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OSLO (AFP) – Norwegian energy group Statoil said Wednesday it was selling some of its US offshore oil assets to China's state-owned CNOOC, marking the first step by a Chinese energy major into the US market. The sale, announced along with Statoil's quarterly results, involves a limited stake for the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) in four exploitation licences for deepwater blocks bought in 2007 and 2008. "On 29 October Statoil signed a farm down agreement with the Chinese company CNOOC involving a number of Statoil's leases in the Gulf of Mexico," Statoil said in its third-quarter earnings statement....

Twice an Exxon Valdez spill worth of oil seeps into the Gulf of Mexico every year, according to a new study that will be presented January 27 at the Ocean Sciences Meeting in San Antonio, Texas. But the oil isn't destroying habitats or wiping out ocean life. The ooze is a natural phenomena that's been going on for many thousands of years, according to Roger Mitchell, Vice President of Program Development at the Earth Satellite Corporation (EarthSat) in Rockville Md. "The wildlife have adapted and evolved and have no problem dealing with the oil," he said. Oil that finds its...

Oil enters the marine environment from human activity and natural seeps. A National Academy of Science study recently estimated that about 47 percent of the oil entering the marine environment is a result of natural seepage from subsurface reservoirs. The Gulf of Mexico is an area where such natural seepage occurs at a very high rate. Of the 200,000 metric tons of oil seepage that is thought to occur each year, about 150,000 metric tons escapes from the floor of the Gulf of Mexico.

BP has announced the discovery of yet another huge oil field in the Gulf of Mexico. At the same time, communist Russia is ready to work with Cuba to begin drilling 50 miles offshore Key West in the Gulf, and China is negotiating with Canada for the right to develop the vast oil resources in Alberta. Still, the Obama administration has remained resolute in opposing U.S. offshore drilling, Jerome Corsi's Red Alert reports. Found 250 miles southeast of Houston, the Tiber well was found under 4,132 feet (.8 mile) of water and was drilled to a total depth of 35,055...

Energy Policy: Ignoring peak-oil Cassandras, BP has made another giant oil find in the Gulf of Mexico. We're not running out of oil. Our government just doesn't want us to look for it.The world is running out of oil and good riddance. That's the environmentalists' mantra. But since the first well was drilled near Titusville, Pa., 150 years ago, the prophecy has gone unfulfilled. Trouble is, those darn greedy oil companies keep finding the stuff. Oil has been produced in the Gulf of Mexico since the first well was drilled by Kerr-McGee Corp. in 1947. Some of the wells are...

There may never be a better time or place to have an encounter with the world's largest fish than right now off the Alabama coast. For the last few weeks, unprecedented numbers of whale sharks have been seen cruising just a few miles off the beach, their broad snouts and tall dorsal fins breaking the surface as they swim lazily along, mouths agape, sucking in plankton.

Energy: As Russian attack submarines patrol our eastern seaboard, Moscow signs a deal to help Castro's Cuba drill for oil off the Florida coast. In Moscow and Havana, the cry is "Drill, Comrade, Drill!"Two Russian nuclear attack submarines have taken up positions along our East Coast in recent days, another sign of renewed assertiveness by the former communist giant. The move comes as Moscow inks a deal with the communist relic of Cuba to drill for oil we refuse to go after. The submarines are of the Akula class, a counterpart to the Los Angeles class attack subs of the...

Radarsat-1 satellite image with detail insets showing oil slicks in Gulf of Mexico following passage of Hurricane Katrina. Image taken on September 2, 2005. Whats In The Photo: Satellite radar image map showing oil apparently leaking from multiple sources, in a cluster of offshore platforms, on September 1, 2005 following Hurricane Katrina. Approximate center of source area 29.421989N/89.500911W (NAD27). Oil slicks are dark patches; platforms are very bright spots. Large bright areas are land.

MEXICO CITY — Mexico vowed to keep looking for a mysterious island that could extend its offshore oil claims after university researchers said they couldn't find it. "The island doesn't exist" in the area where it was shown on maps, a National Autonomous University of Mexico study concluded after conducting studies with underwater sensing devices and aerial reconnaissance in the area. "Isla Bermeja" appeared on maps from the 1700s as a speck of land off the northwest coast of the Yucatan peninsula. A group of Mexican legislators hoped the island would help their decade-long effort to fend off what they...

