industryterm:oil and gas exploration

New Zealand Steps Up Climate Change Fight With Exploration Ban - Bloomberg
▻https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-12/new-zealand-steps-up-climate-change-fight-with-exploration-ban

New Zealand will stop granting offshore oil and gas exploration permits, saying it is committed to playing its part in tackling climate change.

The government is taking “an important step to address climate change and create a clean, green and sustainable future for New Zealand,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Thursday in Wellington. It will limit the 2018 offer of exploration permits to onshore acreage in the oil-rich province of Taranaki, she said, adding existing exploration and any future mining permits are unaffected by the decision.

Ardern came to power last year after her Labour Party and its ally the Greens campaigned on policies to protect the environment, including moving away from a reliance on fossil fuels. Her government plans to plant a billion trees over 10 years and wants to achieve 100 percent renewable electricity generation by 2035 as it seeks to reduce carbon emissions after signing up to the Paris climate accord.
[…]
The opposition National Party called the move “economic vandalism.” It will put thousands of jobs at risk and do nothing to tackle climate change because production will simply move elsewhere in the world, the party said.

UPDATE 3-Lebanon to begin offshore energy search in block disputed by Israel
▻https://uk.reuters.com/article/lebanon-israel-natgas/update-1-lebanon-will-fully-use-energy-block-disputed-by-israel-minister

Lebanon said on Friday it had signed its first offshore oil and gas exploration and production agreements for two blocks, including a block disputed by neighbouring Israel.

Lebanon’s energy minister said the dispute with Israel would not stop Lebanon benefiting from potential undersea reserves in the contentious Block 9, while consortium operator Total said it would not drill the block’s first well near the disputed zone.
[…]
Lebanese and Israeli officials said David Satterfield, acting assistant U.S. secretary of state, was in Israel last week and in Lebanon this week on a mediation mission. U.S. officials confirmed his travels without detailing his agenda.

Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Friday a diplomatic resolution to the dispute “is preferable to threats”.

But, speaking to Tel Aviv radio station 102 FM, Steinitz added: “We made two things clear, in a very forthright manner, over the last year. One, don’t provoke us, and don’t explore in or even get close to the disputed line-of-contact.”

But : ah ben voilà que Reuters, au fil des mises à jours successives de la dépêche, met en doute la volonté inébranlable d’Israel de recourir à une résolution diplomatique de la dispute frontalière… Doute substancié par le paragraphe suivant qui rappelle innocemment…

Israel last went to war in Lebanon in 2006, against the heavily armed, Iran-backed Shi‘ite Muslim Hezbollah movement. Israel says Hezbollah has increased in strength since helping sway the Syrian civil war in President Bashar al-Assad’s favour.

Israel, Lebanon clash over offshore energy, raising tensions
▻https://www.reuters.com/article/us-natgas-lebanon-israel/israeli-minister-says-lebanese-claim-on-gas-field-provocative-idUSKBN1FK1J0

Depuis le temps que cette affaire traîne…

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EZqxsJLhVFQ/WR_pUMbNrgI/AAAAAAAAHTY/Vae3BbGAFs8WIl-j4TDaeowuyVyXKVzEQCLcB/s1600/EasternMediterranean_ExecutiveMagazine_OG-REG-3_TEKMOR.jpg

Israel described as “very provocative” on Wednesday a Lebanese offshore oil and gas exploration tender in disputed territory on the countries’ maritime border, and said it was a mistake for international firms to participate.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, whose country considers Israel an enemy state, said the comments were one of several “threatening messages” from Israel in recent days.

Lebanese political and military movement Hezbollah vowed to defend the country’s “oil and gas rights” against Israeli threats.

Lebanon is on the Levant Basin in the eastern Mediterranean where a number of big sub-sea gas fields have been discovered since 2009, including the Leviathan and Tamar fields located in Israeli waters near the disputed marine border with Lebanon.

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said: “When they issue a tender on a gas field, including Block 9, which by any standard is ours ... this is very, very challenging and provocative conduct here.”

“Respectable firms” bidding on the tender “are, to my mind, making a grave error - because this is contrary to all of the rules and all protocol in cases like this,” he told an international security conference hosted by Tel Aviv University’s INSS think-tank.

Lebanon in December approved a bid by a consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek for two of the five blocks put up for tender in the country’s much-delayed first oil and gas offshore licensing round.

One of the awarded blocks, Block 9, borders Israeli waters. Lebanon has an unresolved maritime border dispute with Israel over a triangular area of sea of around 860 sq km (330 square miles) that extends along the edge of three of the blocks.

Israel has not issued its own tenders for Block 9, with its officials saying they were focused on blocks that would not be disputed.

“Lieberman’s words about Block 9 are a threat to Lebanon and its right to sovereignty over its territorial waters,” Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on his official Twitter account.

Hariri said the country would take up the comments with the “relevant international bodies to affirm its right to act in its territorial waters”. In a statement from his press office, the premier said Lieberman’s words were “blatant provocation”.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said he had sent a letter to the United Nations two weeks ago affirming Lebanon’s right to defend itself and its economic interests.

