First came the report of interest by Kyrie Irving to relocate. Then came the list of possible trade destinations for the Cleveland Cavaliers guard. So, of course, what follows is a betting line on the possibilities.

And, with that, BetDSI.eu, presented a proposition about what might come next, with the Miami Heat among Irving's preferred landing spots.

Which team will Kyrie Irving be traded to?

New York Knicks +350

San Antonio Spurs +400

Miami Heat +550

Minnesota Timberwolves +700

Not Traded Before 2017-18 Regular Season Starts +1000

Field (all other NBA teams) +200

That essentially would make the Cavaliers retaining Irving for the start of next season the longest odds on the board (risking $100 to win $1,000).

The oddsmakers at the book report that their odds on the Cavaliers winning the 2017-18 NBA championship would drop from 4-to-1 to 7-to-1 should Irving be dealt.

That, of course, figures to be a changing variable based on what the Cavaliers could possibly receive in return, should a deal go through. It also speaks volumes of the continued respect for LeBron James nonetheless advancing to an eighth straight championship series.

According to the website, BookMaker.eu was established in 1985 and is located in Costa Rica.

iwinderman@sunsentinel.com. Follow him at twitter.com/iraheatbeat or facebook.com/ira.winderman

For daily Heat mailbag go to sun-sentinel.com/askira

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Offshore bookmaker has Miami Heat with third-best odds to acquire Kyrie Irving - Sun Sentinel

DeSmog Canada

Industry Sways Feds to Allow Offshore Drilling in Laurentian Channel Marine Protected Area DeSmog Canada If an ocean valley becomes federally protected but seismic work and offshore drilling is allowed in more than 80 per cent of the territory, is it really federally protected? That's the question facing Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which ...

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Industry Sways Feds to Allow Offshore Drilling in Laurentian Channel Marine Protected Area - DeSmog Canada

After over two decades, WorkBoat suspended its monthly offshore service vessel day rate analysis in April due to depressed market conditions.

In our August issue, we are introducing the new WorkBoat Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Index. It replaces the OSV and crewboat day rate and utilization information.

The new index aims to track market conditions in the U.S. Gulf that effect rates and activity levels for OSVs. The new index is comprised of three elements: West Texas Intermediate oil prices taken from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), active U.S. Gulf rig counts taken from the Baker Hughes rig count, and U.S. oil production figures also from the EIA. The baseline for the index is June 2016.

The price of oil is the key element in increasing and sustaining activity in the Gulf of Mexico. It has bounced around from highs in the $100-bbl.-plus range in the last few years and has settled lately in the $40-$50-bbl. range. Positive improvements in the price of oil, measured from the baseline, stimulate activity and are entered as positive numbers. Prices below the baseline are counted as negative numbers.

The active GOM rig count is also a key indicator and is driven both by the price of oil and gas and the costs of offshore exploration and production in the U.S. As each rig employs, on average, 2.5 workboats, an increase in rig count is a positive for the workboat industry.

Finally, the GOM Index incorporates domestic oil production figures. Oil production, and particularly burgeoning shale production, has displaced a significant amount of offshore activity due to its lower cost and higher productivity. That trend looks set to continue. An increase in oil production from the baseline has a negative affect on offshore activity. Conversely, a fall in oil production is positive, due to its potential to stimulate offshore activity.

The GOM Index is then compared with OSV utilization rates from IHS Markit. While there is always a lapse of several months in the OSV markets response to changing conditions in the U.S. Gulf, this index will help readers chart the emerging market trends in U.S. offshore waters.

Link:

New WorkBoat offshore index launched - WorkBoat (blog)

WRAL.com

NC Gov. Cooper: No offshore oil drilling in the Atlantic Ocean News & Observer North Carolina's Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper said Thursday that his administration will oppose the Trump administration's efforts to open Atlantic Ocean waters to offshore oil and gas drilling. Cooper's decision reverses the state's policy under former ... 'Not off our coast,' Cooper tells feds about offshore drillingWRAL.com North Carolina Joins Offshore Drilling OppositionNatural Resources Defense Council Cooper: Offshore drilling is 'a bad deal'Havelock News Business Insider -WITN all 71 news articles »

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NC Gov. Cooper: No offshore oil drilling in the Atlantic Ocean - News & Observer

Photo BPs Deepwater Horizon drill rig exploding in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Credit Gerald Herbert/Associated Press

To the Editor:

Re Trumps Risky Offshore Oil Strategy, by Bob Graham and William K. Reilly (Op-Ed, July 5):

As co-chairmen of the National Oil Spill Commission, Mr. Graham and Mr. Reilly concluded in 2014 that offshore drilling is safer than it was at the time of the Gulf of Mexico incident in 2010. Its even truer today because of technological innovation, stringent new safety standards and strong coordination between federal and state governments and industry.

A top-to-bottom review by federal regulators and operators resulted in more than 100 new or revised standards for well design, blowout prevention equipment and other elements of offshore safety.

Advanced systems to cap wells at the ocean floor are in the Gulf of Mexico as a safety precaution, and independent third-party auditors and government regulators evaluate progress and update operational practices through the Center for Offshore Safety, created in 2011.

Effective safeguards are in place so Americas abundant offshore resources can be retrieved safely. Our industry works toward responsible development and a goal of zero incidents.

JACK GERARD, WASHINGTON

The writer is president and chief executive of the American Petroleum Institute.

More here:

Offshore Drilling Safety - New York Times

Last year, Teekay Offshore Partners L.P. (TOO) reached a financing arrangement with the banks that resulted in a significant equity raise.

Source: Teekay Offshore Partners June, 2016, Equity Raise Presentation

The company raised about $200 million in preferred and common equity, and combined that with some new bank loans to fund the major commitments through the end of 2017. As shown above, there was some extra liquidity projected above the minimum requirements of the banks.