If the United States took the time to exploit our resources in the Gulf of Mexico we would generate 63 BILLION Gallons of Oil, 186 TRILLION Cubic Feet of natural Gas, generate $1.4 TRILLION dollars of government income, reduce our reliance on foreign energy by 42% and add countless jobs and other tax revenue to the economy. Gee Whiz, talk about a stimulus plan that will generate long term jobs, and bolster the economy. And that's just the Gulf. If all of our resources were used we could add $1.7 TRILLION to the economy and reduce imports by 80%. Source....

The federal agency that controls offshore drilling is planning for the opening of now-protected regions of the Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas exploration. With pressure mounting in Congress to increase domestic energy production, the U.S. Minerals Management Service wants to schedule lease sales for areas in the eastern and central Gulf that are now protected by a Congressional drilling ban. The schedule is laid out in a draft of the MMS' five-year plan for leasing in the Outer Continental Shelf, which the agency released on Friday. The document, which must be approved by President-elect Barack Obama, could govern...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- At least 49 offshore oil platforms, all with production of less than 1,000 barrels a day, were destroyed by Hurricane Ike as it raced across the Gulf of Mexico, and some may not be rebuilt, the Interior Department said Thursday. It said in the latest hurricane damage assessment that the platforms altogether accounted for 13,000 barrels of oil and 84 million cubic feet of natural gas a day. There are more than 3,800 production platforms in the Gulf producing 1.3 million barrels of oil and 7 billion cubic feet of gas each day. Most remain shut down.

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Government estimates of recoverable oil and natural gas in the central and western Gulf of Mexico, and in areas now off-limits to drilling including most of the East and West coasts, parts of Alaska and the eastern Gulf of Mexico: * Total oil 85.9 billion barrels * Total gas 419.9 trillion cubic feet * Oil in off-limits areas 18 billion barrels * Gas in off-limits areas 76 trillion cubic feet Source: U.S. Minerals Management Service Offshore oil and gas projections based on decades-old data By Brett Clanton Houston Chronicle The debate over whether to lift a 27-year-old ban on offshore...

Energy: Mexico and the United States engage in an energy dispute in the Gulf of Mexico. So why does Mexico want to protect and develop its offshore oil but we don't? On May 13, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., rose on the Senate floor to demand that arms sales to Saudi Arabia cease unless that kingdom "increases its oil production by one million barrels a day" — coincidentally the amount that would be flowing from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge today had President Clinton not vetoed drilling in its frozen tundra in 1995. In arguing that Saudi Arabia "holds the key...

EDMONTON - TransCanada Corp. alone plans to ship more than one million barrels a day of oilsands production to the United States with an expanded pipeline construction program unveiled today. The Alberta oil and gas delivery mainstay added a second leg to its new Keystone export service that would more than double the system's capacity and extend it to the Texas coast of the Gulf of Mexico. TransCanada president Hal Kvisle said the added route is a companion instead of competition for projects underway by Enbridge Inc., which is also advancing more than one million barrels daily in new oilsands...

MONTERREY, Mexico — For a voting bloc that doesn't control Congress, this nation's main leftist party is doing a good job of running the show. More than a week has passed since Democratic Revolution Party lawmakers draped a huge banner over the dais in the lower house announcing it was "CLOSED," like a construction site without a permit. On Thursday, they chained shut the chamber's doors and their allies in the streets forced senators, also evicted from their chamber, to cut short an attempt to hold a session elsewhere in Mexico City. Lawmakers eventually found alternative locations, reached a quorum...

Australian jellyfish that invaded the Gulf of Mexico seven years ago have made a "vigorous reappearance" this summer and threaten to devour native fish, scientists announced Friday. And in the Gulf, with plenty to eat, they grow to monster size. "In their native waters, they tend to be fist-sized," said Monty Graham of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. "Here in the Gulf, they can be a big as dinner plates.” The creatures can weigh up to 25 pounds. The Australian spotted jellyfish, Phyllorhiza punctata, are not dangerous to humans. But scientists say the invasion could pose a threat to the...

A 1,063-pound mako shark hooked close to shore in the Gulf of Mexico is being investigated as a possible world fishing record. The Sea Ya Later II was cobia fishing when its crew spotted the 12-foot 6-inch shark Wednesday afternoon between Pensacola Beach and Navarre Beach. The Mother Lode, a 45-foot charter boat, helped bring the shark in to Destin. The registered weight of 1,063 pounds makes the catch eligible for the world record in the 30-pound line class for a short-fin mako. The class record is a 997-pound, 11-ounce shark caught in Sydney, Australia, in 1995.

