Decom North Sea (DNS), the representative body for the decommissioning industry, commissions and facilitates projects that deliver meaningful benefits for its members and improves the efficiency of future of decommissioning activities.

This week, DNS has announced a partnership with Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS) and subsea engineering and training firm, Jee Ltd, which will investigate efficient solutions for the recovery of concrete subsea mattresses and re-use, thereby contributing to the circular economy.

The project involves engaging with operators and suppliers across the oil and gas industry, with both DNS and Jee's expert engineers conducting an economic and environmental assessment of the condition of the mattresses, and identifying the best techniques for their recovery.

Nigel Jenkins, CEO of DNS looks forward to this project getting underway: "This project was implemented in direct response to our operator member requests. What to do with mattresses as part of an efficient decommissioning solution is an often discussed "thorny" issue. Leaving them in situ is not ordinarily an option, although we will revisit this. Mattresses were not specifically designed to be removed. Unfortunately, they can degrade underwater over time, leading to a complicated and costly removal process during decommissioning."

Building on previous collaboration with Zero Waste Scotland, DNS has selected Jee, through a competitive tender process, to challenge current thinking and uncover the efficient removal methods that can reduce costs and maximise decommissioning sector benefits from the implementation of circular economy principles. These principles ensure that materials are retained within productive use, in a high value state, for as long as possible – a succinct illustration of DNS' fundamental objective to drive effective and efficient decommissioning activity which will ultimately benefit the oil and gas industry, the environment and the UK tax payer.

Dean Kirby, Senior Engineer at Jee Ltd said: "Millions of pounds are being spent on UKCS decommissioning each year, and this will continue for several decades. As with the majority of decommissioning projects, the recovery and disposal of subsea mattresses presents a significant obstacle and financial burden to operators and contractors globally.

"There is a need for a safe, quick and cost effective system for mattress removal, and at Jee we strive to identify and develop the best solutions for the industry."

Iain Gulland, Chief Executive of Zero Waste Scotland said: "The circular economy is becoming increasingly prominent nationally, because of the economic opportunities and environmental benefits it presents. This ambitious project to recover and re-use deep sea mattresses is a great example of the sort of innovative thinking currently happening in Scotland."

Concrete mattresses provide pipelines, cables and umbilicals with protection from dropped objects, and add weight and stabilisation. Jee's analysis will identify the potential reuse and circular economy applications for the mattresses, as well as highlighting guidance on best practice for recovery and key points for derogation cases to leave in situ.

Project findings will be delivered through an industry report and presentation via DNS later this year.

Conductor Installation Services Ltd (CIS), an Acteon company that provides hammer services to install conductors and drive piles, announced that it successfully completed a conductor installation operation 17 hours ahead of schedule for a leading North Sea oil and gas operator.

Work was carried out on a major gas project in the Southern North Sea. CIS was retained to install six 30-inch conductors on the project to form the foundations of six development wells. In addition, CIS was required to supply cold-cutting services, and all conductor-running, handling equipment, together with drive shoes.

Job safely completed 17 hours early = reduced time & costs
The five-member CIS crew worked with rig contractor Ensco and the operator to commence the first phase of the operation. Working from the jack-up rig Ensco 80, CIS used a 90 kJ hydraulic hammer to drive the first conductor to its target depth on the wellhead platform. Due to issues involving cold cutting placement, it was jointly decided that it would be best to flame-cut the conductor online and carry out the cold cut offline. By doing so, it also made it possible to install the centralizers offline. By adjusting the plan to cold cut offline, 3.5 hours of online time was saved during this initial conductor-driving operation. This practice was then applied for all installation operations required for the five remaining wells. As a result, the job was completed a full 17 hours ahead of schedule. The operator realized significant cost-savings in terms of reduced equipment rental fees, rig time and labor.

With the hammer's ability to drive conductors with pinpoint accuracy, each one was efficiently driven to its target depth. The longest conductor driven measured 400 feet from the rig floor to the conductor toe, ultimately reaching a depth of 157 feet below the mudline of the seafloor.

Communication holds the key
CIS knows the value of good communications, which, proved once again to be the case during this operation. "All parties worked together to achieve the same objective: to install the conductors safely, in the quickest, most effective way possible," said Andy Penman, Group Managing Director of CIS. "To achieve this, we invested a great deal of care and attention to the strategic planning process. I also attribute our success to the experience of our crew and the excellent working relationship we share with this valued client and everyone involved. The fact that our joint efforts resulted in completing 17 hours ahead of schedule without a single LTI is especially satisfying."

Work on the wellhead platform was carried out as the result of a contract awarded to CIS by the operator. Over time, CIS has worked on behalf of this operator numerous times in the Southern North Sea, and looks forward to installing conductors for the foundations of new wells on the next phase of this major development.

The range of services provided by CIS supports the Acteon Group's commitment to defining subsea services across a range of interconnected disciplines.

Industry, government and regulators join the debate at Interspill 2015

The oil and gas industry is set to discuss the importance of maintaining focus on oil spill response across all sectors at the three day Interspill conference and exhibition in Amsterdam from 24 – 26 March.

