Category Archives: Offshore

Sen. Nelson on expanded oil drilling. Video by Mary Wozniak

Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson(Photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP)

A U.S. senator is fending off threats that could open up the eastern Gulf of Mexico to offshore drilling.

Bill Nelson, D-Orlando, told some local leaders Tuesday that he's hoping to extend protections that now prohibit drilling offshore of Southwest Florida from 2022 to 2027.

He said the Gulf of Mexico doesn't need another BP oil spill.

"The actual spill itself, when the wind shifted and started taking east, it got to Pensacola beach, blackened the sugary white sand beaches and those photographs went all over the world," said Nelson, speaking at the Page Field airport in Fort Myers."So all the rest of Florida's Gulf coast, all the way to Marco Island, didn't get it. But what did happen is a whole season was lost because our visitors did not come because they thought there was oil on our beaches and oil in the water."

The oil industry has pushed lawmakers from other states, Nelson said, to challenge the ban that keeps rigs out of this section of the Gulf. He fears another senator will soon push to have the ban overturned.

Nelson opposes Sessions over voting rights issues

Nelson and others have contended that there is only a small amount of oil to be had off the Southwest Florida coast. In the end, Nelson said, those wanting to open up the area to drilling simply want to lease those rights out to other companies, or increase the company's value by adding to its list of acquisitions.

"Even though a potential oil lease gives value to an oil company as an asset, in reality the oil is where the sediments came down the Mississippi River for millions of years and that (oil) is primarily off Louisiana," Nelson said.

Nelson said his ace in the hole is that the Gulf of Mexico is used extensively to train some of the nation's top military pilots.

"The clincher that I've been able to use to fight them off is that this area in the Gulf of Mexico off of Florida is the largest testing and training area for the United States military in the world," he said. "I would hope at that point we'd have all the support of the generals, and the admirals and thesecretary of defense."

Nelson spoke to a receptive crowd.

"Our estuaries are so delicate and sensitive, and they're the drivers of our economy," said Jennifer Hecker, with the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. "And wecan't afford to put anymore stress on them right now. We're really working hard to restore them and we're investing millions and millions of dollars to plant sea grasses and rebuild oyster bars. We can't risk anything that could undermine the progress we've been able to make."

Kevin Ruane, mayor of Sanibel, said Southwest Florida's economy relies on clean water.

"The economy is really what it's about. People lose track of the environment," he said. "But when you talk about the economy it seems to have resonance with the Senate and the House conversations about jobs and the trickle down effect."

Ruane added: "We've done resolutions and we'll do whatever we can to assist you."

Karen Dwyer, an environmentalist with the Stone Crab Alliance, said protecting Florida's waters should be everyone's priority.

Nelson presses Ross on protecting climate change data

"Water is Florida's No. 1 natural resource, fueling everything from agriculture to our multibillion dollar tourism industry," she said."I'm glad the senator is watching this to make sure that our protections don't get rolled back. We don't need another BP oil spill in our Gulf because we're still suffering the ill effects."

Connect with this reporter: Chad Gillis on Twitter.

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Sen. Nelson fighting offshore drilling - The News-Press

Apples CEO said the tech firm expected to bring home, back to the US, much of its offshore cash this year. Photograph: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty

Donald Trumps plan to encourage US companies to repatriate profits held offshore will allow the 50 biggest American corporations to save at least $300bn (240bn), according to research by Oxfam.

The US president has promised that he will get Americas biggest companies to bring their vast offshore cash piles back to US soil by offering a one-off tax holiday. The plan is to tax repatriated money at 10% rather than at the statutory rate of 35%.

Americas 50 biggest companies had combined offshore cash piles of more than $1.6tn in 2015, according to Oxfams research. Corporate America has been keeping the money overseas because through legal loopholes corporations can defer US taxes continually so long as income is not repatriated to the US.

The amount of money held offshore, much of it in tax havens, increased by $200bn in 2015, according to Oxfams Rigged Reform paper.

Trumps proposed tax holiday would be a big boost for US technology companies which make a lot of money overseas and often park the profits in low-tax jurisdictions, such as Ireland.

Apple holds more than $200bn offshore, and was last year accused of tax avoidance by the European commission and ordered to pay 13bn (11bn) in back taxes. Apples chief executive, Tim Cook, denied the charges and dismissed the EC investigation as political crap. However, he later said that he expected to bring home much of the offshore cash pile in 2017. He said Apple had set aside several billion dollars for the US for payment as soon as we repatriate some or all of the money.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump promised that his one-off 10% rate would bring back trillions of dollars from American businesses that is now parked overseas. He said at a campaign event in Michigan: Were going to get Apple to start building their damn computers and things in this country rather than other countries.