But a "straw in the wind" was the "at the market" sales of common units that persisted for months after this arrangement. So as definite as management sounded, the financing was not quite as secure as management was stating in the presentation. Persistent at the market sales of common units can be used for many reasons. But a company that has just patched together a financing initiative should not have needed more financing. That method of financing breaks even if it works and loses when it does not. This company needed a few things to go right for this solution to hold. Management needs a much better binary choice.

Source: Teekay Offshore Partners June, 2016, Equity Raise Presentation

Stock market valuations and capital market pricing have a strong correlation. Debt pricing and market favoritism appear to go together. The more out of favor a company appears to be, the more costly will be the debt (and probably equity). Therefore, the company needs to plan ahead and have a sizable cushion when conditions deteriorate. Banks often expect companies to solve their own problems when an industry is out of favor. At the very least the banker will demand more security, possibly more covenants, and probably a higher loan rate.

One example of this outside the industry would be Kinder Morgan (KMI) and Buckeye Partners L.P. (BPL). Kinder Morgan needed to delever the balance sheet. Many subsequent articles covered that process as the company struggled to maintain its credit rating. This company announced a debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio of 5.2. That ratio was ahead of many expectations on the way to 5.0 while the company found a way to finance the Trans Mountain Expansion project. But there was a distribution cut initially as well as some material asset sales to get the job done. Management had to get moving to solve the problem and did get moving.

Source: Buckeye Partners L.P. Annual Meeting Presentation, June 6, 2017

Buckeye Partners, on the other hand, has run things a little bit differently. The key ratio (long term debt to EBITDA) was well under the goal that Kinder Morgan management worked all year to achieve. As a result, the credit markets were open to Buckeye. Buckeye was fairly choosy for awhile, but as the markets opened up, Buckeye was a prime beneficiary and made a decent acquisition. Equity was sold by means of a shelf registration and the debt was negotiated without much fanfare. Mission easily accomplished. The partnership had no distribution cut nor did management worry about the deteriorating debt market conditions.

There is an article out about Teekay Offshore competitor Knot Offshore Partners L.P. (NYSE:KNOP). Knot is not as diversified as Teekay. But right now that diversification does not appear to be much of an advantage to Teekay. The debt markets appear to be wide open for Knot while Teekay Offshore appears to be on the outside looking in. Right now Knot is more profitable and banks love profits. So if a company is going to be dependent on the debt market, then the company needs financial cushions for those cyclical deterioration periods. In Knot's case, the company just avoided any weak markets completely so far.

Teekay Offshore management could have accomplished the same thing by selling the interests in all the relevant ships. Management could have decreased the partnership exposure to less desirable areas.

Source: Teekay Offshore Partners June, 2016, Equity Raise Presentation

Source: Teekay Offshore Partners Fourth Quarter, 2016 Earnings Presentation

The top slide shows the original schedule. But some of the projects began to show cost overruns. Plus, the Arendal Spirit contract payments ceased with a performance dispute. This was happening while the capital markets deteriorated for the company. That Arendal Spirit contract would later be canceled in the current year. But even before that, management had a priority of some asset sales and joint ventures to raise money and decrease risk.

To maintain its credit rating, Kinder Morgan management promptly started selling assets and achieving goals set to get to the final objective. Teekay Offshore management has been noticeably silent about raising cash through joint ventures and partial asset sales despite an announced priority a few months back. That is going to make Mr. Market wonder if those methods of raising cash are available.

One thing that always crosses industry lines is the signals sent by management through inaction. Here those signals may be critical. Martin Midstream (MMLP) sold some assets with investors screaming about the low price. Then came an equity offering and now the company appears to be on the road to recovery. The fact is that Teekay Offshore partners have had several months to show the market that the financing issues can be resolved.

Last June was a start. But management treated it officially as the end of the problem. There is no way so much debt should be due within a year at the current time after last year's solution. The debt due within a year represents about 20% of the total partnership debt. That is plain crazy when management stated that the capital markets were deteriorating.

So the recent market reaction to management silence is more than understandable. Teekay Offshore partners has now had several months to reassure the market and it has not happened. Management could have demonstrated a proactive strategy last year but did not. The end of the "at the market" sale of common units combined with the recent price decline of those units embodies the market fears due to management inaction.

Source: Teekay Corporation First Quarter, 2017, Earnings Results

One thing the parent company, Teekay Corporation (TK) has done is allowed Teekay Offshore to pay the limited partner interests, general partner interests, and preferred dividends shown above in the form of common units. These units should be saleable (or other equivalent units in the holdings of Teekay should be saleable) for the units to show on a cash flow statement above. However, it should be pointed out that Non-GAAP statements have no standard meaning within the accounting world and may not even be audited. So they can be used for whatever purposes the reporting company wishes. Comparisons of Non-GAAP statements needed to be very carefully done.

As shown above, Teekay Corporation has so far elected to keep the new shares received. That in-effect decreases the cash flow shown above. But it also means that at some point Teekay Offshore will have to begin paying all those distributions in cash. That is an extra $5 million or so that will need to be recovered in more cash flow above and beyond future cash flow needs.

"As of March 31, 2017, the Partnership had total liquidity of $216.7 million (comprised of $193.4 million in cash and cash equivalents and $23.3 million in undrawn credit facilities), excluding $60 million included in restricted cash relating to amounts deposited in escrow to pre-fund a portion of the remaining Petrojarl I FPSO upgrade costs. "

Source: Teekay Offshore First Quarter, 2017, Earnings Results

Banks hate missed forecasts. The very first slide forecast more liquidity than this. Admittedly, this liquidity is above the required minimum, but not by much. It appears to fit in with the management attitude of planning financing needs "almost exactly" without a sufficient cushion. This latest liquidity reflects something that is satisfactory at best but does not show a desire to excel. Banks like customers such as Kinder Morgan. Kinder Morgan management stated their deleveraging goals and then beat those goals.

The Teekay Offshore equivalent would have been to raise some money and stop running to the banker with every little financing need. Management appears to depend upon the banks too much. That attitude of depending upon the banks for financing could reverberate throughout the organization and have some unintended (and unfavorable) side effects.