Rob Cox, technical director at IPIECA and Interspill chairman, believes it is crucial that spill prevention and response remains a high priority even as the many initiatives set up after the 2009/10 offshore incidents are starting to deliver results.

He said: "Significant progress has been made in the aftermath of the Montara and Macondo incidents by the offshore industry but we must not take our eye off the ball; it is vital this work continues. The upstream community is more engaged than ever and legislation is hardening, so we are expecting a lot of debate around articulating the financial impacts of risk to help progress response capability for the offshore sector."

Interspill 2015 brings together industry, academia and government to hear about the latest developments in spill prevention and response. In addition to the conference, the exhibition will showcase the most ground-breaking technologies helping to improve response times and protect the environment. In the biggest exhibition to date, more than 100 exhibitors will demonstrate their latest innovations.

A packed conference program includes sessions on future risk, stakeholder engagement, multi-agency response, emerging technologies, wildlife preparedness and regulation. The opening plenary on current issues and challenges is being chaired by Rob Cox, and includes chairman of host trade association SRGH, Wierd Koops, Brian Sullivan, IPIECA Executive Director, Richard Johnson, Technical Director at ITOPF and Robert Limb, Chief Executive and Director at OSRL.

Other organizations set to present include: ExxonMobil, Shell Exploration & Production, SINTEF, IPIECA, IOGP, IMO, Cedre and SEA Consulting Group.

A first for Interspill is the closing plenary session where members of the International Offshore Petroleum Environmental Regulators Forum (IOPER) will present their principles for offshore oil spill preparedness in an industry-chaired session.

Mr Cox added: "The 1990 Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation Convention tasks industry to work cooperatively with the IMO and its national delegations and the statistics clearly show the success of our joint work with shipping. Now an opportunity exists for us to work together with international regulators to help improve global oil pollution prevention and preparedness in the offshore sector. We anticipate this will be of great interest to operators and the wider industry keen to hear about how the IOPER principles could drive regional and local regulation in practice."

Under the theme of 'working together' the conference aims to not only reflect on past events, but consider the likely future issues for oil and chemical spill prevention, response and restoration.

In addition to the conference programme, spill industry seminars and scientific workshops are being held on the exhibition floor and are free to attend.

The spill industry seminars feature presentations from leading manufacturers and other organisations, highlighting the latest developments.

The science workshops, led by Cedre will include sessions on dispersant breakthroughs, bioremediation, HNS pollution and spill impact assessment. In particular, the workshop on dispersant breakthroughs will take place on Tuesday at 1.30pm and focuses on chemical dispersion of oil in arctic areas, deep sea and tropical regions. Presenters include Tom Coolbaugh, distinguished scientific associate at ExxonMobil, Per Daling, senior research scientist at SINTEF and Francois Merlin, former head of R&D at Cedre.

The well-established program of educational short courses on a variety of spill related topics will run at the venue on Monday 23 March, the day before the conference opening.

Interspill 2015 takes place at Amsterdam RAI Convention Centre. The last event in 2012 in London attracted over 1,300 delegates, visitors and exhibitors from over 70 countries.

Operator Statoil has together with PL035 partners completed a two-well program in the Krafla area in the North Sea. Since 2011 significant new recoverable resources have been proven in the area.

The Krafla Main Tarbert appraisal well and the small oil discovery in the Krafla North prospect in December has increased the robustness of the Krafla field development project.

The Krafla area is located 25 kilometers southwest of Oseberg South in the North Sea. (Photo: Øyvind Hagen)

"Since 2011 we have made five discoveries in the Krafla area which includes the licenses PL035 and PL272: Krafla Main, Krafla West, Askja West, Askja East and Krafla North," says Irene Rummelhoff, Statoil senior vice president for exploration on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).
"Altogether we expect to have discovered recoverable resources in a range of 140-220 million barrels of oil equivalent just 25 kilometers southwest of Oseberg South and 150 kilometers west of Bergen. These are very substantial volumes for a mature area of the shelf," says Rummelhoff.

Statoil puts a lot of effort into unlocking the full potential of the mature areas of the NCS, both through increased recovery initiatives in producing fields and targeted exploration programs in surrounding areas.

The discoveries in the Krafla area once again demonstrate that growth opportunities still exist in the North Sea.

"Statoil has a unique role as an area architect in the mature parts of the NCS with long experience in developing new discoveries by utilizing existing infrastructure," says Knut Skjoldli, vice president field development west in Statoil.

Statoil is the operator of PL035/PL272 with an interest of 50%. The partners are Svenska Petroleum Exploration AS (25%) and Det norske oljeselskap ASA (25%).

The reserve replacement ratio was 146%. For each barrel produced, the company added 1.46 barrels to its reserves.



Ecopetrol's reserves/production ratio increased to 8.6 years.

-- Of the outstanding total balance, 70.3% is crude and 29.7% is natural gas.



