News
National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling
hold first public meeting. http://www.oilspillcommission.gov/
Damaged pipeline shuts down East Belumut
Published: Jul 12, 2010 Offshore staff
HOUSTON -- An oil pipeline offshore peninsular Malaysia has been damaged by an unidentified vessel, according to operator Newfield Exploration.
The pipeline connects the East Belumut platform on license PM 323 to the Tinggi platform, 17 mi (27 km) distance. Production from the field has had to be shut in, but the leak has been isolated.
East Belumut is 160 mi (257 km) offshore in 240 ft (73 m) of water. Newfield says the field was producing around 20,000 b/d of oil prior to shut-in. Emergency response teams are in place at the site.
Newfield estimates that repairs to the pipeline will take six to eight weeks before East Belumut is restored to production.
07/12/2010
Cape Wind Project Approved
By Juliet EilperinThursday, April 29, 2010
Washington Post
Ending a nearly decade-long political battle over installing wind turbines in the waters just off Cape Cod, the federal government approved the first offshore wind farm in the United States on Wednesday, a move that could pave the way for significant offshore wind development elsewhere in the nation. Read More...
About 18,000 gallons of crude spill in La. refuge
By Associated Press/AP Online
4/5/2010
NEW ORLEANS - Authorities say a pipeline has spilled 18,000 gallons of crude oil into a canal in a wildlife refuge about 60 miles southeast of New Orleans.
There was no immediate word about the extent of damage at the Delta National Wildlife Refuge.
The Coast Guard says Chevron Pipe Line Co. has closed off the leaking section and investigators are evaluating the spill from a plane.
The Coast Guard says it learned about the spill about 1 a.m. Tuesday and is investigating the cause.
The refuge covers nearly 49,000 acres of marsh in Plaquemines Parish, near the mouth of the Mississippi River. It holds a number of bird rookeries and provides a place for migratory birds to rest as well as winter habitat for ducks and other wild fowl.
BP - Transocean Incident US Coast Guard has set up a site for updates regarding the BP - Transocean Drilling Incident Gulf of Mexico Incident.
Dredge Accident
NEW ORLEANS - Crewmembers from Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Morgan City respond to a ruptured pipeline in Atchafalaya Channel in the Gulf of Mexico, Feb. 24, 2010. MSU Morgan City responded with a team of investigators, inspectors and pollution personnel. Video provided by Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Morgan City.
Offshore Oil Drilling Might Make environmental Sense
By Eric SmithFriday, April 2, 2010
The Obama administration sparked an uproar this week when it approved new oil and gas drilling in U.S. waters off the coasts of Virginia, other parts of the mid- and south Atlantic, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and parts of Alaska. Drilling remains off-limits near New Jersey and California, but Interior Secretary Ken Salazar called the decision "a new direction" in energy policy. Read More...
Big oil spill drill hailed a success
By Charles McMahon
cmcmahon@fosters.com Friday, March 26, 2010 PORTSMOUTH — Coast Guard officials and 50 other representatives from federal, state and commercial organizations concluded a two-day triennial Spill of National Significance Exercise exercise Thursday and are hailing the event as a total success.
Known as "SONS 2010," the full-scale exercise was designed to test responses to a "Spill of National Significance." Read More...
SGA Offshore Gas Operations Conference and Exhibit
Galveston, TX
June 16-18, 2009
Conference Chairman: Tommy McNulty, Spectra Energy
Conference Vice Chairman: Glenn Jasek, Williams Gas Pipeline
The 2009 Southern Gas Association Offshore Gas Operations Conference and Exhibit was held at the Moody Gardens Hotel and attracted 80 natural gas operations industry professionals. Presentations featuring pertinent information regarding future hurricane activity that may affect the natural gas industry in 2009, a presentation which focused on the effects of natural gas storage, an MMS update, a presentation that focused on the current state of affairs in the USA and the effects on the natural gas industry, a panel discussion that detailed preparation and post-storm recovery experiences following major hurricanes, breakout sessions, and an exhibit. Read More...
Tyco Transmits 40G Signal on Trans Pacific Cable
June 2009 Sea Technology Magazine. Tyco Telecommunications (Morristown, New Jersey) recently announced the successful demonstration of a 40 gigabit per second transmission over ultra-long haul distances. The test was conducted using dark fibers on the existing Tata Communications (Mumbai, India) TGN-Pacific submarine cable system that links Tokyo, Japan, to multiple U.S. West Coast city points of presence. Read More...
Repair crews reach damaged cables in Mediterranean
Mon, Dec. 22, 2008 Fort Worth Star Telegram By ADAM SCHRECK
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- A robotic submarine searched beneath the Mediterranean on Sunday for damaged communications cables, two days after Web and telephone access was knocked out for much of the Middle East. Telecommunication providers from Cairo to Dubai continued Sunday to scramble to reroute voice and data traffic through potentially costly detours in Asia and North America after the lines running under the Mediterranean Sea were damaged Friday.
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MMS takes first step for acreage offshore Virgina
WASHINGTON, DC – The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has taken the first step in the multi-year leasing process to hold a sale for acreage offshore Virginia. The Call for Information and Interest/Nominations and Notice of Intent (Call/NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be published in the November 13th Federal Register, beginning a 45-day public comment period.
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Texas Awards First Competitive Wind Leases in the United States
Land Office awards bids on four tracts in Gulf of Mexico. Jerry Patterson, Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office, today awarded the first four competitively bid leases for offshore wind power in the nation's history.
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EDITORIAL: Watching the web [Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas]
Mar. 8, 2008--More than 95 percent of all transoceanic telephone and Internet communications flow at the speed of light through several hundred thousand miles of privately owned submarine cable that's only about the width of a finger.
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GROUP ASKS FCC TO SCRAP NEW CABLE LANDING LICENSE REGULATIONS
The North American Submarine Cable Assocation (NASCA) has asked the FCC to reconsider its new cable landing license rules, calling them "unnecessary," legally "flawed," and "unworkable at a practical level." In a consolidated petition for reconsideration and petition to defer the effective date of a new certification requirement filed yesterday in International docket 04-47, the group also said the new rules "effectively gut the Commission's submarine cable streamlining rules without any identificable regulatory benefit."
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Catch The Energy!
Americans suddenly are serious about finding alternative forms of energy. We’re seeking to reduce our need for coal, oil and natural gas, which contribute to pollution and climate change. That’s why utilities, industry and Wall Street firms are investing in “renewables”—energy that is quickly replenished by a natural process, like sunlight. With oil selling at about $100 a barrel and the U.S. dependent on imports from unstable countries, there also are economic and security reasons to develop new energy. Among the sources entrepreneurs are exploring are geothermal, solar and wind power. And with about 70% of the Earth’s surface covered by water, they’re becoming interested in what the tides, oceans, river currents and waves can yield. Here are some of the more unusual projects gearing up around the nation.
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