Monthly Archives: May 2020

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May 9th, 2020 by Tina Casey

If youre wondering why the US is not ready to pepper the Gulf of Mexico with offshore wind turbines, thats a good question. Hurricanes would be one answer. Nevertheless, the US is eyeballing the waters of the Gulf for a tidal wave of new offshore wind farms that would compete on cost with electricity markets in the region. Thats a rich plum indeed, when you consider the popularity of air conditioning in the coastal states of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas and the prospects for job creation as the US economy digs itself out from under the COVID-19 crisis.

Two new NREL/BOEM studies show potential for offshore wind development in the Gulf of Mexico (screenshot via BOEM).

For those of you new to the offshore topic, in past years the US pursued offshore wind with all the swiftness of a turtle with a bum leg and one hand tied behind its back climbing a greased flag pole. While other nations have eagerly cast wind turbines into their coastal waters, the US has been painfully inching along. It currently has a grand total of just five wind turbines spinning off the shores of Rhode Island.

The relatively shallow waters of the Atlantic coast are easy pickings for offshore wind technology, but an organized wind initiative during the Obama administration ran headlong into the usual suspects, and was stymied by state-level politics.

Somewhat ironically, the wind logjam finally broke wide open during the Trump* administration with the full support of the Energy Department and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. A wind power free-for-all is currently under way all along the Atlantic coast.

The Pacific coast is a different kettle of fish. The Continental Shelf drops off steeply, meaning that the water is too deep for conventional fixed-platform wind turbines. Offshore wind development for Pacific coast states depends on technology and cost-cutting improvements in the floating wind turbine area.

That brings us to the Gulf of Mexico. Like the Pacific coast, the Gulf is a less than ideal environment for offshore wind farms. Aside from the hurricane thing, wind speed in the Gulf is relatively slow, and softer soils present a challenge for fixed-platform wind turbines.

Still, last week the Energy Departments National Renewable Energy Laboratory released a pair of reports, funded by BOEM, which aim at identifying pathways for tapping the renewable energy potential of the Gulf waters.

NREL lists the Gulfs shallow water, lower average wave heights, and existing oil and gas infrastructure on the positive side for developing all sorts of ocean energy, including tides and currents, thermal conversion, wave power, and hydrogen conversion in addition to wind turbines.

Wind power beat out the other resources by a wide margin with a potential for 508 gigawatts.

According to NREL, thats double the amount of energy currently consumed among the five Gulf states.

Thats a major smack at oil and gas stakeholders who are already feeling the pain of the COVID-19 economic crisis. Though Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama lag far behind other states in clean tech, they are book-ended by two renewable energy powerhouses, Texas and Florida.

Aside from technology issues, the next big question is whether or not offshore wind can compete in the regional electricity market. NREL looked at that, too, in a separate BOEM-funded study titled, Offshore Wind in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico: Regional Economic Modeling & Site-Specific Analyses.

NREL and BOEM selected two sites in Texas and one in Florida for study, based on their potential for development compared to other possible locations in the Gulf.

The results were promising, though NREL cautions that the analysis assumes that wind turbines in the Gulf would be modified to account for slower wind speeds and, of course, hurricanes.

With adaptive technology in hand, NREL forecasts that some offshore sites in the Gulf could be economically viable by 2030.

NREL also took a dive into the regional economic benefits of offshore wind development and came up with this result, based on a 600-megawatt project at Port Arthur, Texas:

a single offshore wind project could support approximately 4,470 jobs with $445 million in gross domestic product (GDP) during construction and an ongoing 150 jobs with $14 million GDP annually from operation and maintenance labor, materials, and services.

That looks pretty sweet compared to the handful of permanent jobs expected from the notorious Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline.

Add the new NREL/BOEM reports to a growing pile of evidence indicating that economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis will depend on a healthy dose of clean power.

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*Developing story.

Image (screenshot): Via US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

Tags: BOEM, COVID-19, DOE, Electricity, Energy, NREL

Tina Casey specializes in military and corporate sustainability, advanced technology, emerging materials, biofuels, and water and wastewater issues. Tinas articles are reposted frequently on Reuters, Scientific American, and many other sites. Views expressed are her own. Follow her on Twitter @TinaMCasey and Google+.

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Dream Big: 508 Gigawatts Of Offshore Wind Potential For COVID-19 Recovery - CleanTechnica

The company's Gulf of Mexico assets.

