Daily Archives: August 16, 2017

President Trump advocates drilling offshore from Maine to Florida, but Gov. Christie is opposed, saying spills could harm Jersey Shore property and tourism James M. O'Neill/NorthJersey.com

President Trump is looking to reverse the Obama administration ban on oil and gas drilling in the Atlantic.(Photo: Associated Press)

The Christie administration Wednesday issued a rebuke to President Donald Trumps bid to open Atlantic Ocean waters to offshore drilling.

In formal comments filed with the federal government, Gov. Chris Christie reaffirmed his opposition to any industrialization of the New Jersey coast that could affect the states natural resources, coastal communities or economy. Its a rare case of policy agreement between environmental groups and Christie.

Trump has said he wants to expand development of the country's oil and gas reservesand the U.S. Department of the Interior recently proposed a five-year program to lease large tracts of underwater areas along the outer continental shelf from Maine to Florida for oil and natural gas exploration and potential development.

Trumps proposal would reverse a ban on offshore Atlantic drilling imposed by the Obama administration.

EXECUTIVE ORDER: President Trump's order could lead to more offshore drilling

PUSH FOR BAN: NJ senators urge Pres. Obama to permanently ban offshore drilling

FIRST 100 DAYS: Trump Tracker: First acts curtail environmental protections

In 2016 former President Barack Obama put the Atlantic from Georgia to Virginia off-limits to any drilling for five years, citing concerns raised by the Pentagon that drilling could hinder the Navys live training exercises and testing of missile systems off the coast.

Before leaving office, Obama barred indefinitely any oil or gas drilling in 31 canyons beneath the Atlantic Ocean from Chesapeake Bay to New England. The areas covered involve nearly 6,000 square miles, or 3.8 million acres, and include the Hudson and Baltimore canyons off the New Jersey coast along the outer continental shelf. The Hudson Canyon reaches more than 10,000 feet deep deeper than the Grand Canyon.

New Jersey officials have long opposed drilling in the Atlantic because any spills could put New Jersey's estimated $700 billion in coastal properties at risk. The states $45 billion Shore-based tourism industry and its commercial fishing industry, which generates $8 billion annually and supports about 50,000 jobs, could also be impacted by a spill.

The areas in yellow show Atlantic canyons where oil and gas drilling was banned by the Obama administration. Triangle and rectangle off Cape Cod indicate national monument.(Photo: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management)

New Jersey officials have said even drilling in the Atlantic south of New Jersey could affect the state, since prevailing currents travel northand any spills could potentially befoul New Jersey's beaches and bays.

In a letter to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management filed Wednesday, Bob Martin, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection, outlined New Jerseys opposition to any offshore drilling.

Weighing the potential negative impacts to New Jerseys natural resources, coastal communities, and economy with the potential for energy generation and current energy needs, the State of New Jersey opposes any portion of the North and Mid-Atlantic Ocean being included in the development of a National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, Martin wrote.

OBAMA: President blocks oil and gas drilling off New Jersey

NO DRILLING: Drilling for oil in Atlantic put on hold over tourism, military concerns

In the past, Christie has also vetoed proposals to build liquefied natural gas facilities off New Jerseys coast.

Energy exploration or facilities off our coast pose far too many unacceptable risks to our environment, to the safety and welfare of the State's residents, and to New Jerseys economy, Martin said in a statement.

Several environmental groups posted to Twitter supporting Christie's position against drilling.

The environmental group Clean Ocean Action applauds Governor Christies leadership and steadfast opposition to offshore drilling anywhere in the Atlantic where it could harm the Jersey Shore, said Cindy Zipf, the groups executive director. We urge all officials, candidates, and citizens to do the same and submit letters to oppose offshore oil drilling.

The public comment period ends on Aug. 17 at midnight.

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Christie rebukes Trump over Atlantic offshore drilling plan - NorthJersey.com

Note:

I have covered Transocean (NYSE:RIG) previously, so investors should view this article as an update to my earlier publishings on the company.

Yesterday, I discussed the implications of Transocean's proposed acquisition of Norway-based Songa Offshore in detail and in conclusion took a neutral stance towards the transaction as positive and negative aspects seemed to be roughly in balance.

Photo: All four CAT-D rigs at the time of their construction at DSME shipyard in South Korea

After further digesting the details of the deal and management's statements on yesterday's conference call, I am changing my view to "negative".

My new assessment is based on the following issues:

That said, the transaction's biggest risks obviously center around Statoil's attitude towards the deal. If the CAT-D contracts aren't as bullet proof to the upcoming change of control as asserted by Transocean's management, the acquisition will end up as an unmitigated disaster and undoubtedly cause the removal of Transocean's senior management, a move that has been overdue anyway for some time given that a less indecisive course of action over the course of the ongoing downturn would have already saved the company hundreds of millions of dollars.

