Saturday, March 21, 2026

Department Of The Interior News

BP's Kaskida project is approved by the US, a spokesperson said.

A company spokesperson said in an emailed statement sent late Friday that the Trump administration has approved the Kaskida Project in the Gulf of Mexico. The $5 billion investment would unlock 10 billion barrels in resources that BP has discovered in the Paleogene field of the U.S. Gulf according to the spokesperson. A statement stated that the U.S. Department?of the Interior's…

Sunrise Wind, Orsted, challenges US suspension of wind lease

Denmark's Orsted said on Wednesday that its unit Sunrise Wind will challenge the U.S. Government's 'decision' last month to suspend their offshore wind project lease, and seek a court order. On December 22, the U.S. East Coast announced that it had leased five large offshore wind projects currently under construction. Orsted stated that the Sunrise Wind Project was?about 45%complete.

Equinor challenges US Order to Suspend Empire Wind Project

Norwegian energy group Equinor announced on Friday that it had filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. district?court for the District of?Columbia?challenging a U.S. Department of the Interior's order to suspend the Empire Wind project. Equinor added: "As part in that case, Empire will seek a preliminary order and allow construction to proceed while the litigation continues."…

Orsted contests US stoppage of its $5 Billion offshore wind project

Orsted, a Danish company, said it would seek an injunction to stop its $5 billion offshore wind project after the U.S. government suspended the lease of its Revolution Wind joint-venture. The Trump Administration suspended on Monday leases?for?five large offshore projects that are currently under construction off of the U.S. East Coast due to what it called "national security concerns", sending shares in offshore wind companies plummeting.

Democratic Governors ask Trump Administration to lift the freeze on offshore Wind Projects

Four Democratic Governors wrote to U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum wrote to the Trump Administration on Wednesday, requesting that it lift the halt placed on 'five offshore wind project on the U.S. East Coast. On Monday, the Department of the Interior attributed the suspension of leases on the projects to concerns about national security. New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont as well as Massachusetts Governor Maura healey…

Equinor has announced that it will comply with the stop-work order issued by the US Department of Energy for offshore wind projects

OSLO, December 22 - Norwegian Energy Group Equinor announced?on Sunday that it was complying?with a?stopwork order issued by the U.S. regarding its Empire Wind 1 off shore wind project and engaging authorities. On Monday, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced that it had suspended leases for five large-scale offshore projects due to national security concerns. Equinor…

Developer says US stoppage of Rhode Island offshore wind is unjustified

According to court documents filed Thursday, the owners of Revolution Wind claimed that the reasons given by the Trump administration for stopping the work on their Rhode Island offshore windfarm were "factually inaccurate" and revealed only after the government had ordered the project to be halted. The filing at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia was part…

US adopts emergency procedures to speed up geothermal energy development

The U.S. Department of the Interior announced on Friday that it would implement emergency permitting procedures in order to expedite the review of geothermal development projects. Three projects in Nevada, led by Ormat and funded in 2020 under the first Trump administration as part of research and development, will be expedited. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum stated that…

Trump's emergency move is aimed at cutting approval time for energy projects from 28 days to 28

The Trump administration announced on Wednesday that it would implement a process of emergency permitting for energy and mining on federal land, cutting approval times from months or even years down to just 28 days. The U.S. Department of the Interior's move comes in response to the President Donald Trump declaration of a national energy emergency, which he issued on his first official day of office.

Senate confirms Chris Wright, a fracking executive, as Trump's Energy Secretary

The U.S. Senate confirmed Chris Wright as President Donald Trump's Energy Secretary on Monday. Wright is a fracking executive. Seven Democrats and an Independent who caucuses alongside Democrats crossed the aisle. Wright, 60 years old, has been the CEO of Liberty Energy, since 2011. He announced that he would step down as soon as the confirmation was received. In a Liberty Energy report published last year…

BOEM ID's Environmental Measures for NY Bight Wind

In support of the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) today issued a Record of Decision identifying environmental measures expected to be applied to future wind energy development of the six lease areas offshore New York and New Jersey in an area known as the New York Bight.

Texas sues Biden Administration over lizards' endangered status, citing oil industry threat

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration Monday, claiming that the decision to declare the dunes sagebrush Lizard as an endangered species could harm property owners or energy production. Paxton, who is a Republican, claimed that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service based its final rule, adopted on May 20, on inaccurate data and arbitrary assumptions regarding the future of the lizard.

Offshore Energy Production & the World Economy

Copyright NickEyes/AdobeStock

As the price of gas continues to seemingly hold steady at around three dollars a gallon, the pocketbooks of Americans continue to suffer. Regretfully, due to global conflict and the outbreak of wars across Europe and the Middle East, oil prices are continuing to climb upwards, troubled by geopolitical conflict and fears of a potential shutdown of international oil and gas fields.Thankfully…

Protecting Offshore Energy Sources via USV

Photo courtesy Mr. Dave Meron

When most people discuss energy sources such as fossil fuel and green energy, it is from an “either-or” perspective. Some favor the former while others advocate for the latter. However, what is often lost in the arguments on both sides is that regardless of the type of energy being extracted or generated, those platforms that are offshore, especially oil rigs, oil and gas pipelines…

Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale Set for March

U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt announced that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will offer over 78 million acres for a region-wide lease sale scheduled for March 18, 2020, as part of President Trump’s America First Offshore Energy Strategy.The sale would include all available unleased areas in the federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Department…

U.S. Needs to Revive Shallow-Water GoM E&P

The US should define the Gulf of Mexico Shallow Water Province as a distinct entity to avoid stranding more than $20 billion of its oil and gas resource, said a new research.According to a research from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) the GOM Shallow Water Province, comprised of water less than 200 meters deep…

OP/ED: Offshore Wind

Nicolette Nye, Vice President of Communications and Member Development of the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) in Washington, DC.

Set to Soar, Taking Offshore Support Industry With it.Offshore energy development is opening a new front in the United States -- the Atlantic seaboard, with strong winds, a shallow continental shelf and a proximity to dense population centers is driving strong interest in offshore wind development. The offshore oil and gas supply chain stands to benefit in a big way from billions in coming investment. In fact, it is already playing a role.

BOEM Announces New GoM Lease Sale

The US Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) plans to offer about 78 million acres in a region-wide Gulf of Mexico lease sale scheduled for March 2020.Lease Sale 254, which would include all unleased areas in federal waters in the gulf that are not subject to congressional moratorium, will be the sixth held under the 2017-22 federal OCS leasing program…

Milito Named NOIA President

Erik Milito (Photo: NOIA)

Veteran energy industry association executive Erik Milito has been named as the new president of the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) and will to take the helm of the offshore energy association effective November 1, 2019.“Erik is a strong leader and an effective communicator, qualities that make him a great fit for NOIA President and will serve our membership well.

US Offshore Wind Pipeline Reach 25.8GW

The U.S. offshore wind project development pipeline grew to a potential generating capacity of 25,824 MW across 13 states, including the Block Island Wind Farm commissioned in 2016.Projects totaling 21,225 MW have exclusive site control, meaning the developer has a lease or other contract to develop the site. Most of these projects are on the Eastern seaboard, with one in the Great Lakes…