Source: Teekay Offshore First Quarter, 2017, Earnings Results

The change in non-cash working capital accounts caused cash flow to surge the year before. Otherwise, both cash flow and earnings showed improvement over the previous year. It should be noted that an unrealized gain in derivative instruments accounts for the earnings posted for December 2016. An earnings increase combined with a cash flow decrease can be a sign of aggressive (but legal) accounting that can be anathema to lenders. Here, the relation of cash flow to earnings should allay any such fears.

Even so, cash flow of $98 million is not sufficient for a company with more than $3 billion in debt. $620 million of that debt is due within a year. At some point, total cash flow to total debt matters. That point may be now. Sometimes new construction or renovations no longer qualify as an excuse. The financing last year should have foreseen that debt coming due and proactively solved that refinancing. This partnership needed to skate through the capital market deterioration without financing needs. Capital markets were deteriorating as noted at the beginning of the article. Management further stated that no debt markets needed to be tapped until 2018 or so.

But management never considered that the banks might get a little antsy as the markets deteriorated. So not only is debt coming due in excess of the cash balance and expected cash flow, but cost overruns and a contract cancellation have to be dealt with as well. But management knew a year ago that the bankers attitude could be less than helpful. That is part of what deteriorating capital markets mean.

If there is a pattern here, it is a lack of proactive management action to prevent some of these challenges. That is how the company got into this mess. That is also how companies such as Kinder Morgan, Buckeye Partners, and probably competitor Knot Offshore Partners have managed to avoid these kinds of problems. Things happen to well run companies also, but because they have thought ahead, shareholders do not even realize there was a problem. That is good management. Teekay Offshore management needs a few lessons in proactive management. Until then, this stock is not going anywhere long term except maybe down.

Disclaimer: I am not a registered investment advisor and this article is not advice to buy or sell stock in any company. The investor needs to do his own independent investigation that includes reading the company governmental filings and press releases, as well as anything else relevant to determining if this company fits the investor's risk profile.

Disclosure: I am/we are long MMLP.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

See the article here:

How Teekay Offshore Partners LP Got Into This Mess - Seeking Alpha

The Nike Corporations annual financial disclosure of income tax payments is always notable for two recurring trends: the Oregon-based companys steady shifting of profits into offshore tax havens, and Nikes apparent effort to conceal how its achieving this tax avoidance. This years report, released earlier this week, is no exception.

Nike now holds $12.2 billion of its profits offshore as permanently reinvested earnings, up from $10.7 billion last year. Designating its profits this way allows the company to avoid paying even a dime of U.S. income taxes on these profits until they are repatriated to the U.S.

This ability to postpone paying U.S. income taxes, known as deferral, isnt quite as troubling when the companies are clearly doing real business abroad and paying a reasonable amount of taxes in other countries. If these profits are repatriated to the U.S., the federal tax on foreign income is the statutory U.S. corporate tax rate of 35 percent minus whatever has already been paid to foreign governments.

But if a corporation reports that it would pay nearly 35 percent of its offshore profits in U.S. taxes upon repatriation, that means the company must be paying almost nothing in taxes in the foreign countries where it claims to earn these profits.

And that appears to be exactly what Nike is doing. The company estimates that if its $12.2 billion was repatriated to the U.S., it would owe $4.1 billion in U.S. taxes, for a tax rate of nearly 34 percent. The clear implication is that the company has paid a foreign tax rate of almost zero on this $12.2 billion, including the $1.5 billion the company shifted offshore in the last year.

In the past, its been easy to identify a likely candidate for the destination of this offshore cash: Bermuda. As we noted in 2013, Nike disclosed owning a dozen subsidiaries in this tiny (and income-tax free) country, almost all of which were named after specific brands of Nike shoes. Since it seems unlikely that the company needs all those subsidiaries to help it sell flip-flops to the good citizens of Bermuda, a highly plausible alternative explanation is that Nike has been shifting its intellectual property to its Bermuda subs, where the income generated by its patents and technology wont be taxed.

But Nike appears to have wised up to the negative publicity this stunt could create. In each year since 2013, the company has disclosed fewer and fewer Bermuda subsidiaries. The most recent report whittles down the list to just two, Nike Finance Ltd and Nike International Ltd. Has Nike abandoned its tax-sheltering ways and eliminated its other Bermuda subsor has the companys leadership decided to simply stop reporting the existence of these subsidiaries? The lax disclosure requirements governing subsidiary reporting make it impossible to know for sure. But the hard fact is that Nikes offshore cash is now even more tax-free, in 2017, than it was before its Bermuda subsidiaries started disappearing.

Nikes apparently tax dodging illustrates the problem with Trumps proposal to lower the federal corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent. Nikes continuing offshoring of profits is a sobering reminder that if deferral is allowed, the tax rate Republican leaders are really trying to compete with is zero. Nothing short of ending deferral will stop Nikes tax-avoiding ways.

Read more:

Tax Avoidance: Nike Just Did It Again, Moving $1.5 Billion Offshore Last Year - Just Taxes Blog (blog)

Miami Herald

Two teens disappeared fishing offshore. Now one family blames the other in a lawsuit Miami Herald Before 14-year-old boys Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos headed out on a boat one Friday morning in July 2015, Perry's mother, Pamela, kissed and hugged her son goodbye, expecting that the two friends were just embarking on a fishing day trip. and more »

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Two teens disappeared fishing offshore. Now one family blames the other in a lawsuit - Miami Herald

The Standard Club is driving developments in offshore P&I with the launch of the Standard Club Offshore Advisory Committee (SCOAC). SCOAC aims to analyse offshore trends, assist the club in further understanding and disseminating industry best-practice and develop new strategies to provide a focused direction for the benefit of the clubs offshore membership. The committee consists of leading offshore players including Allseas Group, Bumi Armada, Floatel International, Nortrans Offshore, Saipem, SBM Offshore and Subsea 7 all members of The Standard Club.