(Courtesy Murphy Oil Corp.)

Offshore staff

EL DORADO, Arkansas Murphy Oil Corp. has revised its 2020 budget to a midpoint of $740 million, the company revealed in its latest results statement.

The company has reduced its capital allocation to about $335 million for its offshore assets, with 94% planned for the Gulf of Mexico and the remaining 6% for offshore Canada.

Revisions from the original plan include adjusting the three-well rig program at Front Runner to two wells with the third well deferred to a later date, no longer drilling or completing certain operated wells and non-operated projects, and shifting timing of other plans. Expenditures for the St. Malo waterflood and the Khaleesi / Mormont and Samurai projects are still planned for 2020. Canada offshore spending remains budgeted for development drilling.

It has adjusted its 2020 exploration plans to a one-well non-operated program, deferring the two exploration wells offshore Mexico to 2021.

In 1Q, the A4 well in Green Canyon block 338 in the Gulf of Mexico came online. The company is evaluating near-field exploitation opportunities, as it encountered more than 250 ft (76 m) of net pay in the well. The well, the first in the Front Runner rig program, has outperformed expectations with a gross peak rate of about 7,000 boe/d.

The company also completed the subsea equipment repair at the Neidermeyer field in Mississippi Canyon block 209.

Construction of the Kings Quay FPS continues to progress, the company said. Transaction documentation with ArcLight Capital Partners, LLC and other parties is moving forward, and it expects to close the transaction in 2Q 2020.

In 2Q, EnVen Energy Ventures, LLC is expected to spud the Mt. Ouray well in Green Canyon block 767. Murphy holds 20%.

The company is also closing its corporate headquarters in El Dorado, Arkansas and office in Calgary, Alberta. It is relocating its corporate headquarters to Houston.

05/08/2020

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Murphy Oil defers two exploration wells offshore Mexico to 2021 - Offshore Oil and Gas Magazine

Late to the party France is set to leapfrog other European offshore wind nations as it hits 7.4GW in operation by 2030, said analysts at Rystad Energy.

That would make France whose plans include a major push into floating wind Europes number-four offshore wind market, Rystad said.

The Norwegian analyst group said French offshore wind is now moving ahead at full steam despite any potential cost and supply chain issues resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 7.4GW estimate would surpass the 2030 targets for other well-established European offshore wind countries such as Belgium and Denmark, which have 4GW and 5.3GW goals respectively.

It would place France behind only the UK, which is aiming to have 40GW of offshore wind capacity, Germany (15GW-20GW), and the Netherlands (11.5GW).

Rystad said France is expected to retain its position well into the 2030s with an additional 5GW of capacity lined up for planned tender rounds between 2024 to 2028.

Regulatory delays mean Frances first 1GW of fixed-bottom offshore wind farms are only now gearing up for construction, despite being awarded in tenders held as long ago as 2012.

Although France has been quite late to the party compared to several of its western European counterparties, recent developments suggest the country is now picking up the pace. Frances target for operational capacity is 2.4GW in 2023, a target expected to be reached through the completion of already awarded projects, said Alexander Fltre, Rystads vice president and product manager of offshore wind.

The first part of the plan will be kicked off this year with a tender for 1GW of bottom-fixed capacity in the French parts of the English Channel off the coast of Normandy, covering a development area called Manche Est Mer du Nord.

In 2021 to 2022 another 0.5GW to 1GW of bottom-fixed capacity will be put up for tender off southwest France, in an area named Sud-Atlantique. A part of this southern Atlantic tender may cover the already proposed 0.5GW to 1GW offshore wind project outside le dOlron, an island in the Poitou-Charentes region.

The French government also plans to organise three separate floating wind tenders in 2021-2022, each with a capacity of 250 MW. The first, in 2021, will be in the southern waters off Brittany (Bretagne Sud), while the other two in 2022 are planned for areas in the Mediterranean.

Another 1GW of bottom-fixed offshore wind will be tendered in 2023, at a location which has yet-to-be-determined.

From 2024 to 2028 the French government plans to award 1GW of capacity per year, which can be bottom-fixed, floating, or a mix of both. The amount of floating capacity to be awarded will depend on its cost competitiveness compared to the more established bottom-fixed alternative.

