Trump Requests $200.5 Mln for BSEE, $193.4 for BOEM
U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed fiscal year (FY) 2020 budget submitted to Congress on Monday includes $200.5 million for the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and $193.4 million for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), up from the respective $199.9 million and $179.3 million requests for FY 2019.The requested BSEE budget includes $129.9 million of appropriated funds and $70.6 million in offsetting collections of revenue from rental receipts, and cost recovery and inspection fees. This $70.6 million of revenue accounts for 35 percent of the requested budget.
The Oceans Are Warming Faster than Expected
forcing fish to flee to cooler waters."Global warming is here, and has major consequences already. There is no doubt, none!" the authors wrote in a statement.Almost 200 nations plan to phase out fossil fuels this century under the 2015 Paris climate agreement to limit warming. U.S. President Donald Trump, who wants to promote U.S. fossil fuels, plans to pull out of the pact in 2020.Data due for publication next week will show "2018 was the warmest year on record for the global ocean, surpassing 2017," said lead author Lijing Cheng, of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Chinese
Nine US States Seek to Stop Atlantic Seismic Testing
to comment on the lawsuit but said the department only authorized harrasment, not outight killing, of the marine animals in issuing the permits. A marine biologist at the office told reporters last month that no seismic tests have been known to cause whale beachings.The permits, part of President Donald Trump's "energy dominance" agenda to boost oil output for U.S. consumption and for exports, also went to ION GeoVentures, Spectrum Geo Inc and TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company.The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The other attorneys general are from Maryland,
BOEM "Blown Away" by Record U.S. Offshore Wind Auction
blown away by this result," BOEM Acting Director Walter Cruickshank said on a conference call to announce the winners.The amounts were by far the highest ever bid for a U.S. offshore wind lease. Equinor held the previous record of $42.5 million for a lease off the coast of New York.President Donald Trump's administration is streamlining the permitting for offshore wind and carving out new areas off the coast for leasing to boost domestic energy production and jobs.That dovetails with recent mandates in Northeastern U.S. states such as New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York requiring utilities
Europeans Sweep Record US Offshore Wind Auction
blown away by this result," BOEM Acting Director Walter Cruickshank said on a conference call to announce the winners.The amounts were by far the highest ever bid for a U.S. offshore wind lease. Equinor held the previous record of $42.5 million for a lease off the coast of New York.President Donald Trump's administration is streamlining the permitting for offshore wind and carving out new areas off the coast for leasing to boost domestic energy production and jobs.That dovetails with recent mandates in Northeastern U.S. states such as New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York requiring utilities
US Government Sued Over Atlantic Seismic Testing
airgun tests beneath a vast region off the East Coast. The permits allow marine wildlife to be harassed but not killed.Conservationists say the testing, a precursor to oil drilling, can cause disorientation that leads to beachings of an endangered species, the North Atlantic right whale.U.S. President Donald Trump is pursuing increased petroleum drilling as part of an "energy dominance" policy. A proposal to open nearly all U.S. waters to offshore drilling, announced in January, is pending."The Trump administration has steamrolled over objections of scientists, governors and thousands of
US warns sanctions still an option against Nord Stream 2
The United States could yet impose new sanctions to try to block construction of the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline across the Baltic Sea to the European Union, the U.S. ambassador to the EU said on Tuesday.Asked if Donald Trump could take further measures to thwart a project which the president has said would leave EU countries even more beholden to Moscow for their energy, Gordon Sondland said: "We have not deployed the full set of tools yet that could significantly undermine if not outright stop the project."Addressing an audience at the European Policy Centre think-tank in Brussels
Nord Stream 2 Seeks Alternative Route to Avoid Danish Waters
does not want to act alone and has postponed a decision on the new legislation.Its search for a united EU stance on the proposed pipeline is also deadlocked by divisions among member states over whether to do more business with Moscow despite its military incursions in Ukraine and Syria.U.S. President Donald Trump last month accused Germany of being a "captive" of Russia due to its energy reliance and said it was wrong to support the Baltic gas pipeline.A Danish veto, under new legislation allowing it to do so on security grounds, would force Russia, which supplies about one third of Europe'
Schlumberger Wins in US Supreme Court on Patent Damages