The members of the committee are senior figures in the offshore industry with extensive experience and knowledge allowing them to provide invaluable insight to the committee which in turn will be shared with the wider membership.

SCOAC will review the current issues and emerging challenges affecting key sectors in the offshore industry including production, drilling, accommodation, constructions/installation, support/supply and other specialist operations. The focus is on ensuring that the clubs response is the most appropriate and supportive for its members given the challenging market conditions that they currently face. SCOAC will also consider the implications of new regulations coming into force, offshore contracting trends and other topical subjects affecting the offshore industry.

The Standard Clubs board fully supports this initiative, recognising not only the importance of cultivating collaboration between offshore members but also in continuing to be innovative and create a formal platform in which industry issues can be discussed to further support its members.

James Bean, Managing Director, Standard Europe commented:

The Standard Club is a leader in the offshore P&I sector and has unparalleled experience having reviewed and underwritten a wide range of offshore risks for more than 40 years, supported by first class claims service and loss prevention advice. Through its broad range of covers and diverse membership supported by high limits of cover, the club is well positioned to launch an Offshore Advisory Committee bringing together leaders in this sector to work collaboratively on industry issues affecting our members.

Our committee members are established figures in the offshore world and being able to call upon their considerable expertise is invaluable. I would like to thank them for the enthusiasm with which they have greeted this initiative and to Claire Bromley from Subsea7 for kindly accepting the committees nomination to take on the role of chair.

Claire Bromley, Head of Insurance, Subsea 7 SA Chairman commented:

SCOAC reinforces The Standard Clubs commitment to understanding and appreciating the evolving needs of its members and in looking for ways in which to further support these. As chairman I am looking forward to working together with the rest of the committee to ensure SCOAC is a success.

Standard Club Offshore Advisory Committee: Claire Bromley, Head of Insurance, Subsea 7 SA Chairman Jonathan Cassidy, Group Risk Manager and Insurance Director, SBM Offshore Suchitra Narayanan, General Manager, Risk & Insurance, Bumi Armada Berhad Johann Preller, Insurance Lead, Allseas Group S.A. Bertrand Valentin, Offshore E&C and Drilling Insurance Manager, Saipem Group Trond Kyrkjeboe, CEO, Nortrans Offshore Pte Ltd Thony Lindstrm Hrdin, General Counsel, Floatel International Ltd Source: The Standard Club

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The Standard Club launches new offshore advisory committee - Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide

The windfarm will have up to 64 turbines and will be capable of powering 325,000 homes. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

A 2bn offshore windfarm in Scotland looks set to go ahead after the RSPB lost a long-running legal challenge against the plans, which the conservationists said threatened puffins, gannets and kittiwakes.

The Scottish government gave its consent to four major windfarms in the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Tay in 2014, but the RSPB launched a judicial review, saying it was extremely concerned at the impact on seabirds.

The charity won an initial court victory against Scottish ministers but a judge overturned that decision in May, clearing the development and prompting the RSPB to seek an appeal in the UKs supreme court.

On Wednesday, the court of session ruled it was refusing the application for the case to be sent to the supreme court.

Mainstream Renewable Power said it now looked forward to starting construction next year on the Neart na Gaoithe windfarm, north of Torness on Scotlands east coast, which will be capable of powering 325,000 homes.

Andy Kinsella, the companys chief operating officer, said: After more than two years and two court hearings, we hope that the RSPB acknowledges a fair hearing and allows us to get on with delivering the very significant benefits this project brings to the Scottish economy and its environment.

The firm said it was confident it could build the windfarm without harming wildlife and said the rise of more powerful turbines meant it had reduced their number from 125 in the original planning application to a maximum of 64.

Mainstream Renewable Power has secured a subsidy contract for its windfarm but the other three, backed by different developers, would need to win subsidy deals to go ahead. The Scottish government has estimated the four projects would generate up to 1.2bn for the countrys economy.

Anne McCall, director of RSPB Scotland, said: While disappointed by the court of session decision it is not wholly unexpected. We will now take time to consider the details and determine our next steps.

The existing consents, if implemented, could have a significant impact on Scotlands breeding seabirds but we are hopeful that by continuing to work with all the developers we will be able to reduce those impacts.

Excerpt from:

RSPB loses legal fight against 2bn offshore windfarm in Scotland - The Guardian

A sign sits on a glass entrance door to a Credit Suisse Group AG office building in Zurich, Switzerland, on Thursday, July 6, 2017.Michele LiminaBloomberg Bloomberg/Getty Images

A former Credit Suisse Group AG banker from Switzerland pleaded guilty on Wednesday to participating in a wide-ranging scheme to help Americans hide millions of dollars in offshore accounts to evade U.S. taxes.

Susanne Regg Meier, a former manager with Credit Suisse, pleaded guilty in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia to conspiring to defraud the United States through her work heading of a team of bankers, the U.S. Justice Department said.

Her plea came six years after the Swiss citizen was indicted in 2011 in what was one of a number of cases spilling out of a broad crackdown by the United States on offshore tax evasion by Americans.

The probe led to charges against several other bankers and resulted in Credit Suisse pleading guilty in 2014 to conspiring to aid and assist taxpayers in filing false returns as part of a $2.6 billion settlement.

Regg Meier faces up to five years in prison. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept 8.

A lawyer for Regg Meier did not respond to a request for comment.

For more about taxes, watch Fortune's video:

Prosecutors said that from 2002 through 2011, while working as the head of the Zurich team of Credit Suisse's North American desk in Switzerland, Regg Meier participated in a conspiracy to help U.S. taxpayers hide assets in secret Swiss bank accounts.

Prosecutors said she oversaw the servicing of accounts for over 1,000 to 1,500 client relationships.

She was also personally responsible for the accounts of 140 to 150 clients, almost all of which were U.S. citizens, which held about $400 million in assets under management, prosecutors said.