Hezbollah described the comments as “a new aggression” and said it would “decisively confront any assault on our oil and gas rights.”

Hotspot – Norway - Geographical

▻http://geographical.co.uk/geopolitics/hotspot/item/2449-hotspot-norway

http://geographical.co.uk/media/k2/items/cache/ed86a10d9531c7d1cd931654782f5cb3_S.jpg

Klaus Dodds turns his gaze north, to examine the debates raging across Norway regarding oil and gas exploration

In September, two notable stories emerged about Norway. The first involved the reported value of the much-heralded sovereign wealth fund, known more colloquially as the ‘oil fund’. The net-value of the fund is estimated to be more than $1trillion, which is a staggering achievement for a country that was once largely dependent on fishing as opposed to oil and gas exploration.

Remarkably, the oil fund was only established 25 years ago with the express purpose of investing hydrocarbon revenues for the long-term benefit of the five million-strong Norwegian population. While there are strict rules governing the use and management of the fund, it’s a reminder of how small states can control investment portfolios that are global in scope.

#norvège #énergie #pétrole #environnement #pollution #paysages

Trump Administration Proposes Largest Oil and Gas Lease Sale in U.S. History – gCaptain
▻https://gcaptain.com/trump-administration-proposes-largest-oil-and-gas-lease-sale-in-u-s-histor

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/czmxwelfz9die6k/Sale-250-PNOS-Stipulations.jpg

The U.S. Department of Interior has proposed the largest oil and gas lease sale ever held in the United States, which will offer up over 79.9 million acres in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico, offshore Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, to oil and gas exploration and development.

The proposed region-wide lease sale covers an area about equivalent to the size of New Mexico and includes all available unleased areas on the Gulf’s Outer Continental Shelf. The sale is scheduled for March 2018.

Proposed Notice of Sale 250 Package
▻https://www.boem.gov/Proposed-Notice-of-Sale-250-Package

détail des zones (avec diverses contraintes ou exclues de l’appel d’offres) (pdf plutôt lourd 5,3 Mo…)
▻https://www.boem.gov/Sale-250-PNOS-Stipulations

Trump to Order Oil Drilling Study Off California Coast, Sources Say - Bloomberg
▻https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-04-25/trump-said-to-order-review-of-oil-drilling-off-california-coast

President Donald Trump will open the door to new oil and natural gas drilling in Pacific waters off the coast of California with a directive Friday that sets up a certain clash with environmentalists.

Trump will order the Interior Department to review locations for offshore oil and gas exploration and consider selling drilling rights in territory that former President Barack Obama put off limits, according to people briefed on the order who spoke on the condition of anonymity before it is issued. That includes U.S. Pacific waters, as well as Arctic and Atlantic acreage left out of the five-year schedule of lease sales issued by Obama in November.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said Tuesday nothing is off the table.
[…]
While he is moving to expand offshore access, Trump on Friday also is slated to direct a review of regulations safeguarding offshore oil and gas exploration, including a well-control rule triggered by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. The industry is also lobbying for changes to mandates for Arctic drilling.

China media again touts plans to float nuclear reactors in disputed South China Sea | Reuters
▻http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southchinasea-ruling-china-nuclear-idUSKCN0ZV0UH

China aims to launch a series of offshore nuclear power platforms to promote development in the South China Sea, state media said again on Friday, days after an international court ruled Beijing had no historic claims to most of the waters.
[…]
“China’s first floating nuclear reactor will be assembled by the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation’s (CSIC) subsidiary, Bohai Heavy Industry, and the company will build 20 such reactors in the future,” the newspaper said.

“The marine nuclear power platform will provide energy and freshwater to the Nansha Islands,” it said, referring to the disputed Spratly Islands.

The newspaper was citing a social media post by the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), which has since been deleted.

What is #Total doing in #Western_Sahara ?
▻http://multinationales.org/What-is-Total-doing-in-Western

The French company Total, along with other multinationals, has recently started oil and gas exploration off Western Saharan – a territory which has been under Moroccan occupation for almost forty years. These activities raise ethical issues about consultation with #local_communities and fair distribution of potential revenues. Saharawi activists have spoken up their concerns for years about the oil firm, denouncing its role in undermining the territory’s sovereignty. Total is also critised by (...)

#News

/ Total, #Extractive_Industries, #Morocco, Western Sahara, #Norway, #Extractive_Industries, #Fossil_fuels, #Corporate_Social_Responsibility_and_Ethical_Investment, local communities, #international_law, #human_rights, #ethics, #social_impact, socially responsible (...)