The French wind association FEE said last month that while the overall offshore wind target doesnt live up to Frances massive potential, that the governments plan puts the country in a global leadership position when it comes to the development of floating wind.

More:

'Late to the party' France finally set to join offshore wind big-league: Rystad - Recharge

Form Energy, a company developing ultra-low-cost, long-duration energy storage for the grid, signed a contract with Minnesota-based utility Great River Energy to jointly deploy a 1MW / 150MWh pilot project to be located in Cambridge, Minnesota. Great River Energy is Minnesota's second-largest electric utility and the fifth largest generation and transmission cooperative in the U.S.

This system will be the first commercial deployment of Form Energy's proprietary long-duration energy storage system. Form Energy's aqueous air battery system leverages some of the safest, cheapest, most abundant materials on the planet and offers a clear path to low-cost, long-duration energy storage.

The project with Great River Energy will be a 1-MW, grid-connected storage system capable of delivering its rated power continuously for 150 hours, longer than the two to four hour usage period common among lithium-ion batteries being deployed at utility-scale today. This duration allows for a fundamentally new reliability function to be provided to the grid from storage, one historically only available from thermal generation resources.

Leading up to the decision to deploy the pilot project, Form Energy conducted a portfolio optimization study of Great River Energy's system characteristics with Formware, a proprietary software analytics platform design to help energy planners model future grids. Formware was purpose-built to model high penetration renewables at the system level and determine how all types of storage enable cost-effective renewable energy integration. The tool helps planners reduce exposure to extreme weather events and minimize uncertainty around commodity prices under a variety of future grid scenarios. "To understand how best to make the energy transition, new analytical tools are needed, and Formware allowed us to work with GRE to systematically and thoroughly understand the value that our assets can bring to their system," said Marco Ferrara, SVP Analytics and Business Development for Form Energy.

"Great River Energy is excited to partner with Form Energy on this important project. The electrical grid is increasingly supplied by renewable sources of energy. Commercially viable long-duration storage could increase reliability by ensuring that the power generated by renewable energy is available at all hours to serve our membership. Such storage could be particularly important during extreme weather conditions that last several days. Long-duration storage also provides an excellent hedge against volatile energy prices," said Great River Energy Vice President and Chief Power Supply Officer Jon Brekke.

"Our vision at Form Energy is to unlock the power of renewable energy to transform the grid with our proprietary long-duration storage. This project represents a bold step toward proving that vision of an affordable, renewable future is possible without sacrificing reliability," noted Mateo Jaramillo, CEO of Form Energy.

"We are thrilled to have Great River Energy as the first strategic utility partner to deploy Form's first bi-directional power plant. Their forward-leaning and innovative approach to their grid transition makes them a perfect partner," said Ted Wiley, President of Form Energy.

Great River Energy announced plans to transition its portfolio of power supply resources in the coming years. The electric cooperative plans to phase out its remaining coal resources, add significant renewable energy, and partner with Form Energy on its grid-scale battery technology.

"Long duration energy storage solutions will play an entirely different role in a clean electricity system than the conventional battery storage systems being deployed at scale today. Lithium-ion batteries are well suited to fast bursts of energy production, but they run out of energy after just a few hours. A true low-cost, long-duration energy storage solution that can sustain output for days, would fill gaps in wind and solar energy production that would otherwise require firing up a fossil-fueled power plant. A technology like that could make a reliable, affordable 100% renewable electricity system a real possibility," said Jesse Jenkins, an assistant professor at Princeton University who studies low-carbon energy systems engineering.

Founded in 2017, Form Energy has raised over $50 million in funding. The company is backed by investors Eni Next LLC, MIT's The Engine, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Prelude Ventures, Capricorn Investment Group and Macquarie Capital.

Original post:

Dominion Energy remains on schedule to build largest offshore wind project in United States - Transmission & Distribution World

]]> Rigs are quieter than ever in an effort to prevent transmission. Credit: Equinor.

Across the world, offshore operators have cut workforces partly to reduce costs but also to limit the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus.

In the confined spaces of offshore operations, contagious diseases can spread quickly. Most, if not all, operators have reduced offshore occupancy, staggered shifts, and started screening workers for coronavirus before they fly out. Despite this, infections do happen, and in March, several rigs in the North Sea had to perform emergency medical evacuations of workers with coronavirus symptoms.

On Thursday, 11 workers were flown from the Rowan Gorilla VI mobile drilling unit after a suspected outbreak on board.

