2008.09.18

I'm back on-line again, and things are getting back to normal.

Houston Chronicle: Damage to energy industry is mixed.

"Two days after Hurricane Ike hit, oil and gas companies got a clearer picture Monday of how much damage the storm did to the area's energy infrastructure, and early reports were mixed but mostly positive."

Rigzone: Offshore Rig Damage Caused by Hurricane Ike.

"As companies evaluate their offshore assets and begin to report on their findings, it is quickly becoming apparent that Ike has dealt a harsh blow the Gulf of Mexico rig fleet. Thus far, 3 jackups and 1 platform rig have apparently been lost. In addition, another jackup has lost its drilling package and derrick, and two others suffered damages while in the shipyard."

LA Times: House votes to end offshore oil drilling ban.

"The measure would let states decide whether to permit energy exploration 50 to 100 miles off their coasts, ending a drilling ban that was put in place for much of the California coastline in 1981 and expanded to much of the rest of the United States in 1985. It would allow drilling 100 miles or more offshore regardless of a state's wishes.

"The bill drew a veto threat from the White House, which contended that it didn't go far enough to generate new domestic supplies of oil and natural gas and objected to a number of its other provisions, including the repeal of oil industry tax breaks that it said could discourage new exploration. Its prospects are uncertain in the Senate, which may begin debating energy legislation as early as Wednesday. The 236-189 House vote was, until recently, unthinkable."

2008.09.11

Sex and drugs at the MMS! --

Washington Post: Report Says Oil Agency Ran Amok.

"Government officials in charge of collecting billions of dollars worth of royalties from oil and gas companies accepted gifts, steered contracts to favored clients and engaged in drug use and illicit sex with employees of the energy firms, federal investigators reported yesterday." ...

"The social outings detailed in the report included alcohol-, cocaine- and marijuana-filled parties where certain employees of the Minerals Management Service were nicknamed the ‘MMS Chicks’ by the energy employees."

LA Times: Scandal at federal oil royalty collection agency.

"The reports, delivered to Congress on Wednesday, detail a freewheeling ‘culture of substance abuse and promiscuity’ in which employees of the Denver-based Royalty in Kind program considered themselves part of a commercial enterprise that wasn't bound by government ethics rules...."

2008.09.10

O&GJ: IEA cuts 2008, 2009 oil demand forecasts.

"The Paris-based agency said data suggest that weaker economic conditions and high prices during this past summer, when oil prices reached an all-time peak, had more of an impact on demand than expected, notably in the US. Further, the report said that oil demand in the US may be poised for a more permanent downward trend amid sustained high prices and sluggish economic activity. "

Digital Journal: Property Owners Angry Over Seismic Searches For Gas.

"In the push to find new resources for natural gas, gas companies are hunting along rural roads, with high tech trucks which shoot seismic waves into the surrounding ground, to discover geologic secrets under homes, farms and fields."

> The use of italics in the article is entertaining, as are the reader comments afterwards.

Reuters: TGS-Nopec charters more 3D seismic capacity.

"With this agreement TGS will have three 3D vessels under charter for all or part of 2009."

Subsea World: Searcher Seismic, Fugro and Gardline complete the Exmouth West Non-Exclusive 2D Seismic Survey.

> Australia.

Energy Current: Rock Solid Images provides seismic studies for Vanco.

"Studies are currently underway on Cote d'Ivoire blocks CI-101 and CI-401 and Corisco Dee on Block K offshore Equatorial Guinea."