Since 2010, Ecopetrol has increased its reserves by 22%.

Ecopetrol (BVC: ECOPETROL; NYSE: EC; TSX: ECP) announces its proven reserves (1P, according to the international designation) of crude oil, condensate and natural gas owned by the company, including its interest in affiliates and subsidiaries, as of December 31, 2014.

Reserves were calculated based on U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) standards and methodology, and 99% were audited by two different independent reserve engineering firms (Ryder Scott Company and DeGolyer and MacNaughton).

Proven net hydrocarbon reserves owned by Ecopetrol, including its interest in affiliates and subsidiaries, as of December 2014, were 2,084 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe), a 5.7% increase compared to 1,972 mmboe in 2013.

In 2014, Ecopetrol added 355 mmboe to its proven reserves, an increase over the 340 mmboe reported in 2013. Production for the year 2014 was 243 mmboe.

The reserve replacement ratio in 2014 was 146%, up from the 139% reported in 2013.. The reserves/production ratio increased to 8.6 years.

The increase in proven reserves is mainly the product of revisions at existing fields, and increased gas reserves.
94% of our proven reserves as of December 2014 (2,084 mmboe), comes from Ecopetrol S.A., while Hocol, Ecopetrol America and the participation in Equion and Savia Peru, contribute with 6%.

During the last 5 years, Ecopetrol increased its net reserves by 22% and achieved an average reserve replacement ratio of 150%.
Reserves as of December 31 of 2014:

Maersk Drilling's third XL Enhanced ultra harsh environment jack-up was named last week at a ceremony held at the Keppel FELS shipyard in Singapore. Mrs. Margareth Øvrum, Executive Vice President in Statoil, honored Maersk Drilling by naming the rig Maersk Integrator.

Maersk Integrator is the third in a series of four ultra harsh environment jack-up rigs to enter Maersk Drilling's rig fleet. The four jack-up rigs represent a total investment of USD 2.6 billion. The first three jack-up rigs, including Maersk Intregrator, has now all been delivered from the Keppel FELS shipyard. The fourth will be delivered from the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard in South Korea in 2016.

After delivery from the yard, Maersk Intregator will mobilize to the North Sea and commence a four year firm contract with Statoil for drilling on the Gina Krog field in the Norwegian North Sea. The estimated contract value for the firm contract is USD 620 million.

"With the addition of Maersk Integrator to our fleet, we continue to develop our market leading position in the challenging Norwegian market. With Maersk Integrator we now have three of the world's largest, ultra-harsh environment jack-up rigs in our fleet, enabling us to provide safe and efficient drilling operations to our customers in the Norwegian market ," says Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO of Maersk Drilling and member of the Executive Board of the Maersk Group, and continues:

"The early delivery and good performance is one of the reasons we continually partner with Keppel FELS. Throughout the construction period of the three XLE's, they have been able to consistently provide value-added services while delivering products of the highest technical abilities to our satisfaction"

Final Notice of Sale for Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area

As part of the Obama Administration's all-of-the-above energy strategy to continue to expand safe and responsible domestic energy production, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Abigail Ross Hopper have announced that Interior will offer 41.2 million acres for oil and gas exploration and development in the Gulf of Mexico in a March lease sale.

"This lease sale underscores the President's commitment to create jobs through the safe and responsible exploration and development of the Nation's domestic energy resources," said Hopper. "As one of the most productive basins in the world, the Gulf of Mexico is an important part of the Administration's energy strategy."

Photo: Courtesy of BOEM

Lease Sale 235 in the Central Planning Area will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, on March 18, 2015. The sale will be the seventh offshore auction under the Administration's Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017 (Five Year Program), which makes all areas with the highest-known resource potential available for oil and gas leasing in order to further reduce America's dependence on foreign oil. The lease sale builds on the first six sales in the Five Year Program that offered more than 60 million acres for development and garnered $2.4 billion in high bids.

The Gulf of Mexico contributes about 18 percent of U.S. domestic oil and 5 percent of domestic gas production, providing the bulk of the $13.5 billion in mineral revenue disbursed to Federal, state and American Indian accounts from onshore and offshore energy revenue collections in Fiscal Year 2014.

"As a critical component of the Nation's energy portfolio, the Gulf holds vital energy resources that can continue to generate jobs and spur economic opportunities for Gulf producing states, as well as further reduce the Nation's dependence on foreign oil," said Hopper.

Sale 235 encompasses 7,788 unleased blocks, covering about 41.2 million acres, located from three to 230 nautical miles offshore Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, in water depths ranging from 9 to more than 11,115 feet (3 to 3,400 meters). BOEM estimates the proposed sale could result in the production of approximately 1 billion barrels of oil and 4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

The decision to hold this sale follows extensive environmental analysis, public comment and consideration of the best scientific information available. The terms of the sale include stipulations to protect biologically sensitive resources, mitigate potential adverse effects on protected species and avoid potential conflicts associated with oil and gas development in the region.