In the UK, the rollout of widespread testing is making slow progress. Initially, some operators including BP paid for coronavirus testing to be done privately before workers went offshore. However, workers criticised the company for sending them offshore before test results came back.

Testing is starting to become available through the government, and offshore workers are among those prioritised for being offered tests.

The UKs oil and gas trade body OGUK has seen a fall in the number of workers returning from offshore with symptoms. In the week beginning 3 March, the number of possible infected returning stood at 19. In the week starting 4 May, this was down to eight.

The Gulf of Mexico has also seen multiple infections. On 8 April, the US Coast Guard said more than 26 workers had tested positive for Covid-19 across seven platforms. However, the countrys National Ocean Industries Association has said being offshore could be safer than being among the public.

In the Middle East, Saudi Aramco has launched an awareness campaign for all staff. Through its healthcare joint venture, it has provided workers with access to information on how to prevent transmission and how to seek help in the relevant countries. It has also created a mental health toolkit for workers in isolation.

However, the company faced criticism during the early stages of the global spread for tasking an employee to dress up as a human hand-sanitiser dispenser. A photo of this was widely shared and condemned, and the company condemned the practice as abusive and immediately stopped it.

Aramco is screening all employees and contractors at every facility to detect the fever associated with Covid-19. At its plant in Riyadh, it has implemented safe distancing guidelines for all 4,000 truck drivers coming through the facility.

In South America, ExxonMobil recently confirmed it is making workers undergo a 14-day coronavirus observation period before travelling offshore. The company has set up a health facility in Stabroek, Guyana to monitor workers.

In Africa, some governments have tightly controlled offshore travel, requiring workers to obtain a permit before travelling.

Offshore New Zealand, OMV has asked workers to remain offshore for a month at a time. On the Maui A platform, 10 workers continue operations where 65 previously worked. The Maui B platform remains unmanned.

However, safety measures rely on enforcement and resources.

Online, rig workers share stories of the realities of working through the coronavirus pandemic. In posts to a Facebook group, rig workers have posted pictures of work flights with no distancing and shared stories of inadequate testing. One said their rotation was not fully tested, and they were sent offshore before results came back. When results showed one of the crew was infected, the infected individual was returned onshore. However, the rest of the crew were told to keep working.

Earlier, another said: Im grateful to be working in these mad times, but it is scary and astounding how these rigs in dock are still acting like nothing is happening. Feels inevitable that someone here will catch Covid-19.

Others have shared their distress with the new normal. One said they were not happy as they were no longer allowed to serve their own portions in the canteen: They dont give half of what I normally get. I hope I dont lose any weight on this trip.

More:

How offshore workflows have changed to prevent the spread of Covid-19 - Offshore Technology

The US is emerging from the immediate Covid-19 crisis of the past two months, yet it is still unclear what the new normal will be given the patchwork of local and state responses. One thing is clear, however: states will drive the reopening of the American economy just as they drive energy policy.

During the current stabilisation phase all businesses, not least the offshore wind sector, are figuring out how to operate. There are still a lot of unknowns. We must answer questions such as: H ow do you keep workers safe? Do you shift most of the workforce to telework? How do you work across multiple states with different requirements? States regional alliances are helpful, but it wont be seamless.

In the midst of so much uncertainty, it is especially heartening to see much of the offshore wind site assessment, planning and permitting work progressing via remote working.

The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project monopiles, towers, nacelles and blades are on vessels and on-schedule for installation. Dominion Energy says survey work is underway on the 2.6GW megaproject ensuring their federal construction operations plan (COP) submission remains on track.

Connecticut reports New Londons offshore wind port construction is moving forward. States are reaffirming their clean energy policy goals, providing offshore wind with reassurance and stability. During the crisis, Virginia increased their commitment to offshore wind and New Yorks Public Utility Commission authorised the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to issue the states second solicitation, though this faces hurdles to proceed.

Yet the industry has not escaped Covid-19 unscathed. Orsted announced delays to project delivery times to almost 3GW of new developments off the Northeast US, and Equinor has said the virus has delayed key data collection activities using survey vessels working on its 816MW Empire State wind farm.

Despite these setbacks, the industry is still on track to deliver 4.5GW by 2025 and end to the decade with at least 10GW of offshore wind power installed. And we must maintain momentum.