Oxfams research suggested that Apple would save $43.5bn in tax by taking advantage of Trumps one-off 10% repatriation tax.

Other companies sitting on vast fortunes parked offshore include the drugs maker Pfizer, with $193bn, Microsoft, with $124bn, and GM, with $104bn.

The Oxfam research suggested that the 50 biggest US companies could collectively save between $312 and $327bn by bringing back their offshore cash piles under Trumps tax holiday.

The charity said the companies were exploiting a network of 1,751 subsidiaries in tax havens to hold cash from the US tax authorities. There is no suggestion that any of the companies have acted illegally.

Ana Arendar, Oxfams head of inequality, said: These companies have deepened their use of tax havens and increased efforts to build influence to push for even greater tax breaks than they already have. Corporate tax dodgers cheat the US out of approximately $135bn in unpaid tax revenues every year and poor countries out of an estimated $100bn annually.

The report claims that the 50 companies spent $2.5bn on lobbying between 2009 and 2015, including an estimated $352m specifically spent on influencing the tax debate. The total amount spent on lobbying works out at about $46m for every member of Congress.

Excerpt from:

Donald Trump's tax holiday 'would help top US companies save $300bn' - The Guardian

Offshore Ale, the year-round brew pub that has long anchored the Oak Bluffs dining scene, has been quietly placed on the market for sale.

After 12 years at the helm owners Phillip and Colleen McAndrews are looking to find a new owner and steward for the restaurant, Mr. McAndrews said Monday.

Craft beer and ale brewed on site. Mark Lovewell

I need to find someone who I can train and pass Offshore off to, he said. So were just starting the process to find an individual who would love this place as much as we have, and carry it on.

The youngest of the couples four children will graduate from high school next year, he said, and at that point all four will be scattered around the country. None are interested in taking over the business, and their parents are looking for a flexible schedule that is hard to find running a year-round business.

The 20-year-old restaurant at 30 Kennebec avenue is listed for $4.2 million. The listing went online last week with Link MV, the Islands multiple listing service for real estate. The price includes the building, beer business, brand and a turnkey, fulled-staffed restaurant.

Mr. McAndrews said the restaurant has quietly been on the market since October, when the McAndrews gathered the staff together to tell them their plans. The restaurant is for sale lock, stock, and barrel, he said, and they are hoping to find someone who would carry on the current business.

I have a great staff here, he said. Many of them have been here for many years . . . . its really a turnkey business. Theyve helped make this place a success.

Offshore was opened by Robert Skydell in 1997 as City Ale and Oyster, a restaurant that included the first brewery on the Island. After about a year the name was changed to Offshore Ale Company, named after the most popular brew on the menu. The original name remained on the outside of the building at the corner of Kennebec and Healy avenues. The restaurant became well-known as a year-round gathering place for all ages, featuring beers brewed on-site with names like Beach Road Nut Brown Ale and Inkwell Imperial Stout, wood-fired pizza, local seafood, live music and peanut shells littering the floor.

Kennebec avenue hot spot first opened in 1997. Mark Lovewell

In January 2006 Mr. Skydell sold the business to the McAndrews, who lived in Rhode Island. Mr. McAndrews was a businessman selling beer, wine and spirits, and had long dreamed of one day running a small Irish pub or something similar. On a weekend getaway to the Vineyard, the couple saw Offshore was for sale. Mr. McAndrews was 40 at the time, he recalled, and we just jumped on it.

The couple has been here ever since and its been a great experience, he said. The only thing he will not miss is the paperwork.

They are taking their time with the sale, he said, starting with getting the word out. The listing is with Jon Hartzband of Marthas Vineyard Island-Wide Realty, who is well-suited to represent the property: he worked at Offshore for 17 years as a bartender. He knows the whole story, Mr. McAndrews said. Hes a great person to really represent and actually have the inside knowledge of all that this place is.

He continued: I dont know how easy or hard its going to be to find someone that would be a good fit for it. Its just important to take some time and be able to go trough the process and be selective about it.

But for now it will be business as usual at Offshore. Were still here, on site, and doing everything we did before we listed it, he said. Were here, hands on. Its going to be that way until someone else takes over.

