The US lifted the six-month moratorium on deepwater exploration in October, while codifying new rules governing drilling safety and well control. Russell McCulley looks at what the new regulations could mean for oil & gas companies doing business in the Gulf of Mexico鈥
Litigation continues in US courts over the Obama administration鈥檚 Gulf of Mexico deepwater drilling moratorium, despite the early lifting of the six-month drilling ban in October. In a 19 October decision, US District Court judge Martin Feldman鈥
Mexico's Pemex is preparing this month to issue the first incentive-based contracts allowed under the country's 2008 oil reforms. Most observers agree that the reforms didn't go far enough, but will a new president in 2012 pick up the pace? Russell McCulley reports鈥
With a major service point for the deepwater Gulf of Mexico in Port Fourchon, Louisiana among all US states has the most at stake in the federal government's six-month deepwater drilling moratorium. The effects so far haven't been as bad as some feared鈥
Worries about the future of natural gas dominated proceedings as the SPE鈥檚 Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition made its international debut in Florence last month. Speakers focused on what the industry must do to meet burgeoning global energy demand鈥
The six-month US moratorium on deepwater drilling following the Deepwater Horizon tragedy, along with tougher regulations and higher liability costs likely to follow, could put the squeeze on independent operators in the Gulf of Mexico. Russell McCulley talks to one company that's pushing back鈥
BP has come under fierce criticism for its response to the Macondo blowout, a months-long saga of top hats, riser insertion tools and other containment efforts that only began collecting a significant portion of the oil spilling into the Gulf several weeks after the event鈥
Former federal prosecutor and Justice Department inspector general Michael Bromwich has been tapped to lead the troubled agency that oversees US offshore oil & gas leasing and regulatory compliance. Bromwich was sworn in as director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management鈥
BP struggled to stop the flow of oil from the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico as the disaster entered its second month, and the spill, the worst in US history, was having repercussions far beyond the environmental catastrophe. Russell McCulley reports鈥
Andrew McBarnet forecasts some damaging consequences for marine seismic operations offshore the US as a result of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.The enormity of the blow-out and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig at the BP Macondo鈥
Since Petrobras and its partners reported finding the large Tupi field in 2006, excitement has reigned over Brazil's pre-salt reserves. Opportunities exist, even in a changing regulatory environment: the Brazilian congress is poised to consider鈥
The scheduled 2012 lease sale offshore Virginia will proceed, even without the environmental impact studies necessary to allow oil & gas exploration in place, according to MMS director Liz Burnham.The sale 鈥 the first on the US Atlantic OCS鈥
The shaky economic recovery could be threatened if US energy policies push up prices, ExxonMobil chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson said in Houston last month.鈥榊ou can raise taxes, raise royalties 鈥 it's going to ultimately increase the cost of energy鈥
Nigeria鈥檚 controversial oil reforms, long in the works, appear close to passage. The government hopes to shore up falling production and get a bigger share of oil profits. But IOCs doing business in the Delta are wary, as Russell McCulley reports鈥
A set of international standards for a wide selection of vital oil & gas industry materials, equipment and offshore structures is emerging from the International Standards Organization (ISO). OE reviews some of the latest developments in this area鈥