a result of ION's infringement.In 2015, the Washington-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which specializes in patent issues, ruled that Schlumberger could not recoup the lost profits portion because U.S. patent law does not cover the overseas use of infringing products.President Donald Trump's administration backed Schlumberger in the case. The case was made more complicated when the Federal Circuit on May 7 invalidated three of the patents at issue in the case, which could impact the overall damages owed.(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham and Grant McCool
Accelerating Antarctic Thaw Speeds Sea Level Rise
Michiel van den Broeke, professor of Polar Meteorology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, saying they were the guide for defending the Dutch coast.Under the 2015 Paris climate agreement, almost 200 governments set a goal of phasing out fossil fuels this century to limit warming. U.S. President Donald Trump plans to pull out of the pact and to focus instead on U.S. jobs and coal.Chris Rapley, a professor of climate science at University College London who was not involved in the study, wrote in a comment that he had suggested in 2005 that a “slumbering giant (of ice in Antarctica) seemed to
Arctic Oil 'Undrillable' amid Global Warming -UN's Ex-climate Chief
; she said.Figueres will give a speech in Oslo on Tuesday at the Business for Peace Foundation, which seeks to promote ethical business practices.The Paris Agreement sets a goal of ending the fossil fuel era in the second half of this century. It has been weakened by a planned pullout by U.S. President Donald Trump, who doubts mainstream scientific findings that global warming is man-made.Many governments and companies favor Arctic drilling.Last month, Trump's administration began environmental reviews for oil and gas drilling in a section of the Arctic national Wildlife Refuge.In Norway, Statoil and
Finns Want to Carve Trump’s Face on a Glacier
President Donald Trump reportedly told South Dakota Representative Kristi Noem it is dream to be added to Mount Rushmore.There might not be space for the 45th American president’s likeness alongside some of his most immortal predecessors on Mount Rushmore, but a group of Finnish environmentalists say they want to fulfill Trump’s dream in a different sort of way.Members of a Finnish NGO say they want to commission Project Trumpmore, a 115-foot-tall ice sculpture of Donald Trump’s face onto an arctic glacier inspired by the iconic South Dakota monument and Trump’s rejection of
Schlumberger Fights to Boost Patent Damages at US Supreme Court
as well as the $93.4 million in lost profits.In 2015, the Washington-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which specializes in patent disputes, ruled that Schlumberger could not recoup the lost profits portion, saying U.S. patent law does not apply outside the country.President Donald Trump's administration backed Schlumberger, and urged the justices to overturn the lower court ruling, which it said "systematically undercompensates" U.S. patent owners who participate in cross-border commerce.The justices are due to issue their ruling by the end of June.(Reporting by
Record-size US Offshore Oil Lease Sale Draws Modest Bidding
the Trump administration's efforts to rapidly pump up investment in the region. The Interior Department had offered up a record 77 million acres (31.2 million hectares) for development in the Gulf with discounted royalty rates on the shallower tracts as part of a broader effort by President Donald Trump's administration to ramp up U.S. fossil fuels output. But companies bid on just 1 percent of that acreage, and won those tracts with bids averaging $153 an acre - 35 percent below levels last year, and a fraction of those in the region in 2013 when oil prices were higher, according to
Seas to Continue Rising Even if Climate Goals Are Met
Matthias Mengel, of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, told Reuters. Governments are not on track to meet the Paris pledges. Global emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas emitted by burning fossil fuels, rose last year after a three-year plateau. And U.S. President Donald Trump, who doubts that human activities are the prime cause of warming, plans to quit the Paris deal and instead promote U.S. coal, oil and natural gas. Maldives Environment Minister Thoriq Ibrahim, who chairs the 44-member Alliance of Small Island States, said Tuesday's findings showed a need for
US Supreme Court to Hear Schlumberger Fight over Patent Damages
recoup the lost profits portion, saying U.S. patent law does not apply outside the country. Schlumberger appealed to the Supreme Court. The company said the ruling will harm innovation by allowing companies to infringe competitors' patents while risking minimal punishment. President Donald Trump's administration, backing Schlumberger, urged the court to take the case. The court is likely to decide the case by the end of June, when its current term ends. (Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham
Trump Offshore Oil Proposal Could Unlock 65 Bln BOE
the sector, said in a note last week. That figure excludes resource potential from western and central areas of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, but includes the eastern region, she said. However, the drilling proposal has since faced resistance from various quarters. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump's administration said it would not allow drilling off the coast of Florida after urging from the state's governor. "The resource potential in the basins in the direct proximity to Florida, together may hold about 1 billion boe to 1.5 billion boe, so excluding those will not change