Continued here:

Offshore Ale, Popular Island Brew Pub, Goes on Market for Sale ... - The Vineyard Gazette - Martha's Vineyard News

Its been three years since we first issued a warning concerning the U.S. Gulf. Back then, several majors announced that they would reduce capital expenditures. Most, however, thought that it was just a bump in the road, a short-term softness instead of a major slowdown.

Well, we can safely say that it was the latter and more a major depression in the offshore energy market.

Bill Pikes annual report due out in the May issue on the offshore industry again contains no shortage of bad news. However, at least some operators are now offering a glimpse of hope, albeit a faint one.

Stacey Stanley, president and CEO of crewboat operator Muchowich Offshore Oil Services in Clute, Texas, said she can see a light at the end of tunnel, but it is just a flicker. But Stanley and other crewboat operators have seen their fleets reduced in size. Offshore Oil Services had eight crewboats in its fleet, but the company sold two to boost cash reserves to weather the rough market.

Nearly half of SeaTran Marines 19 crewboats are stacked, and another crewboat operators entire fleet of eight vessels is stacked. But Charlie Tizzard, SeaTrans executive vice president and chief financial officer, is more optimistic than most. He believes that the market could begin to improve as early as next year due to the new administrations commitment to the energy industry.

Wes Bordelon of Bordelon Marine is somewhat positive about a recovery but it is still a long ways off. He said the key to staying healthy in this depressed market is a reliable, sustainable budget for 2018, and a realigned industry rebuilt through mergers and consolidation.

But others arent as bullish. Matthew Rigdon of PSV operator Jackson Offshore Operators said an increase in global oil demand is needed to stimulate the market. Without this, he doesnt envision any boost in drilling in the Gulf.

The bottom line is that there is still too many boats in the market. As Bordelon conceded, There is just too much steel out there for the level of activity.

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Offshore: Light at the end of the tunnel? | WorkBoat - WorkBoat (blog)

The global crewing industry faces a long-term shortage of trained seafarers, including the high skilled area of offshore marine.

The downturn in offshore marine has resulted in job losses both on and offshore and this creates the potential for a serious skills shortage for the sector in the future. With requirements for the likes DP2 and DP3 trained officers offshore when the sector rebounds the competition for skilled manpower will become fierce. In the boom times this was met by paying extraordinarily high wages, but as oil companies re-engineer their costs for the long-term this may not be a solution in future.

As the latest White Paper from Seatrade Maritime News notes some experts believe the sector will rebound sooner, rather than later and : This is particularly important for offshore oil producing hot-spots such as the Arabian Gulf, the North Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil because offshore operators there must be prepared to make the most of a market recovery when todays reduced manpower resources come under serious supply-side pressure.

Access to an effective, well-trained and experienced seafaring workforce will be a top priority for offshore service providers.

How will the offshore marine sector cope with this challenge:

Download the White Paper: The Next Generation of Offshore and Workboats Seafarers

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FREE DOWNLOAD: Where will the next generation offshore marine seafarers come from? - Seatrade Maritime News

4/11/2017

HAMBURG, Germany -- Hansa Heavy Lift has successfully transported two dozen reels, as well as a range of subsea equipment for the Jangkrik Complex Project, off the coast of Indonesia.

HHL Richards Bay picked up the cargo at three different ports: Rosyth, UK; Le Trait, France; and Tanjung Langsat, Malaysia.

The company discharged the reels and subsea equipment in Balikpapan, Indonesia, onto the offshore vessel Viking Neptun, in five mobilizations. Two more offshore vessels, the Seismic Supporter and the Deep Orient, were used to load and offload some of the equipment from HHL Richards Bay, which required additional planning.

This was a complex project which required a very careful planning process as well as continuous communication with all parties involved from the start, said Henry Woo, Head of Asia-Pacific, Hansa Heavy Lift.

Our P2-1400 vessel type was the ideal ship for this project, as she provided enough space to stow and handle the cargo and enough crane capacity for discharging.

The successful completion of this project demonstrates our ability to handle sensitive cargo during all stages of transport, whilst providing a safe work environment and complying fully with very high offshore standards and requirements.

Ahead of commencing the project, the stowage plan had to be prepared in accordance with the different loading ports and a pre-defined discharge sequence to follow the offshore installation procedure, without shifting any cargo unit.

During the final move, Hansa Heavy Lift transferred 19 empty reels to the Viking Neptun and loaded all the subsea equipment, whilst the remaining reels and equipment were discharged in Tanjung Langsat.

The seafastening calculation was prepared taking into account the sensitivity of the cargo, the strength of the reel structure and the special requirements from the product manufacturer.

