Geoscience Policy Monthly Review
january 2015
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energy
Atlantic Ocean opened for outer continental shelf oil and gas leasing
January 27, 2015
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced its 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing program which includes plans to open the Atlantic Ocean for oil and gas leasing. The 2012-2017 only includes oil and gas development in the Gulf of Mexico and Arctic Ocean. Although portions of the Atlantic Ocean are included in the plan, there is no guarantee that the region will be leased. Virginia currently does not have a revenue-share system like that of Gulf Coast states that would allow them to share in offshore oil development revenue.
Many Republicans expressed concern that the new plan is too restrained, excluding potential resources in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Northern Atlantic, and the Pacific Ocean. Industry members also voiced concerns that the plan contains too little acreage. Some Eastern seaboard Democrats oppose the plan, citing the potential impact of an oil spill, similar to the Deepwater Horizon spill, on their beaches, fishermen, and tourism, while others favor the jobs that new leases would create.
Source: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, E&E News
Updated 2/11/15
President and federal agencies propose new restrictions, leases in Arctic
January 29, 2015
In late January, the Obama administration and federal agencies proposed new policies governing Arctic oil and gas exploration. These policies restrict activities in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and open up new leases in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. The proposed polices received both praise and opposition from members of Congress, industry, and environmentalists.
On January 25th, the Obama administration proposed designating 12 million acres of ANWR as wilderness following the release of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) Comprehensive Conservation Plan and final impact statement. This designation would ban oil and gas development, road construction, and other activities. Alaskan members of Congress strongly opposed to this proposal, which Senator Lisa Murkowski called an attack on Alaskan sovereignty.
Following the Administration’s ANWR recommendations, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced its 2017-2022 offshore leasing plan. The plan, released January 29, includes opening up leases in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas off Alaska, while protecting Barrow Canyon and Hanna Shoal, which are used by bowhead whales and walruses respectively. The leasing plan was met with frustration from many members of industry who feel it offers too few new leasing locations. Many Republicans feel the plan covers too small an area and contains too many restrictions, while many Democrats oppose Arctic drilling in general, arguing the likelihood of oil spills.
Sources: Arctic Council, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, E&E News, the White House, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Updated 2/11/15
Leasing for offshore wind farms sells half of allotments
January 29, 2015
On January 29, the Department of the Interior (DOI) held the largest sale of federal waters for offshore wind development with 742,000 acres open for bidding. Two companies, Offshore MW LLC and RES America Inc., bought a total of 354,000 acres of land near Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts for a price tag of $448,000 dollars. Though the sale nearly doubles the area leased by DOI for renewable energy development, two additional lease tracts available for sale received no bids, leaving leases on just over half the area offered unsold.
Earlier in January, two utilities terminated their agreements to purchase power from Cape Wind, the nation’s first-ever offshore wind farm located off the coast of Massachusetts, after it failed to reach a financial milestone. On January 21, Cape Wind was suspended from participating in New England’s wholesale energy markets. ISO New England, the regional transmission organization responsible for moving electricity over Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, did not give a concrete reason behind Cape Wind’s suspension.
Source: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, E&E News
Updated 2/11/15
Process of hydraulic fracturing linked to Ohio earthquakes
January 5, 2015
A report released January 5 by the Seismological Society of America (SSA) links hydraulic fracturing to earthquakes experienced in Ohio in 2014. Hydraulic fracturing is the process of injecting pressurized fluids into wellbores to open fractures in rock that release natural gas or petroleum products. In the past, the disposal of wastewater from hydraulic fracturing and other oil and gas acquiring processes has been linked to earthquakes, including a magnitude-5.7 earthquake east of Oklahoma City in 2011. However, the SSA study reveals a connection between the actual process of hydraulic fracturing and earthquakes, not just byproducts such as wastewater injection. This report comes shortly after the release of data showing Oklahoma to be one of the most earthquake-shaken states, with more than 560 quakes in 2014.
The SSA study found that in Poland Township, Ohio, it appears that the process of hydraulic fracturing activated a previously unknown fault, generating earthquakes up to magnitude-3.0. To connect the earthquakes with specific hydraulic fracturing events, scientists compared the timing of shaking with the timing of hydraulic fracturing, a technique called ‘template matching’. In analyzing the earthquakes, scientists were also able to outline the location of the previously unknown fault.
Sources: The Earth Institute Columbia University, E&E News, The Geological Society of America, Seismological Society of America
Updated 2/11/15