With the sole reasoning for the deal centering around the future cash-flows of the CAT-D contracts, it seems almost mind-blowing that Transocean deliberately abstained from discussing its plans with Statoil in advance.

Consequently, Statoil won't be exactly thrilled by Transocean's almost reckless course of action. In fact, I would expect Statoil to undertake every effort to alter the contract terms in their favor as a result of the acquisition. Keep in mind, Statoil hasn't hesitated to take advantage of existing contract terms in the past.

In sum, the deal looks like another bold example for Transocean management's limited credibility as well as its ongoing lack of financial and strategic vision.

Should the upcoming change of control and management's failure to discuss the implications of the proposed transaction with Songa's sole customer in advance, result in Statoil managing to alter the contract terms in its favor, the acquisition could end up as an unmitigated disaster for Transocean, hopefully leading to the long overdue removal of the company's senior management, particularly Transocean's CEO Jeremy Thigpen.

Lastly, the resulting dilution removes a good chunk from the stock's potential upside in case of an industry recovery.

Market's initial take of the transaction has been decidedly negative with Transocean's shares briefly touching new all time lows in yesterday's trading before recovering somewhat.

Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Originally posted here:

Reflecting Further On Transocean's Acquisition Of Songa Offshore - Seeking Alpha

A vigil is held in Sydney on 9 August for Iranian refugee Hamed Shamshiripour, who was found dead on Manus Island. One of the governments key architects of offshore processing has criticised the government. Photograph: Aaron Bunch/AAP

One of the governments key architects of offshore processing says Australias offshore detention centres are terrible, dont deter asylum seekers from boarding boats, and are a corruption of what was recommended to government.

Paris Aristotle, AO and the Victorian Australian of the Year for 2017, was a member of the Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers that proposed Australia restart offshore processing of boat-borne asylum seekers. The proposal was one of 22 recommendations to the Gillard Labor government.

Nauru and Manus Island were both reopened in 2012 and have been plagued by allegations of violence, including murder; sexual predation of men, women and, in particular, children; medical neglect leading to death; high rates of suicide and self-harm; and other human rights abuses.

Speaking in Sydney on Tuesday night as part of the University of New South Wales Grand Challenges series examining the impasse in asylum policy, Aristotle said successive governments had focused only on enforcement of boat turnbacks and mandatory offshore detention, and had failed to implement all of the panels recommendations, which advocated Australia creating a regional program for processing asylum claims to reduce the incentive for people to board boats.

What has been put in place is not what was recommended, Aristotle said.

The thing that is absent from this is building the architecture necessary in the region to produce a regional protection framework to stabilise populations, assess peoples claims fairly and in a timely way, and provide decent and durable outcomes for them.

Aristotle, who established Foundation House for the survivors of torture and trauma, said the camps on Manus and Nauru now in their fourth year of operation did not deter people from boarding boats.

One of the great myths about approaches like this to dealing with asylum seekers is the belief that punitive deterrence measures are an effective way of dealing with these things. Many people in the political sphere and in the wider community actually believe that theyre essential to achieving that outcome. But theres not a skerrick of evidence to prove that.

The things most people are fleeing are far worse than even the circumstances we might place people in.

He said people-smuggling operations could be more easily stopped, not by force, but by irrelevancy.

Instead of punishing people that have had to resort to taking up [people-smugglers] services, lets put an alternative system in place that provides safe pathways for people as opposed to them risking their lives.

Turning back asylum seeker boats to Indonesia or Sri Lanka was not sustainable, Aristotle said. Thirty-one boats, carrying more than 770 people, have been forcibly turned back since Operation Sovereign Borders was established in 2013.

But if you imagine that one of the countries close to us in the region if there was a major crisis in Indonesia, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea theres no amount of turnbacks thats going to work in that scenario.

Aristotle said Australias immigration detention regime was proven to be damaging to those held within it.

The detention centres are terrible, Ive been opposed to indefinite mandatory detention for years, the impact is awful for people, but really what crushes people is an absence of hope and an absence of connection.

Professor Guy Goodwin-Gill, director of UNSWs Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, told the Breaking the Deadlock panel that Australia could not hope to address a global issue with unilateral policies, and that its current suite of policies was not envied or coveted by other countries. It had not added to the sum of protection around the world.

The Australian model is not, as we are sometimes told, an exportable one, it is not viewed with admiration, apart from by some quirky elements on the extremes.

Goodwin-Gill said the worldwide debate around forced migration needed to hear from those at its centre the migrants themselves: Do not speak about us, without us, last years global compact on migration conference was told.

Huy Truong, founding director of Thrive Refugee Enterprise and a former refugee who arrived in Australia by boat in 1978, said the public and political narrative around refugees in Australia needed to change from being purely a cost and a threat to one of an economic opportunity for Australia.

Truong said Australias nation-building efforts post-second world war had transformed the country.