All terms and conditions for Lease Sale 235 are detailed in the Final Notice of Sale that can be viewed today in the Federal Register and are fully explained on the BOEM website at http://www.boem.gov/Sale-235/.

The sale package as well as printed copies of the maps can be requested from the Gulf of Mexico Region's Public Information Office at 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, LA 70123, or at 800-200-GULF (4853).

Joint agreement expands company's opportunity set in West Africa

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) announced yesterday that its wholly-owned subsidiary Chevron Mauritania Exploration Limited has reached an agreement to acquire a 30 percent non-operated working interest in Blocks C8, C12 and C13 offshore Mauritania from Kosmos Energy. The transaction is subject to the approval of Mauritania's government.

The deepwater blocks off the coast of Mauritania cover a contiguous area of approximately 6.6 million gross acres in water depths ranging between 5,249 feet (1,600 meters) and 9,842 feet (3,000 meters).

Blocks C8, C12 and C13 cover a contiguous area of approximately 6.6 million gross acres in water depths ranging between 5,249 feet (1,600 meters) and 9,842 feet (3,000 meters).

Under the agreement, Kosmos Energy retains a 60 percent interest and remains the operator. Société Mauritanienne des Hydrocarbures et de Patrimoine Minier (SMHPM), Mauritania's national oil company, will continue to have a 10 percent interest. Following any commercial discovery after the exploration phase, Chevron will become the operator maintaining a 30 percent working interest.

By Dave Waddington
Global Market Leader for Offshore Production
GE Power Conversion 

The question: as oil and gas exploration and production moves into deeper and more hazardous environments, what role do suppliers play in ensuring these areas can be exploited efficiently, safely and cost effectively?

The answer: Integration. Making sure that the way we work is evolving in parallel to technology matching the efforts and resources required to make our offshore oil & gas customers successful. Greater localization and partnerships coupled with a greater focus on regional roles and responsibilities are just a few of the practices that are changing the way the industry works. In GE, we are taking a one-stop shop approach to provide an integrated solution to customers.

Integration of technology

Take the power system as an example: the three main pillars (power generation, power compression and power distribution) are currently dealt with by different contractors, each providing their own expertise to a single piece of the jigsaw puzzle. The intertwined nature of this work gives rise to a hugely expensive and complex process of coordination, which in turn creates financial risk should project delays be encountered. With the rising ambitions of new oil and gas exploration sites, it seems that the stakes are only set to get higher.

Looking at some of the long-term projects on the horizon within the context of an integrated approach, we see that integrated components will drive the initial capital cost down while system optimization safeguards availability and uptime of the operation, helping shipyards and owners to save both time and money. Simply put, dealing with one single source of supplier facilitates the procedure, the process and potentially leads to simpler and faster system integration, therefore a quicker delivery with lower risk.

In an industry where downtime can cost over a million dollars a day, a reliable and efficient power solution coupled with an integrated approach has the potential to save companies tremendous amount of money. That is exactly why at GE we have solved this problem for our customers by taking an integrated approach – the latest launch of GE Marine is the best proof to show our strong commitment to this approach.

The rules of the game are already beginning to change. Yesterday's solutions aren't going to answer tomorrow's challenges. Today, contractors increasingly approach suppliers as strategic partners invested in their success, not only bringing critical components to a project but also key project management skills. It's becoming crystal clear that the companies with the brightest prospects will be those capable of offering a one-stop shop for both.

Multi-user, deep-water extension to service subsea projects and decommissioning

Plans for significant further expansion of Lerwick Harbour's extensive deep-water facilities for the offshore oil and gas industry have advanced with the award of a major contract to extend the quay at Dales Voe South to support subsea developments and decommissioning.

Lerwick Port Authority has commissioned the Scottish business unit of civil engineering contractor BAM Nuttall as main contractor for an £11.95 million investment to lengthen the quay to 130 metres. Part of the Dutch construction group Royal BAM, BAM Nuttall specializes in complex marine construction, with a strong track record working around Scotland and on the Western and Northern Isles.

Lerwick has been servicing the offshore industry for over 50 years and now also has an established reputation as a location for decommissioning. The extended quay will provide deep-water, versatile berthing and heavy load capacity to take an offshore structure in a single lift, with a substantial, expanded laydown area.

Captain Calum Grains, Port Authority Deputy Chief Executive and Harbourmaster, said: "The contract marks an important step in further developing Lerwick's role as a leading centre of offshore industry operations. Dales Voe South is another value-added expansion and reflects our confidence in future activity, including ongoing subsea projects, particularly west of Shetland, and the developing decommissioning and offshore renewable markets."

As previously announced, the Scottish Government and agency, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, are providing £2.39 million in grant for the project, with Bank of Scotland supporting the Port Authority's investment.

Work will begin in April, with completion due in April 2016. At peak, BAM expects up to 40 people to be employed directly in the construction of the new facility, with wider benefits spreading to local suppliers and subcontractors.