#socially_responsible_investment
« ▻http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/12/norwaywealthfund-ethics-idUSL6N0M826420140312 »
« ►http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/03/u-s-oil-firm-creates-tension-western-sahara »
« ▻http://www.wsrw.org/a106x2651 »
« ►http://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2014/03/28/total-negocie-avec-lukoil-pour-exploiter-des-petroles-de-schiste-en-russie_4 »
« ►http://www.novethic.fr/novethic/isr_investissement_socialement_responsable,climat,le_fonds_norvegien_pourra »
« ►http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/02/07/total-westernsahara-idINL5N0LC35Y20140207 »
« ►http://www.yabiladi.com/articles/details/23060/exploration-petroliere-sahara-maroc-assure.html »
« ►http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session22/A-HRC-22-53-Add-2_en.pdf »
« ►http://bigmenthemovie.com »

Conserving biodiversity for the future health of the planet - European Commission
▻http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_14_04_22_en.html?infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=31976

Raffa

Conserving biodiversity for the future health of the planet - European Commission - ►http://ec.europa.eu/researc...

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“’The need to develop the tools and a strategy for the implementation of maritime spatial planning has become increasingly urgent. This is because of human activity in the deep sea, which is expanding, for example, in fishing, oil and gas exploration, as well as potential mineral mining. Therefore, competition for deep-sea resources has become more intense while the need to ensure adequate conservation of biodiversity and genetic variety is a priority for the future health of the planet.’” - (...)

Norway agency wants to halt oil industry’s march north | Reuters

▻http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/28/norway-oil-arctic-idUSL5N0MP19220140328

(Reuters) - Norway should not award oil and gas exploration blocks further north in the Arctic Barents Sea and should withdraw more than a dozen blocks from the current licencing round, the Norwegian Environment Agency said on Friday.

The agency, which advises the government but cannot block its decisions, said more rigorous assessment of ice conditions was needed, including consideration of years when the polar ice cap might expand further.

“It is necessary to have a thorough scientific process to set a limit to the ice edge, which also covers the more extreme years,” Ellen Hambro, the agency’s director said in a statement. “The northernmost blocks nominated in the southern Barents Sea ... are located in areas where there may be ice.”

#arctique #énergie #norvège #gaz #pétrole

Lebanon : The Oil & Gas Week, July 08, 2013 | Middle East Strategic Perspectives
▻http://www.mestrategicperspectives.com/2013/07/07/lebanon-the-oil-gas-week-july-08-2013
Intéressante analyse des enjeux de l’appel d’offres pour le forage du gaz au large du Liban

Beyond Israeli threats, the main message of the conference was the more familiar argument of proceeding with offshore oil and gas exploration without delays and respecting Lebanon’s commitments and deadlines, made particularly hard after the resignation of the Mikati cabinet in March 2013, before the adoption of two important decrees related to the definition of offshore blocks and their coordinates and the adoption of a model exploration and production contract. A caretaker cabinet cannot, in principle, adopt decrees, the Constitution restricting the exercise of its powers to the management of day-to-day affairs. But in certain circumstances, a caretaker cabinet may be authorized to adopt new decrees. Bassil, and the FPM, have been lobbying – unsuccessfully so far – the President, Parliament Speaker and caretaker PM to authorize a cabinet meeting in order to approve the two decrees. The reference to Israeli threats, a unifying factor in Lebanon, may convince them of the need to hold a cabinet meeting and adopt the decrees. It remains to be seen if this latest attempt to push for a cabinet meeting will be more successful. Bassil seems to have caught the attention of caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour, a member of Speaker Nabih Berri’s Amal Movement, who asserted that appropriate measures will be taken to counter Israeli threats.

#Liban
#Israel
#gaz
#énergie

Norway’s ruling party backs oil drilling around Arctic islands - World Updates | The Star Online

▻http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2013/4/21/worldupdates/norways-ruling-party-backs-oil-drilling-around-arctic-islands&sec=Worldu

Sunday, April 21, 2013
Norway’s ruling party backs oil drilling around Arctic islands

OSLO (Reuters) - Norway took a major step towards opening up an environmentally sensitive Arctic area to oil and gas exploration when the ruling Labour Party gave the go-ahead on Sunday for an impact study.

▻http://starstorage.blob.core.windows.net/archives/2013/4/21/worldupdates/2013-04-21T110752Z_1_CBRE93K0UXH00_RTROPTP_2_ENERGY-A

Exploration in the waters around the Lofoten islands just above the Arctic circle is becoming one of the most contentious issues for parliamentary elections in September.

#norvège #arctique #énergie #lofoten #pétrole

La lutte pour le contrôle du ministère de l’énergie au Liban (et les autres ministères aussi). L’article rappelle aussi tous les projets et réalisations que le ministre Bassil réalise ces dernières semaines.
[Oil & Gas Updates] : Weekly Roundup, April 15, 2013 | Middle East Strategic Perspectives
▻http://www.mestrategicperspectives.com/2013/04/14/oil-gas-updates-weekly-roundup-april-15-2013

According to al-Akhbar, if Joumblat is able to impose Abou Hamze at the ministry, it would be the Druze leader’s revenge against Bassil, whom he accuses of excluding Abu Hamze’s company from the pre-qualification round preceding the country’s first licensing round for offshore oil and gas exploration. The struggle over the Ministry of Energy and Water is only at its beginning and threatens to delay the formation of a new cabinet.

#Bassil
#Liban
#énergie