We became economically stronger, we became more secure, but we also became a much more just and socially aware country.

Now, is there a way we can recast our current challenges where when, we look at 65 million displaced people that theres an opportunity for Australia to effectively tap into another global talent pool that can lead to the next evolution of Australia?

The former president of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Gillian Triggs, said Australia had suffered dreadful leadership since 2001 on the issue of asylum, and the current policies were unnecessary and had been one of our lowest points as a nation.

She said there was not a scintilla evidence that holding people in indefinite detention helped stop boats or saved lives at sea.

We can preserve national security, we can protect our boundaries as a sovereign nation which were fully entitled to do, but we can do it in a way which is compassionate, humane, meets our Australian ideals, and, importantly ... meets our international legal obligations.

We are stopping the boats because we have a military force which has effectively achieved that outcome.

Triggs said 87% of the refugees in Australias region were from Myanmar so increased assistance to that country looking at the causes of conflict, persecution and poverty would reduce the forced migration across the region.

Australia is one of Myanmars largest aid donors, and resettles significant numbers of refugees from camps on the Thai-Myanmar border.

Go here to read the rest:

Australia's offshore detention centres 'terrible', says architect of system - The Guardian

BBC News

Last turbine for first full-scale floating offshore wind farm installed BBC News The last turbine has been installed at the world's first full-scale floating offshore wind farm off the Aberdeenshire coast. Five giant wind turbines make up the Hywind pilot development, about 15 miles (25km) from Peterhead. The Norwegian oil firm ... World's first commercial-scale floating offshore wind farm nears completiongulfnews.com all 4 news articles »

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Last turbine for first full-scale floating offshore wind farm installed - BBC News

ATLANTIC CITY In August 2010, Gov. Chris Christie signed the Offshore Wind Development Act and promised a commitment to offshore wind development in New Jersey. Seven years later, proponents of wind energy say the time for stalling is over.

For too many years, mid-August has become a bittersweet anniversary for New Jersey, said Doug OMalley, director of Environment New Jersey. That time is about to end.

On Wednesday, before the backdrop of several large wind turbines that power the Atlantic County Utilities Authoritys wastewater treatment facility, the environmental coalition Jersey Renews held a panel conference to discuss advancing offshore wind projects in New Jersey.

The panel included voices from across all spectrums faith leaders, environmental groups, health care and industrial groups discussing the impacts of climate change, the future of offshore wind development in New Jersey and its economic impact.

The science is clear. Climate change is real. Climate change is happening now, and we need to act now, said Dan Fatton, executive director of Work Environment Council.

Offshore wind development has been a contentious issue in the Garden State for several years. After receiving state and federal support, a 24-megawatt demonstration project 3 miles off the coast of Atlantic City proposed by Fishermens Energy was denied its application by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. The regulatory agency cited cost concerns in denying the project. The wind developer and state legislators noted the positive environmental and economic impact.

The fight went to the Supreme Court which sided in the states favor and eventually Fishermens Energy ran out of funding before it could find a buyer for its energy.

Currently, two other offshore wind projects are in development 10 miles off the coast of New Jersey. North American DONG Energy and US Wind have both secured leases for development in federal water off Atlantic City. Fatton said DONG Energys proposal of 1,000MW of wind would basically fulfill the states initial goal of 1.1GW of wind energy.

Fatton said that while Fishermens Energy was a demonstration project, the two larger projects would help to bring down the cost of wind energy to ratepayers.

Although it missed the chance at being first in the nation, New Jersey has the potential to become the strongest producer of wind energy in the country, OMalley said.

The only thing thats been lacking is the political will, and thats going to change, he said, of the upcoming gubernatorial election.

Both the Democratic nominee, Phil Murphy, and the Republican nominee, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, have voiced support for offshore wind.

Patrick Hossay, associate professor of sustainability at Stockton University, said wind energy will help lessen the impact of climate change, which he said threatens not only the environment but also the economy and people.

We are human beings living on this planet together, and we are facing a combined threat, Hossay said. Weve got people in Atlantic City that need jobs. Not just need jobs, need careers. And this is what brings that to them.

Steel workers in New Jersey say they are ready and willing to get to work building wind turbines. John Shinn, District 4 director for the United Steelworkers union, said domestic manufacturing should be a key part of New Jerseys offshore wind strategy.

Offshore wind brings in the promise of hundreds of direct and indirect jobs in New Jersey, he said.

The Rev. Ronald Tuff of Newark, a second vice president for the New Jersey Black Issues Convention and organizer for the religious environmental group GreenFaith, said the black community supports the development of offshore wind because it is more likely to be directly impacted by the effects of climate change.

We want to be a part of it, he said. We want to have a decent job so we can feed our families.

The local nurses union also came out in favor of wind development, citing climate change as a public-health concern.