Commenting on the contract award, BAM Nuttall's Business Unit Manager for Scotland, Dougie Grant said: 'We've been tracking the proposals for Dales Voe for over a year now and we're delighted to have been chosen by the Port Authority as their construction partner. We understand the positive impact this scale of investment can have locally and we look forward to engaging proactively with the Shetland community to ensure this benefit is fully realised."

Civil Engineers, Arch Henderson LLP, is responsible for design and project management of one of the largest infrastructure developments in recent years in the Port Authority's on-going program.

The contract will extend the quay by around 75 meters, with a load-bearing capacity of 60 tons per square meter, making it unique in Scotland. It will have 12.5 meters water depth alongside, like the existing quay, amongst the deepest of its type in Scotland. The sheltered voe, located between oil basins east and west Shetland, has 24-hour access to the North Sea.

The extension will be complemented by increased, adjacent laydown for equipment and materials. A phased expansion underway in recent years will total 45,000 square meters by 2016.

The offshore oil and natural gas leasing program proposed by the Obama administration puts America's energy competitiveness at risk, API President and CEO Jack Gerard told reporters as the government kicked off a series of public meetings on the proposal around the country.

"America has a chance to be the world leader in energy now and for decades to come," said Gerard. "But the opportunity could slip through our fingers if the government keeps 87 percent of offshore waters closed to oil and natural gas leasing.

"Studies show we could create 840,000 new jobs and raise more than $200 billion for the government if oil and natural gas development is allowed in the Atlantic, Pacific and Eastern Gulf of Mexico.

"By ignoring major energy-rich areas, the administration is turning its back on American workers. In the Atlantic, the government proposed just one lease sale for the next five-year cycle. Secretary Jewell was quick to say even that may be canceled. Exploration and production in Alaska is also being restricted both on and offshore.

"This is America's energy moment. But the moment will pass unless our government leaders allow more exploration and production of our abundant oil and natural gas resources.

"Consumer benefits are being driven by increased domestic production. To keep these benefits in the future, we must plan for the long-term today.

"Let's seize the opportunity in front of us and secure America's position as the world leader in energy and job creation."

API represents all segments of America's oil and natural gas industry. Its more than 625 members produce, process, and distribute most of the nation's energy. The industry also supports 9.8 million U.S. jobs and 8 percent of the U.S. economy.

Proposal would strengthen oversight capacity for offshore oil and gas development under the President's all-of-the-above energy strategy

President Obama's fiscal year 2016 budget request for the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is $204.7 million, providing robust support that will enable BSEE to keep pace with industry activity and the technology developments that are helping to drive deepwater oil and gas development on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.

The Administration's proposal sustains funding increases received in previous years and provides critically needed resources to further strengthen BSEE's regulatory and oversight capabilities for OCS oil and gas development, as the Administration works to responsibly expand domestic energy production through the President's all-of-the-above energy strategy.

"The President's 2016 request fully reflects the Administration's continued emphasis by ensuring that development of the Nation's vast offshore energy resources is conducted in a safe and environmentally responsible manner," said BSEE Director Brian Salerno. "Funds will be used to recruit expert engineers, scientists, inspectors and oil spill prevention specialists to support the development of risk-based approaches to oversight and compliance on the Outer Continental Shelf."

By the end of 2014, there were 69 deepwater rigs and non-rig units working in the Gulf of Mexico, up from 40 at the start of the year. The Energy Information Administration projects offshore production will continue to grow through 2040, as the pace of development activity quickens and new, large development projects, predominantly in the deepwater and ultra-deepwater areas of the Gulf of Mexico, are brought into production.

The 2016 budget will continue to build a robust culture of safety, with a strong focus on risk reduction. The Bureau will bolster its capacity for analyzing data gained through incident reporting requirements, near-miss reporting, and real-time monitoring. The Bureau will also continue to work with industry to better understand their safety processes, so that BSEE can mitigate and reduce risk. Through these initiatives and others, BSEE will continue to ensure that offshore development occurs in a safe and environmentally responsible way.

The 2016 budget request includes an increase of $1.7 million to establish the Engineering Technology Assessment Center to support the evaluation of new and emerging technologies and develop associated safety and oversight protocols. The increased funding will add greater depth and capacity to the BSEE, so that as industry continues to innovate and develop new capabilities, the BSEE will be able to keep pace. The Center will provide a Bureau-wide focal point for emerging technology evaluation. The FY 2016 request also better aligns inspection fees with BSEE's risk-based approach to inspections and compliance.

The 2016 request also includes a program increase of $750,000 for establishing the Renewable Energy Inspection Program. The funding will support the development of regulations, inspection guidelines, procedures, and criteria for inspections of offshore renewable energy facilities so that the appropriate regulatory structure will be in place to protect the safety of these facilities as well as the environment.

Anticipated fixed cost increases are funded at $1.4 million. BSEE's targeted funding increases are largely offset by anticipated savings from continued management efficiency efforts (-$2.4 million) and a reduction in offsetting collections funding (-$1.4 million), for a net funding increase of $46,000 over the 2015 enacted level.

