Back in April, I discussed the Biden administration’s imposed moratorium on new federal leases in the Gulf of Mexico and the uncertainty that it would create. I’ve stated before that prior to this moratorium, I fully expected deepwater drilling activity to increase into the latter half of 2021 with a further increases into 2022 and 2023….
Oil prices have continued to rally due to increasing demand and markets are forecasting for continued demand growth. These price increases have been driven almost entirely by progress by the U.S., Europe, and Britain in reopening their economies as the pandemic comes under control with mass vaccinations. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude prices have recently stabilized…
The Biden Administration’s temporary moratorium on new federal leases in the Gulf of Mexico has created some uncertainty about the future of drilling activity our region. It’s impossible to know what will happen, but it’s very hard to believe that the moratorium will persist up to the 2022 midterm elections. However, we can make some…
It is hard to believe that we are now a year removed from the declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. Vaccinations are occurring at a global scale yet it is still not clear when life will return to “normal.” Depending on where you live, you may be further down the road to normal life…
Previously, I expressed my optimism in a recovering deepwater Gulf of Mexico with anticipated increased rig activity likely in 2022. There are additional factors to consider (outside of the US GOM) that can also have positive impacts on the US GOM deepwater market over the next several quarters. The level of activity in Guyana and Suriname is continuing…
One year ago today, I was very optimistic about the direction and momentum of the offshore oil and gas industry. The deepwater rig count had increased to 22 and there were fewer than four additional rigs expected to begin drilling before the year was out. Vessel day rates were trending up and by the end of…
2020 has been a year of years, and it will be interesting to see how history reflects upon this year. So much of what we have lost this year can be contributed to COVID-19, yet even though our world has changed in enormous ways, we still find ourselves holding winning hands. Our Four Winning Hands…
The oil and gas industry is evolving into the energy industry as renewable energy sources become more widely available across developed countries. However, as G. Allen Brooks points out in his December edition of “Musings from the Oil Patch,” the dependability of renewables is proving to be quite problematic. In Western Europe in particular, this time…
November 18th marked the end US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) lease sale no. 256. This was the first lease sale since March of this year and the results provide a positive long-term outlook for the offshore oil and gas industry in the US GOM. With broad participation, the results of the lease were significantly better that…
In my last blog post, I touched on the changing oil and gas landscape due to the growing focus on net zero carbon targets. This is driving a lot of focus to the offshore wind sector. Interestingly, this is also prompting many companies to turn not just their focus but actual investments into this market as…