The World Drills On..There's no ban in Norway, Brazil, Australia, Canada . . .
With reason to hope that the ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico is being brought under control, it's time to start thinking into the future. The Obama Administration is sticking by its ruinous deepwater drilling moratorium, when it would be better to take a hint from the rest of the world's oil-producers. Their response to the Gulf disaster? Learn from it, and drill on.
Norway, run by the very model of modern environmentalists, announced a deep-water drilling halt until the spill is done. However, its ban applies only to new drilling, unlike the Obama Administration's total ban.
Norway also announced it's moving ahead with a deep water push into the Barents and Norwegian Seas, putting up 94 new blocks for drilling leases. Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Riis-Johansen made clear he views the stoppage as temporary.
Brazil is accelerating its drilling pace, announcing it would spend some $200 billion the next five years to tap newly discovered offshore reserves at depths to 23,000 feet. State-controlled Petrobras, the world's biggest deep water producer, recently struck oil three miles under Brazil's sea—a reserve that could yield 380 million barrels of oil and natural gas.
Australian Resources Minister Martin Ferguson has offered 31 new leases off his country's coast that allow for wells at twice the depth of the BP Macondo. As recently as 2000, Australia was self-sufficient in oil and gas but its import costs are rising. The new leases reverse that trend.
"There is no intention by the government to scale back the development of the oil and gas industry in Australia," Mr. Ferguson said. "It is important in terms of the nation's energy security, jobs and the overall economy." Maybe he'd consider a position at Interior?
New Zealand has authorized its first permit to drill off the east coast of its North Island, with Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee saying it is vital that the country "attract investment" from the same oil companies that U.S. politicians are bashing.
Canada continues to allow drilling in deep water off Newfoundland and Labrador and is moving ahead with exploration licenses in the Arctic. The U.K. is still drilling in deep water in the North Sea.
Many of these countries even hope to benefit from America's politically motivated moratorium by bidding for deep water rigs now working in the Gulf. Brazil's Petrobras is looking far and wide for deep water drilling rigs, with a goal of 60 by 2017, and it's looking to sign long-term contracts with owners of rigs now idled in the Gulf.
These are hardly rogue nations. What they share is an understanding that environmental concerns must be balanced with the reality that oil and gas remain crucial to economic growth, and that their reserves are increasingly in deep water. The leaders of these nations are also confident that the oil industry has the technology and know-how to do this right, with proper oversight.
America's oil and gas reserves are no less essential to the U.S. economy, notwithstanding President Obama's romance with "green jobs." Every day the Administration spends trying to justify its moratorium is one more day when the U.S. is losing jobs that may not return.
REVIEW & OUTLOOK AUGUST 7, 2010 The World Drills On
Norway, run by the very model of modern environmentalists, announced a deep-water drilling halt until the spill is done. However, its ban applies only to new drilling, unlike the Obama Administration's total ban.
Norway also announced it's moving ahead with a deep water push into the Barents and Norwegian Seas, putting up 94 new blocks for drilling leases. Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Riis-Johansen made clear he views the stoppage as temporary.
Brazil is accelerating its drilling pace, announcing it would spend some $200 billion the next five years to tap newly discovered offshore reserves at depths to 23,000 feet. State-controlled Petrobras, the world's biggest deep water producer, recently struck oil three miles under Brazil's sea—a reserve that could yield 380 million barrels of oil and natural gas.
Australian Resources Minister Martin Ferguson has offered 31 new leases off his country's coast that allow for wells at twice the depth of the BP Macondo. As recently as 2000, Australia was self-sufficient in oil and gas but its import costs are rising. The new leases reverse that trend.
"There is no intention by the government to scale back the development of the oil and gas industry in Australia," Mr. Ferguson said. "It is important in terms of the nation's energy security, jobs and the overall economy." Maybe he'd consider a position at Interior?
New Zealand has authorized its first permit to drill off the east coast of its North Island, with Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee saying it is vital that the country "attract investment" from the same oil companies that U.S. politicians are bashing.
Canada continues to allow drilling in deep water off Newfoundland and Labrador and is moving ahead with exploration licenses in the Arctic. The U.K. is still drilling in deep water in the North Sea.
Many of these countries even hope to benefit from America's politically motivated moratorium by bidding for deep water rigs now working in the Gulf. Brazil's Petrobras is looking far and wide for deep water drilling rigs, with a goal of 60 by 2017, and it's looking to sign long-term contracts with owners of rigs now idled in the Gulf.
These are hardly rogue nations. What they share is an understanding that environmental concerns must be balanced with the reality that oil and gas remain crucial to economic growth, and that their reserves are increasingly in deep water. The leaders of these nations are also confident that the oil industry has the technology and know-how to do this right, with proper oversight.
America's oil and gas reserves are no less essential to the U.S. economy, notwithstanding President Obama's romance with "green jobs." Every day the Administration spends trying to justify its moratorium is one more day when the U.S. is losing jobs that may not return.