The President's budget proposes $14.9 million for Oil Spill Research, equal to the 2015 enacted level. The Oil Spill Research program plays a pivotal role in initiating applied research used to support decision-making on methods and equipment to prevent or mitigate oil spills, which is a critical component of the offshore permitting process. The request will address key knowledge and technology gaps in oil spill response, focusing on deepwater and Arctic environments.

Additional details on the President's FY 2016 budget request are available online at http://www.doi.gov/budget/index.cfm.

Key Step in Resolving 2008 Oil and Gas Leasing Offshore Alaska

The Department of the Interior has announced the release of a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) for Chukchi Sea Lease Sale 193, which moves the Department one step closer to resolving federal court concerns regarding the 2008 oil and gas leases offshore Alaska. The FSEIS updates the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM) estimates of the full range of production levels from offshore oil fields that might be developed in the Chukchi Sea as well as the related potential environmental effects of the lease sale.

"Alaska is a critical component of our nation's energy portfolio, and the Chukchi Sea has substantial oil and gas potential, as well as sensitive marine and coastal resources that Alaska Native communities depend on for subsistence," said Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell. "The updated analysis is a major step toward resolving the 2008 oil and gas leases that have been tied up in the courts for years. We remain committed to taking a thoughtful and balanced approach to oil and gas leasing and exploration in this unique, sensitive and often challenging environment."

The original Environmental Impact Statement for Lease Sale 193 was published in 2007, and the lease sale was conducted in 2008. Subsequent legal challenges and federal court decisions remanded the sale back to BOEM for further analysis. The most recent decision, from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, was specifically related to the agency's estimates of production levels from offshore oil fields that might be developed in the Chukchi Sea.

The FSEIS is based on the best available data – including actual leasing records and current geological information – to estimate the highest amount of production that could reasonably result from Lease Sale 193. Based upon the findings in the Court of Appeal's decision, as well as a better understanding about existing geologic structures in the region and improved information about where industry operators are likely to focus their development activities, BOEM evaluated a higher exploration and production scenario than in its previous analyses. The FSEIS is being filed consistent with the schedule identified by the courts.

BOEM received more than 400,000 comments in response to the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement published in November 2014. BOEM held public hearings in Anchorage and Fairbanks, and in the Chukchi Sea communities of Kotzebue, Point Hope, Wainwright and Barrow. The bureau also met with and consulted Alaska Native tribal governments in several of these communities.

"After carefully analyzing the comments, best available science and additional information, BOEM has developed a comprehensive analysis to address the court's concerns," said BOEM Director Abigail Ross Hopper. "We appreciate the input from Alaska Native tribes, federal, state and local partners and the public in developing this updated assessment."

Following the publication of the FSEIS for Lease Sale 193 in the Federal Register, there will be at least a 30-day waiting period before a final decision can be made on the lease sale. In early 2014, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) suspended all of the Chukchi Sea leases issued in Lease Sale 193. The suspensions remain in effect until a Record of Decision is issued.

If the lease sale is affirmed, BOEM and BSEE would need to review a company's specific exploration plan, an application for permit to drill and other materials before any exploration activity could occur.

The Final Supplemental EIS is available at: www.boem.gov/ak193/

With submarine pipelines increasing in diameter and extending into deeper waters and more challenging environments, design requirements for concrete weight coating do often not meet current needs. The result is inconsistent safety margins and potentially expensive overdesign and stringent installation requirements. DNV GL has now kicked off the first phase of a joint industry project (JIP) to address these issues and improve the understanding of pipeline concrete behavior. The aim is to develop a design guideline that complements current pipeline codes and standards. The JIP is still open for participants.

Concrete weight coating is widely used to protect submarine pipelines and ensure stability on the seabed. The current design approach for pipeline concrete coating is primarily based on simple and general design requirements. The method has proven reasonably reliable for most traditional pipelines, but does not capture all potential failure modes. In recent times, several cases of concrete coating damage have been observed during installation and operation phases, with varying degrees of severity and potential risk.

The JIP is relevant for pipeline operators, designers, installation contractors and coating contractors. "Many industry players have expressed a wish for a more thorough understanding of the behavior of pipeline concrete weight coating during the installation and operational phases. They expect more specific acceptance criteria, a less conservative approach to the strain in the concrete coating subject to bending and a more accurate estimate of the strain concentration factor at the field joints. These are challenging issues which we want to explore in depth with this joint industry project," says Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, JIP Project Manager. "Current participants include Petrobras, Saipem, Bredero Shaw, SVAP and Wasco Coatings, and we still welcome new participants," she adds.

Preliminary studies conducted by DNV GL suggest that in-depth knowledge about the contribution of and interaction among several factors is needed to understand pipeline concrete coating behavior (e.g. the shear transfer capacity, coating thickness, strength, fabrication method, type, location, spacing, percentage steel reinforcement and loads). It is important that these factors are validated against recent test results and combined with knowledge gained from industry experience before being incorporated into pipeline codes and standards.