Our communities and my neighbors are getting sicker, said Lisa Ruiz, of Egg Harbor City, a registered nurse with Shore Nurses Union, which represents the nurses at Shore Medical Center in Somers Point. Im mowing my lawn in November. What is wrong with that?

Overall, the panelists said the impacts of climate change especially sea-level rise alone should be enough to move forward with wind development.

Hossay said that if New Jersey doesnt, someone else will.

We will increase our production and capacity, the question is where? Hossay said.

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Offshore wind proponents voice support in Atlantic City - Press of Atlantic City

Chennai, August 16:

India-focussed offshore funds and ETFs witnessed healthy inflows in the April-June quarter, according to a Morningstar study. India-focussed funds have received $2.6 billion, higher than the net inflow of $2 billion they had garnered in the preceding quarter ending March.

So far this year (until June 2017), the category has received net assets worth $4.6 billion. During the same period last year, the India-focussed offshore funds and ETFs witnessed a net outflow of $2.3 billion, Morningstar said.

An offshore India fund primarily invests in the domestic market, but is domiciled outside India.

The assets of India-focussed offshore funds and ETFs moved up significantly to $55.2 billion during the quarter ended June, from $50.1 billion at the end of March. The total assets of the 10 largest India-focussed offshore funds and ETFs stood at $27.3 billion compared with $25.4 billion in the previous quarter and $20.5 billion as of June 30, 2016.

The March 2017 quarter laid a strong foundation for the June quarter to build upon and excel. The Union Budget announced on February 1, 2017, was broadly in line with market expectations and re-emphasised the governments resolve towards bringing in key economic reforms, said Morningstar Investment Adviser India Private Ltd.

Similarly, the outcome of the election of five States in BJPs favour fanned expectations that this would facilitate decision-making pertaining to significant reforms and strategic policies and would further enhance the implementation of economic measures in a smoother fashion going ahead, it added.

India-focussed offshore funds witnessed higher net inflows than India-focussed offshore ETFs during the quarter.

Of the total quarterly net inflow of $2.6 billion, India-focussed offshore funds registered net inflow of about $2.1 billion, whereas India-focussed offshore ETFs witnessed net inflows of $467 million, it added.

Nomura India Equity, a Japan-domiciled fund, continued to attract investors as it received net assets worth $790 million through the quarter, significantly higher than the $257 million it had received in the previous quarter. However, iShares MSCI India retained its top spot as the largest India-focussed offshore fund and ETF in Q1. Robust inflows helped the funds asset size to grow to $55.2 billion from $50.1 billion in Q1.

(This article was published on August 16, 2017)

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India-focussed offshore equity funds continue to entice investors - Hindu Business Line

By Liz Hampton HOUSTON (Reuters) Major oil producers pushed up high bids at a Gulf of Mexico offshore auction to $121 million (94.08 million pounds) on Wednesday, a nearly seven-fold increase from a year ago, as their return to deep water exploration gained momentum. This compared with $18 million in high bids at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Managements (BOEM) Outer Continental Shelf auction last summer. Winners will be announced after a 90-day review. Some producers have signalled that they expect Gulf of Mexico projects to become more profitable now that they have trimmed operations to adapt to low oil prices. Offshore drilling typically requires higher prices for producers to break even. Royal Dutch Shell claimed the largest number of blocks, with 19 high bids valued at a combined $25.1 million. Chevron Corp followed with 15 high bids totalling $27.9 million. Anadarko Petroleum Corp won 10 blocks for $10.6 million. Exxon Mobil Corp took seven blocks of land for $20.4 million. Most of the bids were for deep water blocks, at depths of more than 1,600 meters. The auction drew interest from 27 oil companies, with 99 bids on 90 blocks in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the BOEM. The deepwater industry is emphasizing short-cycle, low-risk prospects above high-impact, wildcat drilling, said William Turner, a senior analyst at consultancy Wood Mackenzie. Some bids by Chevron, Shell and Total were a vote of confidence in higher-risk, standalone, developments with potential for higher rewards, he added. The auction offered 14,177 blocks totalling 75.9 million acres, but only 508,000 received bids, according to the BOEM. This years auction covered Western, Central and Eastern areas of the gulf. The year-earlier auction was only for the Western region. The sale offered nearly 76 million acres of land off the shores of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. A sale of offshore blocks in March attracted $275 million in winning bids, a similar surge from a year ago. Wednesdays sale was the first of 10 planned as part of the new Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2017 to 2022. U.S. benchmark oil prices have held stubbornly below $50 a barrel for much of this year, despite efforts by global producers to curb production and boost prices. Many parts of the Gulf of Mexico need oil above $50 a barrel for producers to cover costs, with the deepest parts of the Gulf requiring around $65 a barrel to break-even, according to Wood Mackenize.

Original post:

Oil producers signal offshore return in latest Gulf of Mexico auction - euronews