U.S. to send envoy to Saudi Arabia to Stabilize Oil Prices
a steadfast leader of stability in the global oil market. The energy representative would help the countries return to a path of stability, they said.The price crash is also devastating to U.S. oil producers, some of which have already begun putting employees on furlough.The hope is that President Donald Trump could negotiate with Saudi Arabia and Russia and convince them to match cuts with a similar cut in production in Texas, said Ryan Sitton, a commissioner with the Texas Railroad Commission, the body that regulates the state's oil and gas industry.Sitton said production limits could be implemented
Allseas Suspends Nord Stream 2 Work
Swiss-Dutch company Allseas said last week it had suspended its pipe-laying activities in the Nord Stream 2 Russia-to-Germany natural gas pipeline in anticipation of U.S. President Donald Trump's signing of a defense policy bill."In anticipation of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Allseas has suspended its Nord Stream 2 pipelay activities," the company said in a statement dated Dec. 21."Allseas will proceed, consistent with the legislation's wind down provision and expect guidance comprising of the necessary regulatory, technical and environmental
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'