Other engineering analyses performed during the planning stage included a finite element analysis to assess the strength of the vessels deck, as well as regular rigging, seafastening and stability calculations.

See original here:

Hansa Heavy Lift transports subsea equipment for offshore gas ... - WorldOil (subscription)

UPDATE, WRITETHRU: This frame saw the first shift at the top of the international box office since Disneys Beauty And The Beast initially twirled through offshore turnstiles last month. With a $36.1M weekend, Belle and her beau dipped from their No. 1 perch to No. 3 in the session, trailing Ghost In The Shell ($41.3M) and The Boss Baby ($37.5M).

But theres no cause to weep for the star-crossed lovers and their enchanted pals. In its 4th weekend at the worldwide ball, BATB waltzed to a global cume of $977.4M, poised to cross $1B in the coming days. The Bill Condon-directed film also rose to $545.1M overseas, helping The Walt Disney Studios clock $1B+ in 2017 overseas receipts with $1.007B to date.

Meanwhile, coming off of a weekend largely led by China, Paramount/DreamWorks/Reliances Ghost In The Shell emerged as the No. 1 film overseas this frame. In the Middle Kingdom, the Scarlett Johansson-starrer earned $21.4M higher than the actress 2014 actioner Lucy which bowed to $20M there.

In the Japanese launch, Ghost came at No. 1 in with $3.2M. While the film has been decently received there, and the market is slow burn, neither it nor China are expected to fully bail Ghost out.

The international cume is now $92.8M and some industry estimates see it landing between $150M and $170M at the end of the day. Particularly with The Fate Of The Furious revving up in China on Friday and then in Japan on April 28. Beauty And The Beast hits the latter on April 21.

DreamWorks Animation/Fox

In other weekend activity, Sony Pictures Animations Smurfs: The Lost Village added $22M for a $42.1M offshore total thus far; and Warner Bros Kong: Skull Island pounded out another $16M for an overseas cume of $377.8M and a global warchest of $534.4M.

Also from Warner Bros, new entry Going In Style is coming in fashionably versus some comps and opened to $4.3M in 32 markets.

Setting a new milestone, Lionsgates six-time Oscar winner La La Land has reached $287.8M internationally to surpass the lifetime of The Hunger Games.

Beginning on Wednesday this week, Universals Fate Of The Furious gets off the starting block, muscling into eight offshore markets including Australia, France, Korea and Belgium. By the weekend it will be in 62 and on 688 IMAX screens internationally; 392 of those in China.

Breakdowns on the above films have been updated below.

NEW GOING IN STYLE

Warner Bros

Russia opened to $800K at No. 4 to more than double the results of The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, followed by the UK with $688K on 454. The UAE knocked off $520K on 45 for No. 2 and surpassing all comps. Holland topped Last Vegas by 11% with $320K including sneaks and more than doubled Luc Bessons The Family which WB is using as a comp. Brazil lifted $243K on 121 to top the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel sequel by 77%.

Releases this week include Spain and Germany. Australia and Mexico go the following frame.

HOLDOVERS/EXPANSIONS GHOST IN THE SHELL

Paramount

In the Middle Kingdom, where sci-fi does not over-index, the Rupert Sanders-helmed movie made $21.4M at 7,600 locations. Thats bigger than Johansson vehicle Lucy which bowed to $20M in 2014 and went on to $44.8M there. The film has a 6.6 rating on Douban and mid-weeks will count as The Fate Of The Furious will obliterate anything in its path when it opens on Friday.

In Japan, from whence the source material hails, the film opened to $3.2M at 327 cinemas. As Deadline reported last week, the whitewashing controversy seems to have sidestepped Japan because audiences are used to watching western actors, and word of mouth appears decent. While Japan is a leggy market of big multiples, Ghost also faces F8 there beginning April 28, just after Beauty And The Beast on April 21.

Sources are pegging the overseas final on Ghost in the $160M neighborhood.

In IMAX, Ghost In The Shell took $5.5M global for a $13.5M cume; the international weekend was $4.4M including $2.5M from 389 Chinese screens.

The Top 5 overall markets on Ghost are China ($21.4M), Russia ($8M), Korea ($5.5M), France ($5.3M) and the UK ($5.2M).

THE BOSS BABY

Fox

Despite warm, sunny weather in the UK, families went out for Alec Baldwins tough guy kid with $9.9M at No. 1 (including previews) and 49% bigger than The Croods, 47% bigger than Trolls.