As an industry, we must accept the new normal and adjust 2020-2021 expectations. We also need to recognise the opportunity emerging from the crisis. As EnBW North America CEO Bill White said in his presentation at the recent Virtual IPF 2020 recently, offshore wind is poised to be a big part of the economic recovery solution.

For this to happen, we need to ensure the Bureau Ocean Energy Management has resources to review and approve the seven COPs that have been submitted and several more that are anticipated.

We need to focus on port construction, which are the first sectors to re-open in the US, and a direct stimulus for Americans getting them back to work quickly.

We must recognise states and localities are under tremendous cost-cutting pressure. We need to make it easier for them to maintain their support of clean energy commitments by driving down costs. Delivering on commitments solidifies bipartisan support.

We should continue to connect with one another. There are ways to do this, we just must be open to embracing technologies. You know, learn what the young kids are doing. We need to embrace online learning to help companies figure out where they can enter the supply chain and help the oil & gas industry diversify.

Finally, industry must think big and use our voice to offer bold stimulus programs to policymakers: port construction programs, job training, US vessel and manufacturing initiatives, floating wind and hydrogen demonstrations, robust R&D initiatives, and upgrading and developing comprehensive solutions to grid infrastructure bottlenecks.

In a recent report, the International Energy Agency stated plainly : Governments should include clean energy at the heart of economic stimulus packages to ensure a green recovery. We could not agree more. Now is the not the time to turn our back to the wind but instead turn into the opportunity for lift-off.

Liz Burdock is the CEO of the US Business Network for Offshore Wind

Read more from the original source:

'It is heartening to see such progress in US offshore wind but we must maintain momentum' | Recharge - Recharge

Star of the SouthWind Farm has partnered with Curtin University and Deakin University to assist with offshore site investigations for Australias first offshore wind project.

Curtin Universitys Centre for Marine Science and Technology is helping understand marine mammals in the project area, while Deakin University is supporting the seabird, seabed biodiversity and fish surveys.

Both universities are working with RPS Australia Asia Pacific to collect data to inform the environmental assessments and the projects design.

DHI has also joined the project by providing a 40-year hindcast of waves and currents that serves as input for moving further with the design phase.

Star of the South, a joint development by AustraliasOffshore Energy and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP),could comprise up to 250 turbines with a combined capacity of up to 2 GW.

Seabed investigations, marine wildlife and birdsurveysbegan in March at the project site off the south coast of Victoria.

Follow this link:

Australia's First Offshore Wind Project Expands Survey Team - Offshore WIND

Adding offshore wind to Hong Kongs energy mix is currently hindered by technical and financial issues, according to the latest information from official sources in Hong Kong.

Namely, a representative in the Hong Kong Legislative Council, Kenneth Leung, filed a question regarding the governments offshore wind plans on 6 May.

Leung asked whether the government would re-assess the feasibility and economic case for developing offshore wind projects, given the falling costs for this renewable energy technology. Some research findings indicate that the costs for electricity generated by offshore wind farms have fallen by 60 per cent over the last decade, Leung said.

The Secretary for the Environment, Wong Kam-sing, stated that technical and financial issues needed to be resolved, and the government needed to consider the tariff impact, before exploiting the potential of offshore wind power in Hong Kong.

According to Kam-sing, two power companies have carried out assessment and pinpointed two sites offshore Hong Kong that are suitable for developing wind farms on a commercial scale. The sites are located in the sea near Ninepin Group and the waters near Lamma Island.

In 2013, the Hong Kong government proposed to allow the Hongkong Electric Company to carry out offshore ground investigation works about 3.5 kilometres southwest of Lamma Island, as part of an offshore wind feasibility study at the site.

The power companies have also been conducting wind measurements at these locations, according to the the latest information.

The combined cost of the two projects would be over HK$ 10 billion and their total capacity is about 300 MW, Hong Kongs secretary for the environment said.

The amount of electricity provided is estimated to be less than 1.5 per cent of Hong Kongs total electricity consumption. The cost is relatively higher than using natural gas for electricity generation, Kim-sing stated.

The development of offshore wind farms within Hong Kong faces uncertainties in various aspects.Nonetheless, we will continue to keep in view the development in this area, and actively explore its feasibility and cost effectiveness, Wong Kim-sing said.

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Hong Kong: Costs and Technical Issues Weigh Against Offshore Wind - Offshore WIND