Category Archives: Offshore

LONDON Britain and Norway plan to lift a ban on offshore flights using two types of Super Puma helicopters, 17 months after a fatal crash in Norway.

Britain's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said on Friday both countries intended to lift national restrictions that remained in place after European authorities declared the helicopters safe to fly last October.

Europe grounded theH225LP and AS332L2 helicopters, built by Airbus Helicopters, after 13 passengers and crew were killed when the rotors flew off their aircraft in April last year.

The decision to extend the safety clearance to Britain and Norway follows "extensive investigation, testing and changes to the helicopter and its maintenance," the CAA said in a statement.

Flights will not resume immediately, however.

"A plan of checks, modifications and inspections needs to be undertaken before any flights take place," the CAA said.

"It will also be for operators and their customers to decide whether they wish to re-introduce the helicopters to service"

Norwegian oil company Statoil said in December it would stop using H225 Super Puma helicopters for good.

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UK, Norway to Lift Ban on Offshore Flights of Two Super Puma Helicopters - New York Times

Gov. Larry Hogan said this week he's against gas drilling off of Maryland's coast, and as President Donald Trump's administration considers seismic testing to search for energy reserves, state officials are asking the federal government to more closely study its impact.

The Trump administration last month sought permission under federal wildlife protection laws to use loud air guns to collect data on potential sites for offshore oil and gas production.

"I'm not in favor of offshore drilling," Hogan told reporters Thursday, adding that there are many hurdles before it could come close to reality. The Republican governor had not previously taken a public stance on offshore drilling, which had been shelved under former President Barack Obama. Hogan has sometimes declined to weigh in on Trump administration policies.

Mark Belton, Hogan's secretary of Natural Resources, sent a request to federal wildlife officials asking for a review of how seismic testing could harm whales, dolphins and turtles, commercial fisheries and recreational activity.

Five energy companies had asked for permission to perform the seismic tests, which involve firing intense blasts of compressed air.

Public comments on the permit applications were set to be due Thursday, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this week extended the deadline to July 21.

Belton told NOAA officials the state's "concerns include potential impacts to the commercial and recreational fisheries, and the health and welfare of marine mammals and wildlife.

"Maryland municipalities such as Ocean City and Berlin have also expressed their objections through local resolutions against seismic testing that show cause for further consultation and review," he added.

Domestic energy exploration looked to have a fresh start when Trump signed an executive order in April directing Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to review a five-year plan Obama signed in the final weeks of his administration. That plan blocked new oil and gas drilling in the Atlantic, from Virginia to South Carolina, and in the Arctic.

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh has said he would challenge Trump's executive order if he deemed it necessary.

Baltimore Sun reporter Erin Cox contributed to this article.

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Hogan says he opposes offshore drilling as state raises concerns ... - Baltimore Sun

When President Obama considered opening the Atlantic Coast to offshore oil exploration, he rightly got an earful from concerned coastal communities. Now that President Trump has brashly begun work on an early do-over of Mr. Obamas plan, he should expect the same.

Indeed, given the universal coastal opposition to Mr. Obamas plan, one wonders why the Trump administration is venturing again into those chilly waters.

Mr. Obamas five-year National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program runs from 2017-2022 and does not allow for oil drilling on the Atlantic Coast. In December, he also permanently barred oil drilling in North Atlantic waters under the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.

Those protections were implemented almost entirely thanks to the unified voices of hundreds of coastal municipalities and elected officials representing millions of residents from Florida to Virginia.

Every coastal government in South Carolina publicly opposed offshore oil, as did Reps. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., Tom Rice, R-S.C., and James Clyburn, D-S.C.

Their voices made a difference.

But in April, Mr. Trump signed an executive order that calls for a new review of his predecessors offshore oil rules. And this week, he announced that the Interior Department would begin updating its five-year plan earlier than scheduled.

Before the Trump administration can rewrite the rules, however, the public will have a chance to weigh in.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will be accepting public comments on the five-year plan update through Aug. 17. And the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration is accepting public comments on seismic testing a damaging precursor to offshore drilling that can harm marine life through July 21.

It is time, once again, for coastal voices to let the president know that the Atlantic is not open to the oil business.

Coastal recreation accounts for more than $20 billion in annual economic impact for South Carolina alone. About 60 percent of the states tourists visit a coastal area, according to the state Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.

