sediment and animals on the ocean floor in the Pacific Northwest could aid future renewable energy projects off the coast.

The paper, titled: Small proportions of silt linked to distinct and predictable differences in marine macrofaunal assemblages on the continental shelf of the Pacific Northwest, found that relationships between the sediment and the animal life was consistent across several sample sites along the coast.

The information helps renewable energy companies considering developing offshore wind and wave energy facilities in the Pacific Northwest, because they need to consider the environmental implications before constructing facilities.

The research was funded by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Oregon Wave Energy Trust and led by Sarah Henkel, a marine biologist at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport.

Henkel said the surveys she conducted on the sediment would allow companies to reduce collections of organisms on potential development sites.

If you went to a site within the region and got detailed sediment information youd have good way to predict what animals youd see at that site, even if you didnt collect the animals, Henkel said.

Rather than doing broad comprehensive animal collections, she said companies could do more physical surveys and a reduced amount of biological surveys.

The survey collection sites clustered around 8 locations, including Bandon, Siltcoos, Reedsport, Newport, Cape Perpetua and Nehalem. The other locations were Eureka, Calif. and Grays Harbor, Wash..

Henkel said the major finding of the paper was the sensitivity certain marine animals, like clams and worms, have to mud or silt.

The marine biologist said scientists generally consider anything less than 10 percent mud to be pure sand, however once they did high resolution sampling researchers found that samples with less one-percent mud had different animals living there.

But as soon as there was one percent mud they were gone, Henkel said, The surprising thing was how fine that line was.

That has implications for energy companies that could potentially displace some of the sediment on the ocean floor.

You could go from a place with some fine sediment to none due to this scouring action, then see a turnover of animals in that area, Henkel said.

The important thing to note, Henkel said, is the depth of the observations in the current study.

These observations are really only valid in the depth range that is paper covers, Henkel said.

So, the research wouldnt apply to deeper-water projects like the failed wind energy project off of Coos Bays shores.

However, the researcher is conducting similar surveys at greater depths in anticipation of future projects.

While researchers can hypothesize the implications of the findings, Henkel said its hard to know until a renewable operation is built.

Its hard to say until we actually get a project in the water and are able to monitor whats happening, Henkel said.

But thats something thats in the works. Oregon State University is in the process of getting a test facility off the ground, or into the water so to speak. The facility, called the Pacific Marine Energy Center, is mostly funded through the U.S. Department of Energy.

Henkel said the center will be modeled after the European Marine Energy Center. She said Europe is much further ahead of the United States in terms of ocean renewables.

The center would be a place where commercial developers could bring their devices and test them in the planned two-mile long by one-mile wide site which would be located six to seven miles offshore, Henkel said.

Henkel said she anticipates having devices off of Newport as soon as 2019.

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Seafloor survey done for potential offshore renewable energy projects - Coos Bay World

File: The Zev Yaroslavsky L.A. River Greenway Trail. Martin Zamora/L.A. County Board of Supervisors

A proposal to use funds drawn from offshore oil and gas leases to help build urban parks is the first bill introduced by Southern California's newly-elected U.S. Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragn, who represents the 44th District.

The Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program Act, introduced late last month,aims to increase the number of green spaces in cities in order to improve the lives overall of the community, primarily in underserved communities, Barragn said during a press conference Monday.

The percentage of Americans living in urban areas has climbed to more than 80 percent, according to data from the United Nations. Among those urban populations, low-income and minority communities are less likely to live near green spaces, which provide health benefits to people who can access them.

The proposed legislation would legally secure funding for a National Park Service program that was originally funded by Congress in 2014.

Oil and gas companies lease portions of the ocean owned by the federal government, and under a 2006 law the government is required to set aside a portion of those funds to be used for various purposes. If the bill passes, 20 percent of that money would go toward funding projects under the Park Services program.

Barragn said she wanted to take this existing source of revenue and try to put it into some good through the program.Barragns told KPCC she has always been someone thats been trying to preserve open spaces.

States, cities, counties and tribes would be able to apply for grants under the program, which they would have to match in funds. Urban projects that engage and empower underserved communities and provide opportunities for youth employment, among other qualifications, would be given priority.

Barragn cited the San Pedro waterfront development project, the L.A. River Revitalization project and Wilmingtons JC Sports Field Complex as initiatives that might be eligible for funding. I think this is just the start of possibilities of what we can use it for, Barragn said.

The bill is still in its beginning stages it was moved to subcommittee review on June 27. However, Barragn is hopeful the bill will make it to a vote. President Donald Trump has been working to reshape federal environmental regulations since he took office, including proposing dramatic cuts to funding for the Environmental Protection Agency and rolling back several Obama-era policies, but Barragn's bill has received bipartisan support in the House.

Barragn said she was able to get Republican co-sponsors for the bill because it proposes drawing funding from an existing revenue source that wouldnt require taxpayer support. Barragn said she believes this legislation was a great way to bring people together while working to protect the environment in the coming years.

This is not a Democratic or Republican issue. Open space and parks really is something for everybody, Barragn said. We havent had any vocal critics on the bill yet.

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How offshore oil could fuel urban parks if a new bill passes - 89.3 KPCC

Warning of the dire economic consequences of an outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD), swine veterinarians from around the country during Capitol Hill visits today and tomorrow will urge congressional lawmakers to establish an offshore vaccine bank to help quickly control and eradicate the animal disease.

The 23 veterinarians are in town as part of the Swine Veterinarian Public Policy Advocacy Program of the National Pork Producers Council, which has made creating a robust FMD vaccine bank its top priority for the 2018 Farm Bill.

FMD is an infectious and sometimes-fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hooved animals, including cattle and pigs; it is not a food safety or human health threat. Although the disease was last detected in the United States in 1929, it is endemic in many parts of the world.

According to Iowa State University economists, an FMD outbreak in the United States, which would prompt countries to close their markets to U.S. meat exports and create a surplus of meat on the domestic market, would cost the beef and pork industries a combined $128 billion over 10 years if livestock producers werent able to combat the disease through vaccination. The corn and soybean industries would lose over a decade $44 billion and $25 billion, respectively; and economy-wide job losses would top 1.5 million.

The U.S. swine industry needs the capacity to produce enough FMD vaccine to quickly stop the virus from spreading and then to eradicate this pathogen, and we need Congress to provide the funds to make that happen, said Dr. Gordon Spronk, a swine veterinarian who practices in Minnesota and surrounding states, who participated in the program. The U.S. pork industry, indeed the entire U.S. economy, would be severely affected by an FMD outbreak, which has become more likely in this country with the free flow around the globe of goods and people.

A recent paper from former USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Administrator Dr. Ron DeHaven and other prominent veterinarians confirmed the need for an FMD vaccine bank and concluded that the vaccine must be produced overseas given that current U.S. law forbids storing live FMD virus on the U.S. mainland and because of the risk of accidental release of the virus if it were stored in the United States. Read the paper at http://nppc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/FMD-Vaccine-Bank.pdf.

NPPC is asking Congress to include in the next Farm Bill hearings on which already are underway language directing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to:

The cost of establishing an FMD vaccine bank, according to another Iowa State analysis, is estimated to be $150 million annually, an amount that pales in comparison to the $20 billion yearly cost of an outbreak to the beef, pork, corn and soybean sectors alone, NPPC has pointed out.

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Veterinarians Want Offshore FMD Vaccine Bank - KTIC