Lake Peigneur is in the heart of the Louisiana Bayou near New Iberia, which is a two hour drive from New Orleans. It was a freshwater lake that was up to 11 feet deep. However, that would all change on November 21, 1982. Diamond Crystal Salt Company operated a salt mine under the lake, while Texaco had a oil rig drilling down for oil. Most likely, it was a miscalculation that led up to this drastic change of Lake Peigneur. The drill hit the Diamond Crystal Salt Company's salt dome. The water starts to drain into the hole. The salt...

October 23, 2006 Editorial A Reason to Drill in the Gulf It is time to make a serious effort to save the vanishing wetlands and barrier islands along the coast of Louisiana. The best chance is a bill passed by the Senate that would guarantee Louisiana and three other coastal states a share of oil and gas revenues from drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The states would be expected to use the proceeds largely for coastal restoration and related projects. The House should adopt this measure in its present form during the coming lame-duck session, and President Bush...

The September 5th announcement by Chevron and Devon and Statoil of the huge Gulf of Mexico discovery should be clarified. The announcement claims that the discovery could increase US proven reserves of oil by as much as 50%. However, the total amounts are highly speculative. Additionally, the discovery likely won't impact oil markets but could potentially impact natural gas markets since the discovery is probably mainly natural gas. The area will not come online for at least 4 years and, at a full rate, for at least 7 years. Further, it is likely that there are political motivations behind the...

A trio of oil companies led by Chevron Corp. has tapped a petroleum pool deep beneath the Gulf of Mexico that has the potential to boost the nation's reserves by more than 50 percent. A test well indicates it could be the biggest domestic oil discovery since Alaska's Prudhoe Bay more than a generation ago. But the vast oil deposit about four miles beneath the ocean floor won't significantly reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil and won't help lower prices at the pump anytime soon. "It's a nice positive, but the U.S. still has a big difference between its...

MIAMI - Hurricane forecasters now say conditions are right for a low-pressure area off Mexico in the Gulf of Mexico to intensify, become better organized and possibly form into a tropical depression. That word from the National Hurricane Center in Miami at 11:30 a.m. Earlier today, the hurricane center just made a passing mention of the shower activity in the western gulf. As of late morning, the Miami forecasters say monitoring equipment on buoys in the gulf have picked up wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph. "A tropical depression could develop during the next day or so if...

Aboard the Discoverer Deep Seas, nearly three football fields long, the ship appears to be sitting idle on the turquoise blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Beneath the deck, there's no such tranquility. A 200-person crew of geologists, engineers and technicians work around the clock at dimly lit keyboards, controlling every move of an adjoining oil rig as it uses a 16-inch pipe to bore through the ocean floor. The Chevron Corp. crew is developing a deepwater oil field 190 miles off the Louisiana coast projected to produce 100,000 barrels a day by 2008 and 500 million barrels overall....

Floridians support lifting a ban on oil drilling 100 miles or more from the state's Gulf Coast beaches by a 51 to 42 percent majority, and many say rising gasoline prices have influenced their approval, a poll(Quinnipiac) released Thursday showed.

We begin with one overarching principle: those who aspire to lead this state must accept responsibility for its future. We can not see Florida only as it is today. We must envision it as it could and should be tomorrow and have a plan to turn that vision into reality. We have asked the members of the Florida House to make a public commitment to the people of Florida, about our future. A commitment that asks every Floridian to work hard and play by the rules. In return, we commit to creating a government whose primary mission will be to...

See for example this thread first. Off Louisiana they found oil And you know why that makes my blood boil? Enviro-libs shrill will not let us drill-- but Cuba can -- right by our own soil !

This hurricane is much worse than Katrina in terms of loss of life. Hot dry Saharan air mixes with warm moist air of the jungles of Africa interact sometimes in mid-August, which a cluster of thunderstorms forms and moves off to the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of western Africa. This cluster of thunderstorm of persisted over the open water. Most of the thunderstorms, which are tropical waves or easterly waves fade away harmlessly. However this one did not die out. The tropical wave gains strength and becomes a tropical depression and tropical storm. Then this storm makes landfall over...

Congressman Jim Davis (who is running for Governor) is holding a hearing on Oil Drilling in the Gulf of Mexico at 9AM this Monday morning at the Port Authority Boardroom in Tampa, Florida (Channelside Drive near the Aquarium). The usual suspects are sure to stack the conversation with the same tired environmental fear-mongering. You see, you and your SUV are the problem, not supply controls by the cartels. Freepers, this is an economic and national security issue of the first magnitude. $3.00 per gallon gas (OR MORE) is a certainty unless we act. The lie to the environmental protection argument...

