First Oil: Trump administration makes a common sense move regarding offshore regulation

KURT S. ABRAHAM, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & CHIEF FORECASTER 

Many of us remember the infamous date of April 20, 2010, when a sequence of failures involving a number of different parties on the Deepwater Horizon semisubmersible led to the explosion and fire that killed 11 people and caused a wide-ranging oil spill in the Gulf of America/Mexico. In the wake of that incident, then-President Barack Obama created the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) in 2011 to replace the Minerals Management Service (MMS).

Fig. 1. The Department of the Interior will have to craft a new logo for its Marine Minerals Administration to replace the two logos of BOEM and BSEE. Images: Department of the Interior.

The thinking at the time was that the restructuring would eliminate conflicts of interest by separating resource leasing (BOEM) from safety enforcement (BSEE) and strengthen environmental oversight. The former MMS had been criticized for both promoting oil production and enforcing safety, leading to what some politicians thought was lax oversight. In their minds, splitting these roles ensured that safety and environmental protection (BSEE) were distinct from leasing and economic development (BOEM).

But as time went on, it became obvious to many in the industry, as well as other observers (including this editor), that the restructuring was an overreaction and had unnecessarily created additional, unneeded layers of bureaucracy while complicating operations and even discouraging some offshore activity. Some folks thought it was a way for Mr. Obama—never a fan of oil and gas—to stick it to the offshore sector and punish it for what he considered an irresponsible environmental disaster.  

So, fast-forward 15 years since the offshore restructuring, and the second Trump administration has now been on a path for the last 15 months of slimming down the federal government and stripping away what it believes to be unnecessary bureaucracy. Thus, it should be no surprise that officials would want to streamline the Department of the Interior (DOI).

Fig. 2. Location of Delaware County in New York state. Map: Public domain.

Sure enough, on April 3, DOI announced the start of a phased plan to establish the “Marine Minerals Administration,” bringing together the functions of BOEM and BSEE, Fig. 1. DOI said this action is intended to improve coordination and increase efficiencies across offshore leasing, permitting, inspections and environmental oversight, while maintaining all existing regulatory protections and rigorous safety standards. 

“President Trump has been laser-focused on making the government work efficiently and effectively for the American people,” said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. “This is about building an agency that reflects where we are today and where we need to go. The department is applying what we’ve learned over the past decade to deliver clearer coordination, better service to the public and stronger, more integrated oversight of offshore energy development.”  

This editor applauds the administration on this long-needed move and looks forward to great results from it. 

Landholders sue state of New York on fracing ban. On April 16, a New York family filed a federal lawsuit challenging the state’s unilateral fracing ban, arguing that the ban violates the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by prohibiting mineral right holders from using their property and failing to provide compensation for that taking.

Fig. 3. The Hilli Episeyo FLNG. Image: CoreMarine & Jumbo Offshore.

Madison Woodward III, a geologist, and his son, Thomas Woodward, purchased 162 acres in Delaware County (Fig. 2) in 2011 after identifying strong potential for natural gas development—mirroring successful projects just across the border in Pennsylvania.

However, they are prohibited from using their mineral rights under a 2019 executive order that banned hydraulic fracing statewide, as well as a 2024 order that further banned all alternative methods of extracting natural gas. They argue that these orders rendered their property worthless, triggering a legal obligation to pay just compensation for the taking.  

“New York can choose to leave its energy in the ground, but it cannot compel landowners to bear that burden without just compensation,” said Tyler Fry, attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation. “New Yorkers, like all property owners across the country, have the right to use their property and the natural resources on their land to responsibly create energy, advance opportunity, and promote an abundant future for the next generation. Those goals should not be destroyed overnight by government fiat.” 

Pacific Legal Foundation represents the Woodwards free of charge. The case is Thomas and Madison Woodward, III v. Amanda Lefton. You can read the case page here. We will continue to track this case as it proceeds. 

Argentine LNG takes a step forward. CoreMarine & Jumbo Offshore announced on April 13 the award of a significant contract to perform the transport and installation of soft-yoke (SSY) mooring systems, and hook-up of the Hilli Episeyo FLNG (Fig. 3) and MKII FLNG vessels, in Argentina’s Golfo San Matías. The award represents a major milestone for both companies, as well as a breakthrough project for Argentina’s gas sector as it ramps up in export capabilities. 

Fig. 4. Devon Energy President & CEO Clay Gaspar was one of the numerous industry CEOs at CERAWeek in Houston. Image: The author.

The contract has been awarded by Southern Energy S.A. (SESA), supported by an international consortium comprising Pan American Energy, YPF, Pampa Energía, Harbour Energy, and Golar LNG. Together, the partners are advancing one of Argentina’s most strategically important energy developments to date.

CoreMarine and Jumbo Offshore will deliver the project through a fully integrated execution model that combines project management engineering, transportation, offshore installations and hook-up.  

As lead contractor, CoreMarine will contract Jumbo Offshore to transport and install the SSY mooring system, including heavy lift and piling activities. Jumbo Offshore has extensive experience with soft-yoke installations in Brazil and Cameroon. CoreMarine will follow-up with diving and construction activities, including spool installation, ballasting, riser hook-up, pre-commissioning, positioning and hook-up of both FLNG units.

Fig. 5. IPAA President & CEO Edith Naegle addresses the Illinois Oil & Gas Association’s Annual Meeting attendees the independent producer perspective. Image: The author.

