offshore drilling

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Biden Makes 'Epic' 11th-Hour Move on Offshore Drilling

President bans it across major swath of US, in mandate that Trump will have a tough time undoing

(Newser) - With just two weeks before he hands the keys to the White House to Donald Trump, President Biden is taking some last-minute steps to push back on climate change, including a new ban on offshore oil and gas drilling in most federal waters, reports the BBC . The move made under...

In Ida's Wake, 100 Say They're Stranded Aboard Ship

Crew endured 80-foot waves as hurricane passed by

(Newser) - More than 100 men on a drill ship in the Gulf of Mexico say they endured 80-foot waves as Hurricane Ida passed by and are now stranded, with no clue when they'll be rescued. The crew aboard Noble Corporation's Globetrotter II drill ship, about 100 miles off Louisiana,...

Trump Announces U-Turn on New Offshore Drilling

'Trump is the great environmentalist,' he says

(Newser) - President Trump expanded a ban on new offshore drilling Tuesday, an election-year reversal likely to appeal to voters in Florida and other coastal states. Two years ago, Trump took steps to vastly expand offshore drilling from coast to coast. "This protects your beautiful gulf and your beautiful ocean, and...

Trump Plans to Open 90% of Offshore Land to Drilling

'Beyond reckless,' says one environmentalist

(Newser) - In a move environmental groups are calling "absolutely radical" and "beyond reckless," the Trump administration is planning the largest sale on leases for offshore drilling in US history. CNBC reports the proposal, announced Thursday by Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, would open 90% of the US'...

Gov't to Begin Seismic Surveys in Atlantic in Drilling Push

New drilling would be off the coasts of Virginia, Georgia, and the Carolinas

(Newser) - The Trump administration said Wednesday it is moving forward on seismic surveys in the Atlantic Ocean, the first step toward offshore drilling in a region where it has been blocked for decades, the AP reports. The Interior Department said it is reviewing six applications by energy companies that were rejected...

Obama Makes It Much Harder for Trump to Drill in the Arctic

Presidents uses 1953 law to ban oil leases in much of Arctic, Atlantic

(Newser) - President Obama has designated the bulk of US-owned waters in the Arctic Ocean and certain areas in the Atlantic Ocean as indefinitely off limits to future oil and gas leasing, the AP reports. The move on Tuesday helps put some finishing touches on Obama's environmental legacy while also testing...

US Government Halts New Offshore Arctic Drilling

Government blames sinking oil prices and Shell's lack of success in the Arctic Ocean

(Newser) - In bad news for the Alaskan economy but good news for polar bears, the US government blocked new offshore drilling in Alaska's Arctic Ocean and refused to extend two existing leases for Arctic drilling on Friday, the New York Times reports. The Interior Department cancelled auctions for drilling rights...

In Huge Blow, Shell Gives Up on Offshore Arctic Drilling

Company blames regulation, disappointing results

(Newser) - Royal Dutch Shell says it will cease exploration in Arctic waters off Alaska's coast following disappointing results from an exploratory well backed by billions in investment and years of work. This is a huge blow to Shell, which was counting on offshore drilling in Alaska to help it drive...

White House Conditionally Approves Shell's Arctic Drilling

Permits still needed, but drilling could start this summer

(Newser) - In a big victory for the petroleum industry, Shell has been granted conditional White House approval to start drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic this summer, the New York Times reports. "We have taken a thoughtful approach to carefully considering potential exploration in the Chukchi Sea, recognizing...

Gas Well Ablaze in Gulf After Blowout

Fire still burning; 44 evacuated but no one injured

(Newser) - A natural gas well is burning uncontrollably off the coast of Louisiana today, after a gas blowout caught fire yesterday, the AP reports. All 44 workers aboard evacuated when the gas leak started earlier in the day, and no one was aboard the well when it ignited at around 10:...

New Gulf Leases Could Yield 1B Barrels of Oil

38M acres set for auction

(Newser) - The US is nearly ready to auction off oil and gas drilling leases for up to 38 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico—an area which could yield some 1 billion barrels of oil and 4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, the Wall Street Journal reports. The March...

Feds Launch Urgent Review of Arctic Drilling

Alaska accident renews debate on Shell exploration

(Newser) - An accident involving a Shell drill ship in Alaskan waters has prompted an urgent Interior Department review of oil and gas activities in Arctic waters. The running aground of the Kulluk rig is just the latest in a series of accidents and blunders involving Shell equipment in the region and...

Shell Drilling Ship Runs Aground off Alaska

Ship is carrying 150K gallons of diesel

(Newser) - Royal Dutch Shell's foray into Arctic offshore drilling has suffered a serious setback after one of its two Alaskan drilling rigs ran aground off a small island while trying to escape a fierce storm. The Kulluk drilling ship grounded last night on rocks off the southeast side of Sitkalidak,...

Shell Sues Greens Over Arctic Drilling

Preemptive lawsuit seeks to avoid challenges to cleanup plan

(Newser) - Lawyers for Shell filed suit against more than a dozen environmental groups yesterday over Arctic drilling. The suit, an unusual preemptive legal strike, seeks to head off future lawsuits by having a federal court declare that Shell's Arctic oil spill response plan for upcoming drilling complies with the law,...

Guess Who's Restarting Deepwater Drilling?

BP cuts deal with US to restart 10 wells by July

(Newser) - What with Transocean today patting itself on the back for its "best year in safety performance in our company's history," it only follows that BP will return to deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico this summer. The oil giant has cut a deal with the US government...

Transocean Execs Land Fat Safety Bonuses
 Transocean Execs 
 Land Fat Safety Bonuses 
WHAT OIL SPILL?
Apr 3, 2011 7:26 AM CDT

Transocean Execs Land Fat Safety Bonuses

Company had 'best year in safety performance'

(Newser) - That minor explosion that killed 11 people and dumped 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico aside, it seems Transocean had a banner year in terms of safety. And to celebrate the "best year in safety performance in our company's history"—despite noting the "...

Feds: Big Oil Not Using the Leases They Have

Interior Department issues report to push back against complaints

(Newser) - With oil companies and Republicans criticizing the Obama administration for being too slow to issue new offshore drilling permits in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the Interior Department hit back with a report yesterday revealing that the industry isn’t using the majority of the leases it already...

US Won't Lift Ban on Offshore Gulf Drilling

It's a reversal of a pre-BP decision

(Newser) - In a reversal, the Obama administration said today it will not pursue offshore drilling off the East Coast of the US and the eastern Gulf of Mexico. A senior administration said that because of the BP oil spill, the Interior Department will not propose any new oil drilling in waters...

US Lifts Moratorium on Drilling Early

Feds again allow deepwater work in Gulf

(Newser) - The government's controversial moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico is ending more than a month early. The Interior Department lifted the ban this afternoon, opening the way for drilling to resume within weeks, the AP reports. The feds are satisfied that new rules put into place will...

Gulf Blaze Rattles Oil Industry

Latest accident adds to calls for more regulation

(Newser) - The latest fire on an oil and gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico yesterday may not have spilled more oil into the Gulf , but it has further polluted the industry's image. The accident is going to make it harder for the industry to argue that the Deepwater Horizon disaster...

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