Mexico held No. 1 in the 2nd session with $3.4M and a 40% drop ($12M cume). France likewise was No. 1 for the 2nd frame in a row, topping local newcomer A Bras Ouverts with $3.2M and a 37% drop from open ($9.8M cume). The next best results were in Brazil ($2.1M/$6.2M cume); Germany ($1.9M/$5M cume); and Australia ($1.8M/$8.8M cume up 21% versus last weekend).

The lead market remains Russia at $24M. In comparable markets and at todays exchanges, The Boss Baby is cooing louder than Trolls (+63%), Rio (+40%), The Croods (+20%) and Sing (+14%).

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Disney

In 55 material markets, BATB dipped 46% in its 4th session with strong holds in several plays including Belgium (-7%), Poland (-16%), Germany (-27%), the Netherlands (-34%), Brazil (-38%), Australia (-39%) and China (-39%). The Emma Watson/Dan Stevens romantic tuner has clocked No. 1 for four weeks in a row in Germany, Korea, Austria, Finland, Poland, Portugal, Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia, Switzerland and the UK (the latter holds No. 1 based on this weekends FSS but Boss Baby is No. 1 with previews included). Other No. 1 holds include Australia, Chile, Argentina, Malaysia and New Zealand.

In Europe, the cume to date of $217M has surpassed the total regional runs of Deadpool, Zootopia, Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, Captain America: Civil War and Suicide Squad.

Here are the Top 5 markets to date: China ($85.3M), UK ($73.2M), Brazil ($36M), Korea ($33.9M) and Mexico ($28.3M).

SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE

Sony

Major hubs on the earlier films included a mix of Germany, China, France, the UK and Brazil. Of those, only the UK had opened through last weekend on The Lost Village. This frame added Brazil ($2.2M), France ($1.9M with previews), Mexico ($1.6M), Germany ($1.5M with previews) and Italy ($1M).

The diminutive Peyo characters have a sizable international brand, but saw a drop-off between films one and two which legged out to $421M and $277M, respectively, at offshore turnstiles. There have of course been big currency swings between 2013 and today, and while some watchers are underwhelmed by the perf so far, Sony is where it expected to be given the strong competition.

With Easter and spring holidays coming up, the studio is anticipating runway on the pic which has a reported negative cost of $60M and a global P&A less than the $100M spent on the profitable Angry Birds Movie. China is due on April 21, the last film made $22M there.

KONG: SKULL ISLAND

Warner Bros

In the 3rd session, China added $11.3M for No. 2 behind newcomer Ghost In The Shell. This week, the movie from Jordan Vogt-Roberts crossed the 1B RMB mark and now has a local Middle Kingdom cume of $161M (1.11B RMB). Rounding out the Top 5 markets are the UK ($18.6M), Mexico ($13.9M), Japan ($13.8M) and Korea ($12.1M).

SABANS POWER RANGERS The Lionsgate title grossed an additional $6.1M from 75 markets this frame, bringing the international cume to $42.1M. The biggest new play was France with $1.3M. The film is playing younger than expected in Europe with only the UK in the Top 5 out of the majors. Currently, the No. 1 play is Mexico with $5.3M, followed by the UK at $4.9M, Brazil ($4.8M), Malaysia ($2.7M) and Australia ($2.4M). The kids morph into their next major with Korea on April 20, followed by hopeful key markets China (May 5) and Japan (July 15).

LIFE

Sony Pictures

SING

Universal

MOANA Coming out of its 19th weekend in offshore release, Disneys Moana has reached $386.1M at the international box office and $634.8M worldwide. This frame was worth $2.3M overseas in Japan which has now risen to $39.4M. That makes Japan the No. 1 offshore market, overtaking Frances $35.4M.

GET OUT

Universal

MISC UPDATED CUMES/NOTABLE

20th Century Fox

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'Ghost In The Shell' Rises To $93M Offshore; 'Beauty And The Beast' Tops $977M Global International Box Office - Deadline

A proposal before the Maine Legislature would prevent the state from permitting an offshore wind energy project in the vicinity of Monhegan Island. (MGN)

PORTLAND (AP) -- A proposal before the Maine Legislature would prevent the state from permitting an offshore wind energy project in the vicinity of Monhegan Island.

Monhegan Island is a tiny island about 12 nautical miles off of Maine's mainland that is well known as a home to artists, seasonal residents and lobster fishermen. Maine Aqua Ventus intends to install a two-turbine, 12-megawatt project off its coast.

Republican state Sen. Dana Dow, who represents the island in the Statehouse, wants to prevent the project from happening. His proposal would create a prohibited zone where an offshore wind energy test area would not be able to be located.