Richard Harrison, Engineering Manager (Installation Analysis & Sealine Design) in Saipem Ltd, says: "Saipem has continuously upgraded its fleet of pipe-laying vessels and developed new techniques for installing concrete-coated pipelines. Although we have been pushing the boundaries of our knowledge, we have been constrained by the lack of guidance that is available for installing these types of pipelines. Saipem welcomes this initiative and anticipates that such collaboration will directly extend the ability and confidence of the industry to deal with the increasingly challenging pipelines that will need to be designed and installed in the future."

The JIP will lead to a rational design approach based on a quantitative understanding of concrete-coating behavior in response to external loads and the interaction between the important mechanisms and factors that influence this behavior. The first phase of the JIP will develop a design approach for pipeline concrete coating and is due for completion by December 2015. The second phase is for an experimental validation of the design approach and development of a design guideline for pipeline concrete coating. The JIP is expected to be completed by the end of 2016.

Statoil and its license partners have chosen an unmanned wellhead platform as the concept for the Oseberg Future development phase I project in the North Sea. The platform will be controlled from the Oseberg field center.

Illustration of unmanned wellhead platform.

The investment decision is expected next winter.

Three various concept studies have been made for an unmanned wellhead platform. This platform has no living quarters, helicopter deck or lifeboats.

"The alternative was to place the wells on the seabed, but the costs of subsea wells have been tripled during the last decade. We have therefore chosen a jacket-based unmanned wellhead platform that will reduce costs by several hundred million NOK," says Anders Opedal, senior vice president of projects in Statoil.

Total cost for such unmanned wellhead platform is found to be very competitive to a subsea concept, all elements of construction, equipment, wells and maintenance considered.
"Based on prognoses the costs of subsea systems are still rising. We challenge the industry to cooperate with us so we can turn this trend and develop smart solutions, both above and below water," says Ivar Aasheim, senior vice president of field development in Statoil.

Statoil wants to use service vessels connected to the wellhead platform by gangways during maintenance campaigns after the jack-up drilling platform has completed its well drilling operations.

Unmanned wellhead platforms without facilities, helicopter deck and lifeboats represent a new concept in Norway, but they have been used for some time internationally, for example on the Danish and Dutch continental shelves.

All facilities will be found on the support vessel, with shorter distance to for example lifeboats and helicopter deck than on big installations.

"The platform will have high-quality equipment to reduce the need for maintenance during the operations phase. Consequently we are planning for only two short maintenance campaigns per year, which will be carefully planned and performed in good-weather seasons," says Aasheim.
Statoil and its license partners will now carry out pre-studies of the unmanned wellhead platform

Reflects robust Administration support for science-based decision-making in managing natural resources

The President's fiscal year 2016 budget request for the U.S. Geological Survey is $1.2 billion, an increase of nearly $150 million above the FY 2015 enacted level. The FY16 budget reflects the vital role the USGS plays in advancing the President's ongoing commitment to scientific discovery and innovation to support a robust economy, sustainable economic growth, natural resource management, and science-based decision-making for critical societal needs.

The budget request includes increases that ensure the USGS is at the leading edge of earth sciences research. It includes robust funding for science to inform land and resource management decisions, advance a landscape-level understanding of ecosystems, and develop new information and strategies to support communities in responding to climate change, historic drought, water quality issues, and natural hazards. The budget also funds science to support the Nation's energy strategy, to help identify critical mineral resources, and to address the impacts of energy and mineral development on the environment.

"The USGS has a strong 136-year legacy of providing reliable science to decision-makers," said Suzette Kimball, Acting USGS Director. "This budget request recognizes our unique capabilities with multi-disciplinary earth science research and will allow the USGS to meet societal needs for our Nation now and in the future."

Key increases in the FY 2016 Budget are summarized below. For more detailed information on the President's 2016 budget, visit the USGS Budget, Planning, and Integration website.

Meeting Water Challenges in the 21st Century
The FY16 budget provides an increase of $14.5 million above the FY 2015 enacted level for science to support sustainable water management. Meeting the Nation's water resource needs poses increasing challenges for resource managers, who must contend with changes in the frequency and magnitude of floods and droughts. As competition for water resources grows for activities such as farming, energy production, and community water supplies, so does the need for information and tools to aid decision-makers. The budget provides increased funding across several USGS mission areas to support resource managers in understanding and managing competing demands related to water availability and quality and to enable adaptive management of watersheds to support the resilience of the communities and ecosystems that depend on them. This includes a $3.2 million increase for science to understand and respond to drought, a $4 million increase for water use information and research, a $2.5 million increase to study ecological water flows, a $1.3 million increase for stream flow information, and a $1.0 million increase to advance the National Groundwater Monitoring Network.

Powering Our Future and Supporting Sustainable Energy and Mineral Development
The 2016 USGS budget provides $9.6 million in program increases across the energy, minerals and environmental health portfolio for science to support the sustainable development of unconventional oil and gas resources, renewable energy sources such as geothermal, wind, and solar, critical minerals such as rare earth elements, and to address the environmental impacts of uranium mining.