REVIEW & OUTLOOK AUGUST 7, 2010 The World Drills On
Views: 78
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Les Bamburg on
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Pipeliner, I just hope Washington doesn't chase all the rigs out of the GOM.
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Permalink Reply by sesport on -
but ... but... This just might push the Transcanada forward with ng supply for the NW US or, maybe even better, a supply for an LNG facility for export!!!!
You know I'm going to look for an upside. lol
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Permalink Reply by Les Bamburg on
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Sesport, I am all for the upside but just concerned about my brethren along the Louisiana Gulf Coast.
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Permalink Reply by sesport on
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Les - I don't see the petroleum industries, by way of their advocates, giving up the fight any easier than the coal industry is giving up theirs. And there are still so many products that rely on petroleum. Do we get it any cheaper from the gulf than we do from other countries?
It's also been pointed out here that the workers will follow the rigs thus keeping their jobs. Pipeliner himself is testimony to that. I'm also hopeful that as production shifts to ng, the workers will aso follow that.
Perhaps it's time for communities along the gulf to explore other economic avenues as the NW LA region once had to do. Although it was a bit (okay, okay, a lootttt) of a pain, I think we've come out rather nicely from our 80's economic slump. Still need to work on our poverty level, though.
Now, if we could only convert that GM plant to produce light weight ng trucks I'd be happier than a duck in a bayou during a downpour.
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Permalink Reply by Pipeliner on
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Sesport,
When the rigs move to another country or an American or other national construction company goes into a country on a project, the host country has strict limits of what help you can get work permits for. This country wants its citizens to have the jobs, even if they have no skills. There are always training schools that are set up by the contractor to teach the locals to drive, operate equipment, become welder helpers, etc.
You can never bring in labor, truck drivers,camp workers, etc. You can get permits for pipe welders, some extremely skilled operators and supervisory managers, like drillers, foremen, supervisors, tool pushers, and management.
I can not speak for offshore rigs and some Arab countries where the natives never do manual work. Someone else will have to chime in on what drilling crew members were allowed in.
Why would a company pay American rate pay (or higher overseas bonuses) and give leaves such as 28 on /28 off back to the US to Americans when you can pay Other Country Nationals wages, to Philippinos, Indians, Bangladeshis, Indoneasians, etc.?
For instance, in Chad we paid highly experienced Philippinos pipeline welders and pipefitters from $450 to $600 per month working 7 x 12 hour days in up to 135 degree weather.
A pipelayer operator made no more than $450 per month. You could bring in backhoe operators (but first had to use any Chadian operater if he could run one) but can not bring in dozer operators.
Other Country National workers generally had to work 6 months between leaves and they stack them in housing. In Indoneasia, I have seen 32 pipewelders housed on bunks in a 40 foot shipping container with no air co or electricity. Try that with American 798 Union welders!
Laborers were not housed in the camps but put in rented houses-30 to 40 sleeping on the concrete floors. Local laborers in Indonesia got US 1 per 12 hour day wages and were housed and fed.
What hurts in the US, if the rigs leave, is all the support workers that support the rigs, which lose their jobs.
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Permalink Reply by king john on
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great stuff pipeliner. there is no substitute for first hand information. i was looking for an article that was a couple of weeks old stating no rigs had left the gulf as of yet, and stumbled upon this...
WASHINGTON — Diamond Offshore announced Friday that its Ocean Endeavor drilling rig will leave the Gulf of Mexico and move to Egyptian waters immediately — making it the first to abandon the United States in the wake of the BP oil spill and a ban on deep-water drilling.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7101738.html
kj
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Permalink Reply by Mac Davis on
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I wonder what kind of compensation companies who paid big bucks to lease GOM drilling rights get for the 6 month moratorium? Do they get some money back? Do they get a 6 month extension? Refunds for the money it took to shut down and restart the rigs (if they ever restart.) Reimbursement of day rates for rigs idled by the moratorium?
Actually, I think I know what the answer is.
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Permalink Reply by drilltheshale on
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How many rigs have left so far?
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Permalink Reply by drilltheshale on
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Never mind, I found my answer. Two rigs have left since the moratorium. Is that balanced out by the two drilling the relief wells?
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Permalink Reply by sesport on
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Is this accurate? It's dated Aug. 6.
http://www.ods-petrodata.com/odsp/weekly_rig_count.php
"One rig departed from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico over the last week, but 66 rigs remain under contract in the region. The 121-rig U.S. Gulf drilling fleet's contracted utilization rate is 54.5 percent. The number of rigs actually working in the area has increased over the last three weeks from 27 to 31, reflecting some improvement in the regulatory situation brought about by the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon in April."
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Permalink Reply by MARG on
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My thinking that they may go to Brazil due to ownership of oil field. That would be one place I will watch. Food For Thought: HAS ANYONE CONSIDERED SEVERAL SIDES OF THIS?
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Permalink Reply by Two Dogs, Pirate on
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Marg, I have considered my side of this and I think that onshore activity for oil and liquid hydrocarbons will increase.
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