After Credit Suisse began closing U.S. customers' accounts in 2008, Regg Meier helped clients keep their assets concealed, in some cases helping them open new accounts at other Swiss banks, prosecutors said.

According to the Justice Department, Regg Meier admitted that the tax loss that resulted from her criminal conduct was $3.5 million to $9.5 million.

The case is U.S. v. Adami, et al, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, No. 11-cr-95.

Continued here:

A Former Credit Suisse Banker Has Pleaded Guilty in an US Offshore Tax Case - Fortune

Jul 20, 2017 |

Jamie Benn and the Dallas Stars are projected to take a big step forward in the next NHL regular season according to oddsmakers.

Photo By - USA Today Images

Jamie Benn and the Dallas Stars are projected to take a big step forward in the next NHL regular season according to oddsmakers.

Photo By - USA Today Images

The start of the 2017-18 NHL season is just 75 days away and the options for hockey future bets are expanding as we get closer to the first puck drop.

BetOnline.com released win totals for all 31 NHL teams with the Washington Capitals tagged with the highest total (50.5) and the expansion Las Vegas Golden Knights at the low end (26.5). The Capitals have won the Presidents Trophy the last two years which is awarded to the NHL team with the most points accumulated in the regular season.

The teams with the biggest changes from last seasons result and the books projection for the upcoming season are the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche. The Stars won 16 fewer games than the 50 they totaled in the 2015-16 campaign while the Avs had 17 fewer wins last season than they did two years ago.

The Chicago Blackhawks are projected to take the biggest step back in the upcoming year according to the win totals. Chicago won 50 games in the regular season last year before being bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the eventual Western Conference champions Nashville Predators. The Blackhawks win total for 2017-18 sits at 44.5. Heres a complete look at the rest of the NHL Over/Under team win totals for the 2017-18 campaign.

Read the rest here:

Offshore sportsbook releases NHL season win totals for 2017-18 season - Covers.com

Enlarge / An image of an offshore wind turbine, from Dong Energy.

Dong Energy

This week, Virginia utility Dominion announced that it would partner with Danish firm Dong Energy to build two offshore wind turbines as test cases for a commercial-sized installation.

Currently, the US only has one 30MW commercial offshore wind farm off Block Island in Rhode Island. Renewable energy proponentshave sought to expand offshore winds reach for years in the hope it wouldre-create the low-cost energy boom that has occurred in the US with onshore wind. The offshore resource has a lot of promiseturbines can be built bigger out at sea, so they can generate more power, and wind is generally less variable.

But building offshore wind infrastructure is still expensive; its new territory for US contractors. Few utilities have experience managing offshore wind energy. Partnering with Dong Energy will bring some expertise across the pondthe company has constructed many large offshore wind installations in Europe, and it even submitted a subsidy-free bid to German energy regulators for a new installation to go up in 2020.

This new project, called the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project, will consist of just two 6MW test turbines, 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, where they cant be seen from the shore. The turbines will be built next to a 112,800-acre site leased by Dominion Energy from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). The site is large enough that it could be used to build out a 2,000MW offshore wind installation someday.

But thats far in the future. In a phone conversation with Ars, Dominions communications director, David Botkins, said a lot has to happen before the utility would commit to building that much offshore wind. These first two test turbines, which wont be completed until 2020, will only generate 12MW together and will send electricity back to shore via a 34 kilovolt distribution line. Its never been done before in the mid-Atlantic United States. First weve gotta get these two turbines constructed,"Botkins said. "Then we have to take the time to see how they perform under a regimen that includes exposing them to potential hurricane-force wind and studying marine and aquatic life impact, water currents, et cetera, et cetera.

The project is not without its controversy. In 2016, Dominion reportedly let a $40 million Department of Energy (DOE) grant offer lapse, which made Governor Terry McAuliffe unhappy, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Botkins told Ars that the lapse was a purely economic decision. We had to go out for bid on two separate occasions because on the first round of bids the price came in way too high to justify moving forward. The second round was a little bit better but not much, he said. He added that he thought at that point, the DOE decided to move forward with funding Block Island.

As a result, the two test turbines, which will be 600ft tall with a 500ft rotor diameter, arent receiving any federal funding. The project is supposed to cost $300 million and will be wholly owned by the utility, which will seek to recoup the costs through rate increases. Botkins told Ars that no rate recovery proposals have been made yet.

Other Atlantic states have moved forward with offshore wind projects in recent months. New York entered a deal with Deepwater Wind, the company that built the Block Island installation, in January. That project will consist of a 90MW wind farm 30 miles southeast of Montauk, and it's set to be completed by the end of 2022 if all goes well. Massachusetts has also called for 1,600MW of offshore wind by 2027.

Read more from the original source:

Virginia utility agrees to install two offshore wind turbines for study - Ars Technica

Starting in 2020 Marylands electricity consumers will be paying higher electric bills in order to subsidize two wind projects to be developed off the Ocean City waterfront. Over the lives of these projects the subsidies will total more than $2 billion. Despite this exorbitant cost the projects will deliver no environmental benefits and, most likely, will contribute to global warming. How did this lose-lose situation come about?

Offshore wind development was a pet project of former Governor OMalley. After several tries he finally got the legislators to pass the Maryland Offshore Wind Act of 2013. The act authorizes the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) to raise electric rates to support offshore wind projects but exempts large industrial and agricultural customers from these rate increases, forcing Marylands residential and smaller business customers to carry the full burden.

Kim Hairston, Baltimore Sun

Left to right, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown sits with Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr., Senate President, Gov. Martin O'Malley and Michael E. Busch, House Speaker, as they sign HB 226 Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2013 into law in the Governor's reception room.