Dow's proposal would also prohibit the state from issuing a permit for an offshore wind project within 10 nautical miles of the Monhegan Lobster Conservation Area.

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Proposal would prevent offshore wind project in Maine | WGME - WGME

What happened

In March, shares of offshore drillersEnsco(NYSE:ESV),Transocean (NYSE:RIG),Rowan Companies(NYSE:RDC), andAtwood Oceanics(NYSE:ATW) finished between 10.7% and 16% lower than they started. Since the beginning of the year, that puts all four drilling rig operators down between 12% and 30% at month's end.

There hasn't really been much in the way of material news in the offshore oil market over the past month or so following the quarterly earnings season in February. However, there wasa lot of chatter about oil prices.

Image source: Getty Images.

The biggest news affecting oil markets -- and therefore oil stocks -- was the growth of oil inventories, especially U.S. onshore supply. According to industry data, U.S. crude stocks increased 11.6 million barrels in early March, far higher than industry analysts were expecting.

Here's how that affected oil prices for the rest of the month.

ESV data by YCharts.

It should be pretty easy to see that these four offshore drilling stocks correlated with the movement of oil prices. This is typical -- and will remain so -- for as long as the downturn continues to keep oil producers from spending money on offshore drilling.

On an asset basis, these stocks are at fire-sale prices:

ESV Price to Book Value data by YCharts.

In other words, the market is pricing these companies at one-third or less of the liquidation value of their assets. But until producers start spending offshore, you can expect offshore drilling stocks to pretty much chase oil prices. When oil goes up, share prices will likely outpace them. When crude falls, however -- as it did in March -- offshore drilling stocks will probably fall farther.

At some point, offshore spending will pick up, simply because some of the world's biggest oil fields are offshore. And while they are very expensive to develop, offshore oil can be profitable at current crude prices.The problem is that it takes a lot of up-front money and a long time before the oil starts flowing. And there's some indication spending is set to pick up, with a number of new projects expected to go to bid before year-end.

The best approach if you're considering investing in this space, or if you already own shares, is to take the time to understand each company, particularly the strength of its balance sheet, how much (and when it's due) debt it has, and the size and stability of its contracted backlog of work.

But until there's more work to be had, there's going to be a lot more of the kind of volatility we saw in March -- and largely based on non-news and speculation.

Jason Hall owns shares of Atwood Oceanics, Ensco, and Transocean. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Atwood Oceanics. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Here's Why These Offshore Drilling Stocks Fell Sharply in March - Motley Fool

President Trump is preparing to issue an executive order aimed at reversing former President Barack Obama's ban on offshore drilling off the Atlantic and Arctic coasts while directing the Interior Department to redo its five-year energy leasing plan.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke reportedly discussed the new executive order during remarks to the industry on Thursday, according to a report citing sources in attendance. The order would reopen the Obama-era 2017 to 2022 five-year offshore drilling plan to include federal lease sales in the Atlantic Ocean and Arctic seas in Alaska.

The Obama administration had teased the idea of including first-time sales off the Atlantic coast in a draft plan in 2015, which it later reneged on with little justification.

It also pulled back on Arctic lease sales in the final lease plan, saying low oil prices made it economically unfeasible for the industry to deploy the resources necessary to drill in the Arctic. The oil and gas industry opposed the final decision on the 2017 to 2022 plan.

Later, Obama took separate actions to ban offshore drilling in both Alaska and the Atlantic, using a 1953 law that governs offshore leases. There is no provision in the law that allows the next president to repeal the decision. But Trump's executive order apparently will direct the Interior Department to find a way.

Bloomberg News, which first reported the executive order on Thursday, said the order would reverse the ban. The report did not say whether other offshore drilling rules would be rolled back in addition to the ban reversals and the five-year plan revamp.

Zinke said the order would come soon, potentially coinciding with the seven-year anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill on April 20. The 2010 disaster resulted in the deaths of nearly a dozen oil rig workers in the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in the largest oil spill in the industry's history.

The spill caused the Obama administration to restructure the Department of Interior's offshore regulators to improve federal oversight of the industry. The disaster also spawned a number new regulations from the Interior Department that the oil industry called duplicative and costly. The industry said it had developed its own industry rules that addressed the increased need for safety that make the federal rules moot.

Also from the Washington Examiner

"It was planned as a one-strike mission," Sen. Ben Cardin, of Maryland.

04/07/17 8:39 PM

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Trump to lift Obama's bans on offshore drilling - Washington Examiner