The offshore campaign will involve complex, simultaneous operations, including heavy lifting, riser installation, piling, spool installation, saturation diving, and multi-vessel SIMOPS. The project will require the chartering of multiple assets, including DSV’s, support vessels and station keeping tugs. 

The SSY systems, supplied by NOV, will enable both FLNG units to weathervane around a single mooring point, aligning with environmental forces and providing a robust, cost-efficient solution that eliminates the need for fixed infrastructure, such as jetties.

CoreMarine and Jumbo Offshore both began project management and engineering in January 2026. The Hilli Episeyo FLNG is scheduled for installation in 2027, followed by the MKII FLNG in 2028, marking the first application of SSY technology in Argentine waters.

Observations from the conference circuit. It was a busy month during March for this editor. First up was our firm’s Deepwater Development Conference, which was detailed in my March issue column. Next up was the annual CERAWeek event, a week-long extravaganza of high-ranking executives, politicians, analysts and assorted other folks. Some in the media have labeled this event the “Superbowl of Energy,” although that might be getting a tad carried away.

Fig. 6. Yours truly gives a U.S. upstream market assessment to the IOGA Annual Meeting. Image: IOGA.

Nevertheless, attendance at this rarefied event jumped from 9,000 last year to over 11,000 this year. This figure was boosted, no doubt, by the war in Iran and the hunger among industry personnel to hear what their CEOs thought might be the impact on oil and gas operations and plans. Suffice to say, while the many speakers and panelists had many interesting things to say, none of them felt comfortable making any hard predictions. And, as a number of them pointed out, the price of oil could just as easily come down as quickly as it went up, depending on the duration of hostilities. So, no one was rushing to jack up drilling or field development plans. Indeed, the announcement of the temporary opening of the Strait of Hormuz on April 17 is a great lesson in how oil traders can push prices down quickly in response.

The CERAWeek roster of session participants (Fig. 4) featured the CEOs of Baker Hughes, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Devon Energy, Eni, Equinor, EQT, Harbour Energy, Occidental, OMV, SLB, Shell, Woodside Energy, among many other executives. The politicians included the U.S. Secretaries of Energy and the Interior, along with several senators and congressmen, plus a whole raft of officials from other countries. As I say, it was quite the extravaganza.  

Just as CERAWeek was winding down, I was off to Evansville, Ind., to speak at the Illinois Oil & Gas Association’s Annual Meeting (March 26-27). Despite the name, this event seems like more of a regional affair, given that it attracts industry folks from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan, and is well-attended. The situation in the Middle East was certainly on their minds, given the effect on oil prices. But in terms of the U.S. market, their concerns are rather different from those of the Permian basin, such as whether to drill additional shallow wells, how try to reach deeper reservoirs, how to prolong the lives of stripper wells, and whether they can get help from their respective states in plugging orphan wells. Our friend, IPAA President & CEO Edith Naegele, delivered a great state of the market for independents on the second day (Fig. 5), and yours truly followed with a look at overall U.S. upstream activity, Fig. 6. It was great to make a number of new contacts.

Fig. 7. The onshore panel at EWTC’s Annual Meeting. Image: The author.

Last, but not least, the following week was the Energy Workforce & Technology Council’s (EWTC) Annual Meeting in Tucson, at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, nestled up against the mountains on the north/northeast side of town. Aside from the fine location, the EWTC did a good job of lining up operator participants for the offshore and onshore panels (Fig. 7), as well as the Technology & Innovation panel, and the Market Outlook presentation. Again, much like the CERAWeek speakers, participants were optimistic about the global outlook but still taking a wait-and-see attitude, given the Middle East situation. Of special note, the EWTC’s Platinum Award, which recognizes lifetime achievement and contributions to the industry, was given to Chuck Davidson, partner at Quantum Capital Group (and former CEO of Noble Energy), and Rick Muncrief, former President and CEO of Devon Energy (and former Chairman and CEO of WPX Energy). Both award-winners are well-deserved! 

IN THIS ISSUE  

Special focus: Offshore Technology. We have a wealth of material this month, totaling a whopping seven articles. Leading off the section, two authors from Welligence give their outlook for the deepwater market, and they also recap our recent Deepwater Development Conference. Meanwhile, several authors from Frontier Deepwater Appraisal Solutions assess the progress made in the deepwater Lower Tertiary Wilcox Trend. Halliburton experts discuss the use of umbilical-less subsea completions, with recent results from offshore Norway. A Tracerco author describes how data-led integrity is redefining offshore pipeline life extension. In addition, a Kistler product manager says his company’s pressure sensors are being used by Sulzer to optimize high-energy centrifugal pumps for subsea water injection. Then, a product line head at MDL explains how Portable, modular back‑deck spreads are helping operators overcome limited access to offshore installation vessels offshore West Africa. Finally, we once again provide descriptions and images of the 17 winners of this year’s OTC Spotlight on Technology Award. 

Formation evaluation. An SLB engineer/product champion describes how new advances in intelligent imaging-while-drilling eliminate the traditional tradeoff between drilling speed and subsurface insight. By delivering decision-quality images in real time and integrating multiple measurement streams, operators can reduce uncertainty, accelerate decisions and protect long-term well value. 

Regional report: Gulf of America/Mexico. No matter what you call it, the Gulf is enjoying a renaissance in industry opinion and standing, says Contributing Editor Gordon Feller. The Gulf has seen renewed lease sales, with more to come; additional development projects are underway; oil production is on the increase; and operators are investing at higher levels in the Gulf, as they look forward to longer, more reliable returns.