If thought Hurricane Katrina could destroy the city of New Orleans or the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900 did to Galveston. There was another strong hurricane that hit Texas in 1886. This hurricane hit the town of Indianola, which is located on the Gulf Coast. It was a thriving port town, second to Galveston. Indianola was established in 1846 in Calhoun County. It was hit by a hurricane on September 15, 1875, which claimed hundreds of lives. However, it quickly rebuilt, but on a smaller scale. Sometimes in early August, a cluster of thunderstorms moved off the coast of Africa...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil climbed further on Tuesday as a militant threat to Nigerian oil exports and Iran's standoff with the West over its nuclear ambitions kept the market worried about supply disruptions. London Brent crude for March was up 27 cents to $63.45 a barrel by 0329 GMT, after rising 58 cents on Monday. U.S. light crude for February jumped 86 cents to $64.78 in catch-up gains after being closed for a national holiday on Monday. U.S. crude earlier touched $64.95 a barrel, its highest since October 4. Crude flows from Nigeria, the world's eighth-largest oil exporter, are being...

AIF's Bishop cited federal government statistics suggesting the Gulf contains enough natural gas to heat more than 100 million homes for 60 years, and enough petroleum to fuel almost 85 million cars for 35 years.TALLAHASSEE - One of Florida's most influential business groups on Monday endorsed a plan to expand oil and gas drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Associated Industries of Florida said Monday that it supports federal legislation introduced by Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., that was negotiated with Gov. Jeb Bush. It would open the eastern Gulf to exploration and drilling while maintaining a 125-mile barrier around...

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Crude oil futures fell Tuesday as unseasonably mild weather along the U.S. East Coast spurred hopes that this year's Northern Hemisphere winter could be warmer than expected, weakening demand for heating fuel. Light, sweet crude for January delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange lost 34 cents to US$57.02 a barrel in Asian electronic trading. The contract fell US$1.36 to settle at US$57.35 a barrel Monday. In London, January Brent fell 53 cents to US$54.35 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. In recent weeks, the market has been fixated on weather patterns in the northeastern U.S.,...

SINGAPORE - Oil futures fell nearly a dollar, dropping below $58 a barrel, as forecasters predicted warmer weather early this week in the U.S. Northeast, the world's largest heating oil market, easing fears of a spike in fuel demand. Light, sweet crude for January delivery slipped 86 cents to $57.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in electronic trading late afternoon in Singapore. In London, January Brent crude rose 29 cents to $55.30 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. "The market's reacting to forecasts that heating oil demand will be 20 percent below normal this week, giving...

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Oil dipped to a four-month low under $57 a barrel on Wednesday as dealers braced for a fresh increase in U.S. oil inventories amid unseasonally warm weather. U.S. crude fell as low as $56.82 a barrel in electronic trading, its weakest since July 21. It was trading down 2 cents at $56.96 a barrel by 0746 GMT, extending an 11-week slump that has wiped 20 percent or nearly $14 off prices. London Brent crude was down 3 cents at $55.15. Although some analysts continue to predict a turnaround once temperatures fall and if OPEC opts to cut...

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Crude oil futures drifted lower Tuesday as an International Energy Agency official said high pump prices have hurt fuel demand. Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell 6 cents to US$57.63 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract Monday rose 16 cents to settle at US$57.69. In London, December Brent crude fell 8 cents to US$54.65 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. High oil prices have started dampening global demand and the slowdown in consumption growth could in turn push prices lower, Noe Van Hulst, the International Energy Agency's...

SINGAPORE - Crude oil futures opened the week slightly higher, briefly rising above $58 a barrel, on predictions a cold snap was headed for the northeastern United States, the world's biggest winter heating fuel market. Light, sweet crude for December delivery rose as much as 57 cents to $58.10 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, before slipping to $57.78. The contract fell to $56.93 a barrel last week before closing at $57.53 Friday. December Brent crude on London's International Petroleum Exchange was 20 cents higher at $55.19 a barrel. Friday's close was the benchmark contract's...

SINGAPORE - Crude oil futures slipped further below $58 a barrel Friday amid reports of rising supply and falling demand. Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell 9 cents to $57.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in electronic trading in Singapore. On Thursday, the contract fell to $57.80, the lowest level for the front-month contract since July 21. The U.S. Energy Information Administration released data that showed natural gas in storage grew more than expected last week, surpassing a level that many analysts believe is necessary to meet winter demand. The Paris-based International Energy Agency said in...