Left to right, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown sits with Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr., Senate President, Gov. Martin O'Malley and Michael E. Busch, House Speaker, as they sign HB 226 Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2013 into law in the Governor's reception room. (Kim Hairston, Baltimore Sun)

However, the act includes two important consumer protections. One prohibits the PSC from approving any project that does not demonstrate positive net economic, environmental and health benefits to the State based on a cost-benefit analysis that includes: any impact on residential, commercial, and industrial ratepayers over the life of the offshore wind project. The other caps the combined costs imposed by all approved projects at a maximum of $1.50 per month for residential customers and at a maximum of a 1.5 percent increase for business customers bills.

Last year two out-of-state wind developers submitted proposals to the PSC. To evaluate the proposals, commissioners hired an outside consultant who concluded that, starting in 2020, the two projects combined would raise residential customers bills, on average, by about $1.40 per month and raise business customers bills, on average, by about 1.4 percent. Although these increases appear modest, over the 20-year lives of the projects they will total to more than $2 billion (in todays dollars of purchasing power).

The PSC and the Maryland Energy Administration defend the projects, claiming they will create jobs and spur economic growth. Indeed, the PSCs consultant estimated that they would create 9,700 direct and indirect jobs. Dividing $2 billion by 9,700 reveals that the state is spending more than $200,000 per year for each job created.

Many of these jobs will be for skilled construction workers, likely earning around $100,000 per year. Furthermore, many of these workers will likely live out of state and commute to the job sites. Surely the state can find cheaper, more efficient ways to create jobs. For example, wouldnt this money be better spent creating job opportunities for Baltimores inner-city poor?

Despite the acts requiring each project to pass a cost-benefit test, the PSC appears to have never compared the ratepayers costs to support these projects with the monetary value of the benefits the projects are expected to deliver. Because these offshore wind projects will likely produce energy costing three to four times more than renewable energy produced by onshore wind or large-scale solar it is unlikely that either project can pass a bona fide cost-benefit test.

The PSC appears to have revealed its true agenda in stating, the State has already made the policy decision to authorize [offshore wind] development and the ratepayer impacts that may result from it. Really? Then why did the legislators include a cost-benefit analysis requirement in the act?

The PSC and the Maryland Energy Administration also claim the projects will reduce carbon emissions. However, the PSCs own consultant concluded that while carbon emissions in Maryland would decrease carbon emissions will increase in the central and western areas serviced by PJM, the operator of the Mid-Atlantic's high-voltage regional electric system. So, the consultants concluded, overall emissions in PJM would increase.

Carbon emissions have no adverse local effects, therefore reducing them in Maryland will not benefit the state. But increasing regional emissions will contribute to global warming, which will harm the state. Because of its extensive shore line Maryland is particularly susceptible to rising sea levels.

Neither of these offshore wind projects should have been approved. The PSCs decision is appalling. We Marylanders deserve better.

Robert Borlick (rborlick@borlick.com) is an energy economist with more than 40 years of consulting experience. He lives in Montgomery County Maryland.

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Md. offshore wind projects may hurt, instead of help, environment - Baltimore Sun

Jordan Blum, Houston Chronicle

The Ensco 8501 semi-submersible rig is seen in the Gulf of Mexico, 70 miles southeast of Louisiana, where it is about to begin drilling a bypass well for Noble Energy. Obama administration officials toured the 2.5-year-old rig on Wednesday. Jennifer A. Dlouhy / Houston Chronicle

The Ensco 8501 semi-submersible rig is seen in the Gulf of Mexico, 70 miles southeast of Louisiana, where it is about to begin drilling a bypass well for Noble Energy. Obama administration officials toured the

Ensco, which has many shallow-water jack-up rigs, says it doesn't have much overlap with Atwood Oceanics.

Ensco, which has many shallow-water jack-up rigs, says it doesn't have much overlap with Atwood Oceanics.

The main deck of the ENSCO 8505 is 97 feet high; the derrick is another 201 feet. The main deck tower Is more than six stories above the dock level. April 11, 2012

The main deck of the ENSCO 8505 is 97 feet high; the derrick is another 201 feet. The main deck tower Is more than six stories above the dock level. April 11, 2012

ENSCO DS6 Drillship taking on fuel bunkers in Walvis Bay, Namibia during the transit to Angola and start of contract with BP.

ENSCO DS6 Drillship taking on fuel bunkers in Walvis Bay, Namibia during the transit to Angola and start of contract with BP.

Ensco leads way as offshore drilling bottoms out

The struggling offshore energy sector may have finally bottomed out, analysts said, with Ensco leading the rebound by winning several new West African drilling contracts.

Lond0n-based Ensco, which has its operational headquarters in Houston, said it won deepwater drilling contracts with "Big Oil" giants like Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell and Paris-based Total offshore of Nigeria and the Ivory Coast.

"We believe that this new work positions us well for follow-on opportunities, benefiting future utilization for our rig fleet," said Ensco CEO Carl Trowell.

Ensco also is leading in industry consolidation with its pending acquisition of Houston's Atwood Oceanics, another deepwater drilling player.

Ian Macpherson, an analyst at the investment bank Piper Jaffray & Co., said the news supports a "bottoming thesis" for what's proving to be a more "resilient-than-expected" offshore sector that will still continue to struggle for the foreseeable future.

Houston energy investment banking firm Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. called it the first encouraging sign for ultra-deepwater rig demand "in a long while." It's an encouraging sign that major players like Chevron and Shell have figured out ways to reduce costs enough to start moving forward with some deepwater projects, especially in historically expensive offshore Nigeria.

On the flip side, these projects are still few and far between and the rig contractors likely are giving deep discounts to win work, the firm added.

In terms of details, Ensco said it's reactivating a drillship in August to work offshore of Nigeria for Chevron on a two-year contract. Likewise, another rig idled since last year will drill for Total offshore of the Ivory Coast starting in November.

Lastly, Ensco is moving up the construction timeline for a brand-new floating rig so it can go to work for Shell early next year offshore of Nigeria.

These new Ensco contracts are positive news and show the deepwater drilling market may have stopped sinking, if not showing small signs of recovering, said James West, an analyst at investment bank Evercore ISI in New York. Apart from low oil prices, geopolitical disputes also have stalled energy production in Nigeria and these deals indicate Africa's largest nation is moving forward, West added.