Optimistic estimates contend that oil and gas drilling could bring the state about $2.7 billion over a two-decade period.

In other words, South Carolina and other Atlantic states would be risking their valuable tourism and recreation economies, not to mention priceless marine ecosystems, for a risky, dirty industry that would at best generate less than 1 percent of the value of existing coastal businesses.

It doesnt make sense at any level.

The rest of South Carolinas legislative delegation particularly Republican Sens. Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham should take note of the unrelenting coastal opposition to oil and gas drilling and stand against Mr. Trumps plans.

So should Gov. Henry McMaster, who opposed the proposal as lieutenant governor, but has been silent on the issue since taking office in January.

A change in the White House does not signal a change in public opinion on a dangerous, wrongheaded plan to drill in Atlantic waters. Coastal communities must remain firm in letting federal agencies and elected officials know that we still oppose offshore oil.

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Stand firm against offshore oil | Editorials | postandcourier.com - Charleston Post Courier

Wind energy may have achieved one of its most significant landmarks ever with WindEuropes announcement that floating offshore turbine technology has come of age.

WindEurope, which represents the interests of the most advanced offshore wind markets in the world, last month claimed a breakthrough pipeline of projects proved floating turbine designs had achieved technological maturity.

Floating offshore wind is no longer consigned to the laboratory: Its a viable technology ready to be rolled out on an industrial scale, said the industry body in a recent press release.

WindEurope expects 298 megawatts of floating offshore wind projects to be commissioned between 2017 and 2021, starting with this years 30-megawatt Hywind Scotland wind farm, which is being built by Statoil and Masdar.

By 2030, MAKE Consulting, which is owned by GTMs parent company Wood Mackenzie, predicts around 4 gigawatts of floating offshore capacity will have been installed worldwide.

This is a drop in the ocean compared to the almost 1,260 gigawatts of wind capacity that the Global Wind Energy Council expects to see installed by 2030, under its most conservative forecast.

Long-term, though, MAKE managing consultant Michael Guldbrandtsen said floating offshore could come to dominate the wind industry. "First of all, offshore wind is in a very good position to out-compete onshore wind, at least in some of the key offshore markets," he commented.

"And if we look at offshore wind, I also think that in the long term, sometime post-2030, we definitely see floating wind has the potential to play a bigger role than bottom-fixed foundations in some markets, he said.

When this is going to be the case is difficult to say and will depend on progress when it comes to cost reductions,"Guldbrandtsen added.

Based on figures from the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the U.K.-based Carbon Trust, WindEurope estimates there is potential for 4,000 gigawatts of floating offshore wind in Europe, 2,450 gigawatts in the U.S., 500 gigawatts in Japan and 90 gigawatts in Taiwan.

In Europe and Japan, 80 percent of all offshore wind resource is in waters beyond 60 meters in depth, noted WindEurope in its Floating Offshore Wind Vision Statement last month. In the U.S., the figure is 60 percent.

Dr. R.V.Ahilan, group director of renewables advisory and energy technology at LOC Group, a marine engineering consultancy, said: As a technology, [floating wind] has certainly come of age. In terms of commercialization, I believe it has some time to run.

Achieving a commercial scale of several hundreds of megawatts' worth of production capacity would still be challenging, he said. One hurdle is that there is no consensus on what kind of floating substructure should be used for the turbines.

Currently, WindEurope lists four substructure designs for floating offshore wind.

The spar buoy design planned for Hywind and the semi-submersible platforms slated for the 10-megawatt Dounreay Tr project next year are considered to have a technology readiness level of more than eight, meaning they have been qualified through tests and demonstrations.

A third design, the barge, is expected to surpass a technology readiness level of eight this year, with the fourth configuration, called a tension leg platform, following in 2018. It is still unclear which of these will be best suited to the upcoming generation of mega-turbines, though.

The size of turbines is rapidly increasing, with MHI Vestas currently proposing 9.5 megawatts, and I believe by early to mid-2020s we will be at 15 or more, Ahilan said.

That plays beautifully into reducing the numbers of floating foundations and building foundations that are very large, he said.

Another issue is how quickly floating offshore wind will be able to slide down the cost curve. There is some debate about this.

