industryterm:oil and gas operations

U.S. Customs Agency Rules Against Jones Act Action - Foreign-Flag Construction Vessels to Stay in GoM – gCaptain
▻http://gcaptain.com/u-s-customs-and-border-protection-rules-against-jones-act-changes

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency announced Wednesday it is withdrawing its notice of proposed modification and revocation of letter rulings related to its enforcement of the Jones Act, meaning there will be no changes to the coastwise law with regards to the current use of foreign-flagged vessels for certain offshore oil and gas operations in U.S. waters – at least for now. 

The CBP’s proposed modifications and revocation of letter rulings, published in a Customs Bulletin just two days before President Obama left office, would have corrected certain aspects of the Jones Act by reversing long-standing rulings that have allowed non-Jones Act qualified offshore construction vessels to freely operate on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, most notably in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. 

Under the Jones Act, only a vessel that is built in the United States, owned by a U.S. citizen and crewed by U.S. mariners can participate in the transportation of cargo between two points in the United States.

Dans la série, on n’est pas protectionnistes mais ça peut changer… maintien (pour le moment ?) de l’autorisation, dérogatoire par rapport au Jones Act (1920), d’utiliser des bâtiments d’origine étrangère pour l’exploration et la production offshore.

In a statement, the Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA) called the CBP’s decision “profoundly damaging” as it “puts foreign companies first and American companies and workers last.”

New Study Finds U.S. Has Greatly Underestimated #Methane Emissions - NYTimes.com
▻http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/25/new-study-finds-u-s-has-underestimated-methane-levels-in-the

A comprehensive new study of atmospheric levels of methane, an important greenhouse gas released by leaky oil and gas operations and livestock, has found much higher levels over the United States than those estimated by the Environmental Protection Agency and an international greenhouse gas monitoring effort. The paper, “Anthropogenic emissions of methane in the United States,” is being published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

(...)

It’s important to note that the new study is a snapshot of conditions in 2007 and 2008, before concerns increased about the need for tighter standards for gas and oil drilling operations. The authors say a similar analysis is under for more recent years. A comparison will be very helpful in clarifying the impact of changed practices by energy companies so far, and what remains to be done.