It's also a particularly good week for Ensco because Houston's Talos Energy announced a "historic oil discovery" offshore of Mexico using an Ensco floating drilling rig. Talos' Zama-1 well is the first offshore exploration well drilled by a private company in Mexico's history.

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Ensco leads way as offshore drilling bottoms out - Chron.com

Exxon adds 2.8 million acres offshore

Exxon Mobil has added 2.8 million acres to its portfolio in the South American Guyana-Suriname Basin, off the coast of Surinames capital, Paramaribo.

The company announced on Thursday it signed a production-sharing contract with the national oil company of Suriname to develop block 59, in water as deep as 12,000 feet.

RELATED: WoodMac chief says not to count out deep-water drilling

It is Exxons first foray into Suriname waters. The Irving-based oil giant, however, operates three neighboring blocks off the coast of Guyana, including the huge Liza field Exxon discovered in 2015.

Steve Greenlee, president of ExxonMobil Exploration Company, praised the deal and said the company looks forward to evaluating its potential.

Exxon is partnering with New York exploration and production company Hess Corp. and the Norwegian oil major Statoil in the deal. Each hold a third of the interest in the block, but Exxon is operating the endeavor.

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Exxon adds 2.8 million acres offshore - Houston Chronicle - Chron.com

Summer is in full swing at the Jersey shore. Over the next couple of months and into the fall, millions of visitors will head down the shore for the beaches, fishing, boating and ecotourism activities like whale and dolphin watching.

Its hard to imagine New Jersey without its thriving shore tourism economy an economy dependent on a healthy ocean and a clean coastline stretching from Sandy Hook to Cape May. The same goes for its commercial fishing industry, which supplies fresh seafood to countless restaurants and markets.

OCEAN CITY Cape May County has collected a variety of best beach awards over the years, an

But tourism and commercial fishing in New Jersey are once again being threatened by a bad idea that comes back again and again: ocean drilling for oil and gas along the coast of this state were in.

In April, President Trump signed an executive order reopening the possibility of drilling in the waters off the East Coast, including New Jersey. Then, on June 5, the Trump administration proposed to issue five permits for offshore seismic testing a first step to oil exploration.

Trumps executive order would undo an executive order signed by President Barack Obama last December that reinstated a moratorium on offshore drilling from Massachusetts to Virginia.

New Jerseys congressional delegation has objected strenuously to both the offshore drilling and seismic testing proposals.

With just under a month until Memorial Day weekend, New Jersey's beaches still sit largely empty.

In a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, Congressman Frank Pallone, Senators Robert Menendez and Cory Booker, and seven other congressional representatives said drilling off the Atlantic Coast would have severe economic and environmental impacts on New Jersey.

Tourism along the Jersey shore generates almost $40 billion each year and supports half a million jobs including the fishing, boating and recreational industries, according to the letter. Allowing offshore drilling would unnecessarily threaten the economies of the communities that rely on a thriving coastline. Fragile marine ecosystems and species would also be placed in danger of a potential future environmental disaster resulting from a blowout or other failure offshore.

In a separate letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service, New Jerseys entire congressional delegation Democrats and Republicans alike expressed concern about the proposal to issue permits for seismic testing.

Seismic testing is not benign. Large air guns are towed behind ships, repeatedly firing loud blasts at the ocean floor. The sound waves produced by these blasts bounce back to the surface and help measure the presence of oil or gas.

These blasts are harmful.

Seismic testing can disrupt migratory patterns, cause marine wildlife to abandon important habitats and disrupt mating and feeding, the legislators said. The sound wave tests can also destroy fish eggs and larvae. These tests can also cause deafness in whales and dolphins, both of which rely on hearing to reproduce, locate food and communicate.

Two pieces of legislation have been introduced to stop offshore drilling. One would prevent the Trump administration from renewing the five-year oil and gas leasing process, while the other,known as the Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism, or COAST, Anti-Drilling Act, would permanently ban offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean.

These bills must become law. The severe harm that would occur from drilling and testing on marine fisheries and whale and dolphin populations is unacceptable. And a catastrophic oil spill would cause long-term degradation of New Jerseys beaches.

Organizations like Clean Ocean Action and the American Littoral Society have worked hard to protect our oceans for decades.

Citizens of New Jersey spent a lot of years cleaning up the ocean;we didnt do that to turn over our waters to big oil, said Tim Dillingham, executive director of the American Littoral Society. We know where we drill we spill, and thats unacceptable to the shore economies that depend on a clean ocean.

The economies of New Jersey and other coastal states depend heavily on tourism, which would fail without a healthy marine environment. In New Jersey alone, tourism and fishing industries bring in $50 billion a year and employ more than 500,000 people. Offshore drilling and seismic blasts must be permanently prohibited.

You can help. Contact your congressional representatives and let them know you fully support their efforts to permanently stop offshore drilling and seismic testing along the Atlantic Coast.

For more information about protecting the coasts see littoralsociety.org and cleanoceanaction.org.

For more information about preserving New Jerseys land and natural resources see njconservation.org or email Michele Byers at info@njconservation.org.

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Ban offshore drilling and seismic testing off NJ coast - Shore News Today

Offshore wind could be subsidy-free in the UK before 2040, according to the most ambitious scenario The report sets out four pathway scenarios of varying ambition for the UK's energy future to 2050. In its most ambitious pathway, named two degrees, National Grid suggests offshore wind may reach a subsidy-free level.

"The majority of growth is seen in offshore wind, which, as a less mature technology, has greater potential for further cost reductions.

"Offshore wind currently receives support through the contracts for difference mechanism, however two degrees assumes considerable offshore build without subsidy, reflecting falling costs," the report stated.

The two degrees scenario shows the cost optimal pathway to meet the UK's 2050 carbon emissions reduction target.