A studyreleased last year by the International Energy Agency forecasted a median cost reduction of 38 percent by 2050, and a more optimistic prospect of up to 53 percent, which was identical to the most aggressive forecasts for onshore and fixed-bottom offshore technologies.

What is clear, if the onshore and fixed-bottom offshore experience is anything to go by, is that floating wind may not take long to become competitive. And then the sky is the limit. The real estate that will become available will be in the thousands of gigawatts, said Ahilan.

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Floating Offshore Wind Has Come of Age. Now It's Ready to Scale - Greentech Media

Carlos de Beltrn Gutirrez

Carlos de Beltrn Gutirrez has been appointed Director of Technical and Offshore for World Sailing. De Beltrn Gutirrez joins the sports International Federation after 2.5 years working at the Americas Cup World Series events, the Challenger Series and the 35th Americas Cup Match as a measurer within the Measurement Committee.

Holding a Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering degree from Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, the Spanish national also served as Chief Measurer for the M32 and RC44 Class Associations alongside his 35th Americas Cup commitments.

On his appointment, de Beltrn Gutirrez commented, Leading World Sailings Technical & Offshore team has always been a target for me in my career and Im really looking forward to joining World Sailing and helping to advance our work in this area.

It is an exciting time to be a part of our sport with technological advancements and evolution of boats. I have always enjoyed analysing different designs, ensuring there are efficiencies both on and off the water. But, at the same time, what really interests me is ensuring that there is fair racing, through thorough quality controls to guarantee a level playing field.

The technical committees within World Sailing such as the Equipment Committee and Offshore and Oceanic Committee have done a lot of great work over recent years.

There is a wide range of experienced personnel within the World Sailing Committee structure, many of whom I know well and Im really looking forward to engaging with them and realising new ambitions to benefit the sport.

In advance of his appointment to the 35th Americas Cup, de Beltrn Gutirrez also served on the Measurement Committee for the 34th, 33rd and 32nd Americas Cup. Furthermore, he was the Equipment Inspector for the 2008-2009, 2011-12 and 2014-15 editions of the Volvo Ocean Race.

He has also worked in research and development for the Spanish Olympic Sailing and Canoeing teams at the Canal de Experiencias Hidrodinmicas de El Pardo (CEHIPAR).

World Sailing CEO Andy Hunt added, Carlos brings an excellent range of experience and a strong reputation from within the professional side of Sailing. He will be an excellent addition to World Sailing, heading up a forward thinking Technical and Offshore team, ensuring World Sailing is at the forefront of technological advancements within the sport.

De Beltrn Gutirrez will join World Sailing full-time in September 2017, taking the role previously held by Dr Jason Smithwick who is now the Director of Rating for IRC.

Source: Daniel Smith, World Sailing

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World Sailing appoints Director of Technical & Offshore - Scuttlebutt Sailing News

SHARPSBURG, Md. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said that he wants the federal government to increase its income from offshore oil and natural gas drilling to pay for budget gaps in national parks.

Zinke told reportersWednesdaythat new royalty and fee payments from drilling can go a long way toward solving the more than $11 billion maintenance backlog at the National Park Service (NPS), as well as mitigate the effects of the $360 million the Trump administration is proposing to slash from the agencys annual budget.

He has mentioned the plan in recent weeks both to defend the administrations budget and to support his desire to increase offshore drilling, a plan that could include drilling in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans.

He said the Obama administration missed out on the potential revenue, pointing to the fact that the Interior Department brought in $2.6 billion from offshore drilling last year, compared with $18.1 billion in 2008.

Zinke said he is evaluating ways to increase income from offshore drilling as part of a major review of Interiors royalties and revenues.

Across the board, were looking at revenue, to make sure we catch up, and my priority is the infrastructure in our park system. Weve got to protect our parks, he said.

A small portion of offshore drilling revenue goes into the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is used to buy parkland and for related purposes.

But the rest of the money goes to the general Treasury, and changes to that system, including directing the funds to go to infrastructure, would have to get congressional approval.

A bill sponsored by Sen. Mark WarnerMark WarnerInterior chief: New offshore drilling funds should pay for parks Investigators looking into possible Russia collusion with pro-Trump websites: report Key Senate Dem expects clarity on Russia probe in a couple months MORE (D-Va.) and Rep. Derek KilmerDerek KilmerInterior chief: New offshore drilling funds should pay for parks Our national parks need updates; Congress can help House Dems: Administration ignoring hundreds of oversight requests MORE (D-Wash.) would do that, first directing $50 million a year to a park infrastructure fund and then slowly increasing to $500 million.