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Crude oil prices held steady just below US$60 a barrel on Wednesday after predictions of warmer weather in the United States sparked a big drop two days earlier. Market experts said prospects for rising demand could keep prices at current levels. Light, sweet crude for December delivery gained 5 cent to US$59.90 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Tuesday, the contract rose 9 cents to settle at $59.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, where a day earlier they had fallen nearly US$1.50 to a level about 15 percent...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil shed nearly a dollar on Monday, sinking below $60 after Hurricane Wilma bypassed storm-battered U.S. oil and gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. U.S. light crude fell as low as $59.56 a barrel, the lowest since July 28. It was down 93 cents by 0922 GMT to $59.70, reversing a gain of 61 cents on Friday on fears Wilma could hinder the recovery of oil operations in the Gulf. Prices were 16 percent below the record-high of $70.85 a barrel struck in late August in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. London Brent crude lost 96...

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell $1 a barrel on Tuesday as a threatened hurricane was expected to miss rigs and refineries in the U.S. Gulf and the world's top banker said record prices were eroding demand. U.S. crude lost 98 cents to $63.38 a barrel by 1125 GMT, after a gain of 2.8 percent on Monday. London Brent crude was $1.06 down at $59.51 a barrel. Tropical Storm Wilma gained strength in the Caribbean Sea and was expected to become a full-blown hurricane, but its path was set to shift east toward Florida and away from the heart of U.S....

Gov. Jeb Bush said Tuesday he supports federal legislation allowing drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico...< Bush cited new political realities... ...The current legislation that the governor is helping to shape would allow drilling in Lease Sale 181, which currently is off-limits to oil and gas exploration until 2007... ..."I could sit on the sidelines... That's how politicians act," [Jeb] said. "Or we could try to establish a long-term protection of our coastline, and I've opted to be engaged to try to protect Florida's coastline rather than be politically correct." Legislation by Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., chairman of the...

My brother sent me these. They are of offshore drilling rigs in the Gulf. He says that there were Water Moccasins on the rigs after Ivan, too. Interesting.... I didn't know Water Moccasins lived that far out in the ocean. Can you imagine the kind of force that it took to mangle hardened piping in such a way? Amazing. KatrinaRig1KatrinaRig2KatrinaSnake1KatrinaSnake2KatrinaSnake3KatrinaSnake4KatrinaSnake5KatrinaSnake6KatrinaSnake7

Does anyone see what I see that is not on weathernews yet?

Even as relief efforts continue for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, attention is turning in some quarters to the immense task of cleaning up ravaged areas. New Orleans was overrun with dirty water contaminated by waste and chemicals. The environmental impact of Katrina is likely to be severe. Hurricanes usually leave some imprint on the environment long after they dissipate, such as eroded beaches and flattened trees. But experts say Katrina's environmental damage puts her in a class by herself. Hugh Kaufman, senior policy analyst at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said the clean-up costs are likely to be staggering....

My engineering training kicked in when I saw the NASA photographs from space of New Orleans, and of the whole Gulf Coast of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. There is an obvious solution to the New Orleans problem. The Dutch have already demonstrated it. Take New Orleans as the first and worst example. The pumps, levees and canals intended to protect New Orleans have been controlled by local authorities. They left three of the four pumping stations dependent on the local power grid. Hellooo. The precise time those pumps are most needed is during a storm when the local power grid...

BALTIMORE, Aug. 31-The U.S.N.S. Comfort, one of two hospital ships in the Navy, was preparing today to sail from here at top speed for the Gulf Coast to provide medical services and disaster relief in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The activation of the U.S.N.S. Comfort was part of a mobilization effort by the Pentagon. It included the active deployment of four Navy vessels that left Virginia today for the Gulf of Mexico. The four ships are transporting a total of six disaster-relief teams, including medical personnel and equipment, to the Gulf. The U.S.S. Bataan, already based in the Gulf,...

Standing 60 feet above sea level on this oil platform 130 miles southeast of New Orleans, Rab Bruce pointed to where the huge wave slammed into a tangle of grated steel and multicolor pipes. The Petronius deep-water platform, which was hit by a 90-foot wave during Hurricane Ivan last September, is now back on line. "I was just in shock at the damage," said Mr. Bruce, a longtime field coordinator on Chevron's Petronius deepwater platform, which was hit by a 90-foot wave during Hurricane Ivan last September. "I had never seen anything like this. Everything was busted, dangling and messed...