Specifically, the budget includes a program increase of $1 million for mineral resources science to continue life-cycle analysis for critical minerals such as rare earth elements and to develop new science and tools to reduce the impacts of minerals extraction, production, and recycling on the global environment and human health. A life-cycle analysis will trace the flow of critical minerals from generation and occurrence through the consequences of human activity to ultimate disposition and disposal. The Nation faces key economic decisions within each stage of the resource life cycle. Scientific understanding is an essential input to these decisions. The program change will support new workforce capability to address the main thrusts of the President's four working groups in the Office of Science and Technology Policy that are currently focused on critical and strategic materials essential to national security, economic vitality, and environmental protection.

Responding to Natural Hazards
The budget provides an increase of more than $6.6 million above the FY 2015 enacted level for natural hazard science. This includes an increase of $4.9 million to expand the Global Seismic Network used for worldwide earthquake monitoring, tsunami warning, and nuclear treaty verification monitoring and research in partnership with the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense. It also includes a $1.7 million increase to support space weather (solar flare) geomagnetic monitoring. The increase will also support the installation and operation of rapid-deployable streamgages and expand the library of flood-inundation maps to help manage flood response activities. The proposed increase will also support landslide, wildfire, and sinkhole response capabilities as well as provide disaster scenario planning products for emergency managers. Included in the request is funding to build on investments to continue development of an earthquake early warning system, with the goal of implementing a limited public warning system for the U.S. west coast by 2018, as well as continued investments in volcano monitoring networks and science.

Building a Landscape-Level Understanding of Our Resources
The budget includes $15.6 million to expand, enhance, and initiate ecosystem science activities to increase the understanding of the Nation's landscapes and how they work. This includes budget increases of $6.7 million in support of critical landscapes. Specifically it provides a $4.2 million increase for the Arctic, a $1 million increase to study sagebrush landscapes that provide habitat for survival of greater sage-grouse, and a $1.5 million increase that supports science for Puget Sound, Columbia River, and the upper Mississippi River. USGS research will continue to support restoration of other priority ecosystems, such as Chesapeake Bay, Everglades, Great Lakes, California Bay Delta, and the Gulf Coast. The budget request also provides an increase of $2.2 million for research on invasive plants and animals that cause significant economic losses in the U.S. and transmit diseases to wildlife and people, and $1.6 million to study the decline of insects, birds, and mammals that pollinate agricultural and other plants. Finally, the budget increases funding by $5.1 million to support coastal resilience to hazards and adaptation to long-term change from sea-level rise and coastal erosion.

Foundations for Land Management
The President's budget request includes an increase of $37.8 million to provide data and tools to help land and resource managers make informed decisions across the landscape and provide data and information to the public for use in a wide variety of applications. The budgets of USGS and NASA provide complementary funding to sustain the Landsat data stream, which is critical to understanding global landscapes. An increase of $24.3 million in the USGS budget supports the ground system portion of the Sustained Land Imaging Program, including funding for ground systems development for a Thermal Instrument Free Flyer, Landsat 9 (a rebuild of Landsat 8), and to receive data from internal partners. The increase also will enhance the accessibility and usability of data. Specifically, the budget includes a $4 million increase for Landsat science products for climate and resource assessments.

The budget provides increases for other foundational data and tools needed to support landscape-level understanding. For example, an increase of $3.7 million will expand three-dimensional elevation data collection using ifsar (interferometric synthetic aperture radar) for Alaska and lidar (light detection and ranging) elsewhere in the U.S. in response to growing needs for high-quality, high-resolution elevation data to improve aviation safety, to understand and mitigate the effects of coastal erosion, storms, and other hazards, and to support many other critical activities. A $1.8 million increase will enhance understanding of the benefits of the Nation's ecosystem services, and a $1.1 million increase for the Big Earth Data Initiative will make high-value data sets easier to discover, access and use. The accessibility and usability of these data are critical for land management, hazard mitigation, and building a landscape-level understanding of our resources.

Supporting Community Resilience in the Face of a Changing Climate
The USGS plays an important role in conducting research and developing information and tools to support communities in understanding, preparing for, and responding to the impacts of global change. The budget includes an increase of $32 million above the FY 2015 enacted level for science to support climate resilience and adaptation. Climate change requires the Nation to prepare for more intense drought, heatwaves, wildfire, flooding, and sea level rise. These challenges are already impacting infrastructure, food and water supplies, and physical safety in communities across the Nation.

Understanding potential impacts to communities, ecosystems, water, plant and animal species, and other resources is crucial to federal, state, tribal, local, and international partners as they develop adaptive and resilient strategies in response to climate change. The budget includes a $6.8 million increase in science for adaptation and resilience planning, an increase of $2.3 million for the USGS to provide interagency coordination of regional climate science activities across the Nation, an increase of $8.7 million to support biological carbon sequestration, and an increase of $11 million for the USGS to support the community resilience toolkit, which is a web-based clearinghouse of data, tools, shared applications, and best practices for resource managers, decision-makers, and the public.