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Interior chief: New offshore drilling funds should pay for parks - The Hill

IOWA CITY, Iowa After Robert Rhodes collected a Wisconsin Lottery jackpot that had been rigged by his friend, he used the windfall for an investment scheme that produced another wave of undeserved government money, court records show.

Rhodes, an accomplice in a scandal that has shaken state lotteries, recently explained under oath how he used the $783,000 payout to receive an additional $180,000 in bogus tax refunds. The Texas businessman sent his lottery winnings offshore to buy a phony insurance policy for a personal corporation that never did any business except receive the lottery prize. He then claimed the policy as a tax-deductible "business expense."

The upshot: Rhodes received roughly $150,000 from the U.S. government and $36,200 from Wisconsin in tax refunds on the lottery payout. But in an ironic twist, the St. Lucia-based insurer where Rhodes sent his cash would later be accused of duping investors and, in Rhodes' words, "abscond" with a chunk of the loot.

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Lottery rigging accomplice used payout for offshore tax scam - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Federal regulators are giving people two more weeks to comment on plans for permitting seismic testing offshore because of the deluge of comments already received. Drill-or-don't-drill has become a controversy.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has received thousands of comments, a news release said.

"These requests indicated that additional time was needed to consider more fully the information supporting the proposals and to provide comments on the proposed authorizations," said NOAA spokeswoman Kate Brogan.

"Multiple commenters indicated a need for additional time to review the proposal to consider the information more fully and provide comments," she said.

The new deadline for commenting is July 21. Email comments to ITP.Laws@noaa.gov or submit electronically by going to http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits and following the links.

Five companies have filed permit requests to explore for oil and gas, and all of them want to explore at least part of the waters off South Carolina. The National Marine Fisheries Service in June issued the rules for how the tests would take place regarding the safety of marine mammals. Those rules are up for public comment.

Seismic testing entails firing powerfully loud sonic guns underwater every 16 seconds to read echoes from the bottom geology. The tests take place over miles of ocean for months at a time.

Industry representatives say it's been done for a half-century without any demonstrated real world harm. Controlled studies have indicated it harms sea life as basic as vital zooplankton food organisms.

Opposition to the drilling and testing has grown to millions of East Coast residents, more than 120 municipalities, 1,200 elected officials, 41,000 businesses and a half million fishing families.

For many people, the fight over drilling cuts to the heart of coastal life, where interests are divided between exploring for potential the economic benefit of fossil fuels to restricting exploration to protect marine life and a billion-dollar tourism economy.

Reach Bo Petersen Reporter at Facebook, @bopete on Twitter or 1-843-937-5744.

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NOAA gives more time to comment on offshore seismic tests - Charleston Post Courier

Ocean City may bill itself as a year-round resort, but its no secret that the Fourth of July marks the start of the real season the eight or nine weeks of booked summer rentals, hotels at capacity, overflowing restaurants and shoulder-to-shoulder sunbathers on the beach that define the local economy. It is somewhat ironic that this past Monday also marked the beginning of Ocean Citys last chance to plead with the Trump administration to spare its tourism industry from the grave threat posed by off-shore drilling.

In late April, President Donald Trump signed an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy executive order directing the U.S. Department of the Interior to reverse policies developed during the waning months of the Obama administration protecting the Atlantic Oceans outer continental shelf from oil and gas exploration. Last week, the administration officially released the result of that executive order, a new five-year plan to open up those federally-controlled waters to the petroleum industry, a frightening prospect to the millions of Americans who vacation on, own property along or whose livelihoods depend on Atlantic beaches. The notion that the tourism economy and the billions of dollars invested in it might be compromised by non-sustainable oil and gas exploration is absurd. But with Mondays publication of the regulations in the Federal Register, the 45-day clock has started: Americans have until August 17 to express their opinion to Interior officials.