"All scenarios anticipate a growth in wind capacity, from approximately 15GW in 2016 to 26GW in 'steady state' [least ambitious pathway] and just less than 50GW in 'two degrees' by 2040," the report adds.

"Both onshore and offshore wind experience continued technological improvements, associated cost reductions, and new opportunities to co-locate assets with storage, all of which leads to growth," according to National Grid.

With the addition of wind on the system, National Grid recognised the growing importance of storage and balancing systems.

"As traditional sources of energy supply are replaced by new ones, and demand becomes more dynamic, the energy system will be more complex to manage. Responsive balancing products and services will be needed to deliver flexibility across both the electricity and gas systems," the report states.

The report also finds the UK's energy demand is set to increase beyond 2030, as the growth of electric vehicles increases.

Trade body RenewableUK said that growth in demand should and could be met by renewables.

"The surge in electricity demand envisaged by National Grid to power electric vehicles will need to be met by a wide range of clean sources, including onshore and offshore wind, wave and tidal energy, if we're to meet our carbon reduction commitments and deliver the modern energy system that consumers need," said RenewableUK executive director Emma Pinchbeck.

"It's worth noting that National Grid's new two degrees scenario is the only one in which the UK's vital carbon reduction goals are met. This could be more ambitious, as the Paris Agreement aims to limit the global temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees," Pinchbeck added.

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National Grid sees subsidy-free offshore wind by 2040 | Windpower ... - Windpower Monthly (subscription)

The Federal Government just spent three years painstakingly assessing the nations offshore drilling policies, following the dictates of the law governing management of our public coastal waters. The previous administration conducted a thorough analysis of the benefits and risks, while receiving extensive input from industry, potentially impacted communities and businesses, and the public at large. That process revealed a massive groundswell of public opposition to expanded drilling off our coasts, as well as significant scientific and economic data showing that opening drilling into frontier areas is not in the public interest.

And yet, just a few months later, President Trumps Interior Department (DOI) is looking to scrap that plan and start again. On July 3rd, the Department of the Interior at the behest of oil and gas companiesissued a Request for Information on offshore oil and gas leasing, initiating a redundant, multi-year process to expand drilling off our coasts.

The Department of the Interior evaluated drilling in the Arctics Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, as well the Atlantic Ocean when it began the process several years ago, and ultimately determined it was a bad call. The Arctic is pristinetheres never been oil production in its federal offshore waters despite an expensive and catastrophic attempt at exploration by the oil major Shell in 2012. It supports iconic wildlife, including polar bears, whales, and all sorts of seal species, which, in turn, support the subsistence lifestyle of the northernmost Alaskan Native tribes. Similarly, the Atlantic Ocean has been off the table for drilling for more than 30 years, supports incredibly rich marine ecosystems, and is a primary economic driver for hundreds of communities up and down the coast. All of this would be at risk of devastation if those oceans were drilled and oil were to spill. As leaders of the bipartisan National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling wrote last week in the New York Times, drilling in the outer continental shelf remains risky business.

DOI ultimately removed Arctic and Atlantic lease sales from consideration in part thanks to overwhelming public opposition and instead President Obama opted to permanently protect the vast majority of the Arctic and 31 Atlantic deep sea canyons from all future drilling. Removing these areas reflected the publics preference for preservation over exploitation with Americans submitting more than 1.4 million comments opposing drilling; their elected representatives repeatedly calling on President Obama to protect their coasts; businesses and municipalities declaring their opposition to drilling and seismic testing; and a host of environmental, Latino, conservation,faith-based leaders, and veterans organizations urging the President to steer our offshore energy policy forward.

This recent history is repeating itself, and then some.

Communities immediately rallied upon the release of Trumps executive order to expand offshore oil and gas production; they came together again around the annual Hands Across the Sand event; and Members of Congress and Senators have introduced a number of bills to prevent drilling off their coasts. Bipartisan opposition is growing, and Governors are weighing in strongly as well. These coastal leaders are taking a stand and protecting their communities economies and way of life:

Similarly, editorial boards up and down the Atlantic coast have taken firm stances against expanded drilling. These are just a few examples:

The engagement of leaders across the political spectrum, and the editorial boards that reflect their communities voices, is strong evidence that attempts to open our coasts will be met with a fight. The communities, people and businesses that rely on healthy coasts will defend their way of life against the federal governments shameful readiness to put oil industry profits over people yet again.

Senior Advocate, Oceans Program

Director, Beyond Oil Initiative

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Opposition to Offshore Drilling Comes in Bipartisan Wave | NRDC - Natural Resources Defense Council

Ampelmanns A-Type gangway links offshore service vessels to production platforms

Ampelmann and Uptime International have won contracts for their gangway walk-to-work solutions in offshore gas and renewables markets. Ampelmann secured a contract in Venezuela that will spread the use of its gangway technology into the Caribbean.

The Cardon IV group ordered an A-type system for its operations on the Perla fieldoff Venezuela. The walk-to-work system was deployed on Bumi Armadas 2010-built offshore support vessel Armada Tuah 85 to provide access for the workforce to the Perla platform.

The A-type system is a full active motion compensated access gangway, designed to transfer personnel safely and efficiently to offshore structures. Cardon IV has chosen Ampelmann as its partner in this long-term project for the next two years, said Ampelmann business development manager for Latin America Andres Garcia.

Uptime International has won a contract from Cemre Marin to deliver one of its walk-to-work systems to a service operation vessel that is being built at the Cemre Shipyard in Turkey. The vessel is being built for French vessel owner Louis Dreyfus Armateurs for delivery in 2018.

The vessel will provide service support for four offshore windfarms off the German coast. These are the Borkum Riffgrund 1 and 2 and Gode Wind 1 and 2 windfarms operated by Dong Energy.

The Uptime system will be an active motion compensated gangway and an adjustable pedestal integrated with an elevator tower. The vessel was designed by Salt Ship Design for personnel and cargo transfer to these offshore windfarms.

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Gangways ordered for offshore gas and windfarm support vessels - OSJ Magazine