Matthew Daly and Josh Boak

Opening up coastal drilling is deeply and universally unpopular in beach towns far beyond Ocean City. Memories of the Deepwater Horizon, the 2010 BP oil spill that involved nearly 5 million barrels of oil released into the Gulf of Mexico that devastated fisheries and tourism and ultimately cost that company more than $42 billion in payouts, are still fresh. So is the Exxon Valdez, the 1989 oil tanker that hit a reef in Prince William Sound and left 1,300 miles of coastline drenched in crude oil. With coastal communities already dealing with pollution and compromised water quality and fisheries, why worsen the problem when it will neither produce the jobs nor the energy independence that the Trump administration claims?

Indeed, trouble is already brewing with the Trump administrations earlier approval of seismic testing for underground oil and gas deposits in the Atlantic (the comment period for which ends July 6). Soon, boats towing enormous air guns pointed at the ocean are expected to be dispatched across thousands of square miles of potential drilling sites from New Jersey to Florida. Experts fear the impact these sonic blasts will have on marine life including dolphins, sea turtles, whales and migrating schools of fish. Why? As a 2016 study by the National Ocean Economics Program at Middlebury College pointed out, jobs in the U.S. coastal economy depend more on living resources than oil and gas exploration. Fracking and horizontal drilling technology have already given the U.S. a record boost in oil and gas production from inland sources, including the nearby Marcellus Shale basin.

And its not just losing tourists that has waterfront communities worried. If President Trump continues to lead the U.S. away from global norms on climate change and allows non-sustainable exploitation of fossil fuels that contribute heavily to the problem, the threat of rising sea levels alone could doom towns like Ocean City or at least force them to erect major sea walls or relocate to higher ground. How quaint that Ocean City officials were just weeks ago debating the merits of off-shore wind turbines and whether tourists might be annoyed by their miniature appearance on the horizon. Globs of crude oil stuck to beaches and marine life and coastal flooding are considerably worse hardships.

The Trump administration might ignore public opinion, but Marylanders ought to make their voices heard anyway. They will certainly find a great deal of company including in states like South Carolina where Republicans hold political sway. Gov. Larry Hogan has been strangely silent on a matter that ought to be a no-brainer for him. An estimated 90,000 jobs and $5.4 billion in gross domestic product can be traced to Marylands coastal economy. Being pro-business requires standing up for those jobs as publicly and firmly as possible so that nobody in the White House or Congress gets the idea that Maryland is the least bit undecided about the wisdom of offshore oil and gas exploration and drilling.

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Offshore drilling is a loser - Baltimore Sun

Honourable Jonathan F. Mitchell - Mayor of the City of New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA

Taking office in January 2012, Jon Mitchell is New Bedfords thirty-eighth mayor. In November 2013, he was the first sitting New Bedford mayor since 1866 not to be opposed for reelection. He was re-elected again in November 2015 by a decisive margin.

Jon has sought to re-establish New Bedford as one of the leading cities in the Northeast. Since he took office, New Bedford has moved aggressively to reform its school system, to modernise the Port of New Bedford, to solidify the downtowns status as the cultural and economic centre of Southeastern Massachusetts, and to raise the quality of life of every neighbourhood. Under Jons leadership, New Bedford has emerged as a national leader in renewable energy, and has witnessed both its unemployment rate and its high school dropout rate plummet.

Jon attended Harvard College, where he funded his tuition with financial aid and by working in factories and warehouses back home during the summers. After graduating from Harvard with a degree in economics, Jon went to work in Washington, D.C., and remained there to attend law school at George Washington University. Upon graduation, Jon began work as a federal prosecutor in the United States Department of Justice, having been selected to the prestigious Attorney Generals Honor Program, one of only five attorneys out of over fifteen hundred applicants in the Departments Criminal Division

Jon served six years in the Army National Guard. He is married to Ann Partridge, a breast cancer doctor and researcher at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, where she founded and directs the Institutes Program for Young Women with Breast Cancer. They are the proud parents of three daughters, Grace (14), Natalie (12) and Lauren (10).

In September 2016 the Massachusetts State Governor signed a Letter of Intent with DONG Energy, Deepwater Wind and OffshoreMW to lease the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal as a staging and deployment location for future wind projects. The agreement with the developers, who hold leases in the federally identified offshore wind energy development areas located 14 miles south of Marthas Vineyard, builds upon the Commonwealths commitment to a diverse energy portfolio and position as a national leader in offshore wind, and will strengthen the states clean energy economy.

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Offshore Wind Connections 2017 | National Conference ...