Peter Stark and EPRINC Fellow Raphael Sandrea have published this piece, entitled “Deepwater Oil Exploration in the Gulf of Mexico: A Spatial Model Provides Clues for Undiscovered Potential.”

Sandrea and Stark bring long experience and unique expertise in evaluating the resource potential of geologic basins worldwide. Their paper on the isoOIP model demonstrates how simple and inexpensive decision support tools can continue to contribute to cost effective development of the nation’s oil and gas resources.

Oil and gas development throughout the U.S. outer continental shelf (OCS) provides a large portion of the nation’s oil and gas supply. Oil and gas reservoirs are found under the sea in both state and federal lands offshore from Louisiana, Texas, California, and Alaska. However, it is the resources located in the Gulf of Mexico that have proved the most prolific. According to the Energy Information Administration, Gulf of Mexico federal offshore oil production accounts for 17% of total U.S. crude oil production. In calendar year 2019, the U.S. Department of Interior reported that bonus bids, rents, and royalties from offshore oil and development generated over $5 billion USD in revenues to the U.S. Treasury.

On January 10, 2020, the Trump Administration proposed a series of regulatory reforms to streamline compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).  For the uninitiated, the  purpose of NEPA is to ensure that environmental factors are weighted equally when compared to other factors in the decision making process for so-called major actions undertaken by federal agencies. 

From the concerns raised by critics in the environmental community, one might conclude that this is a rushed and nefarious initiative  to “gut” environmental reviews. In contrast, critics of the NEPA process point to a  vast number of  projects from the construction of new roads to approval of pipelines that remain tied up in judicial reviews which often have little to do with the merits of the projects.

If you need a reminder that concerns over the NEPA process has been with us for some time, we refer you to “EIS’s vs. the Real World,”  published in the Public Interest by Professor Gene Bardach and EPRINC’s Lucian Pugliaresi back in 1977.  EIS writers at the time, the authors   point out that  the Bureau of Land Management’s agreement to prepare 212 EIS’s in connection with capital investments in rangelands cost in excess of $100 million (ten times the annual budget for the investments themselves during an average year in the early 1970’s). You can find their article here.

On February 13, 2020 in NYC, Barclays Bank and EPRINC hosted a discussion on U.S. petroleum policy  with the  investment community and public sector participants.  EPRINC Distinguished fellow Michael Lynch presented  his findings on the implications of a fracking ban on US production and energy security. EPRINC Distinguished Fellow Trisha Curtis updated the attendees on recent productivity trends in unconventional (shale) oil and gas production in the U.S. Lucian Pugliaresi, EPRINC’s President, moderated the discussion.

Ahead of the 2020 U.S. Presidential elections, several Democratic candidates have been endorsing policies that, to various degrees, would restrict hydraulic fracturing (HF), a drilling technique that has been largely responsible for the rapid expansion of U.S. oil and gas production. The consequences of such a policy initiative have been evaluated and published by EPRINC. The report was authored by Michael Lynch and can be found here and his presentation slides from the event are available here. Trisha Curtis’ slide presentation can be found here.

EPRINC would like to thank Harry Mateer of Barclays and Paul Tice of Schroeders for organizing and coordinating this event.

EPRINC’s Max Pyziur has created a note describing the background information behind the NaftoHaz/GazProm issues, specifically ahead of the 12/31/2019 transit agreement expiration. This work was penned in December 2019 just before that expiration date.

EPRINC’s Max Pyziur created the attached presentation on the EU Natural Gas Overview in September 2019.

Dr. Octavio F. Pastrana is joining EPRINC as the organization’s newest Distinguished Fellow. Octavio has forty three years of professional experience in world class companies in the oil and gas, and energy sectors, and as top executive for engineering and construction companies in South America and Mexico, in power generation and infrastructure.

Octavio has extensive experience in the oil and gas industry. For the past five years until May 2019,  Octavio was member of the Board of Petroleos Mexicanos, PEMEX. His deep engagement as advisor to the top executives and as leader of company planning far exceeded his duties as a non-executive board member, and while serving for four years as Chairman of its Strategy and Investment Committee, Octavio drove the transition of the company on a month to month basis to a new focus on performance and results.  During his thirteen years with BP, Octavio worked for five years as Chairman and CEO of Chaco, the oil and gas company which was formed during the privatization of the Bolivian national oil company YPFB, and for seven years as Country Head and General Director of oil and gas business units in Alaska, Venezuela, and México.

During 2013 and 2014, Octavio advised the Energy Commission of the Mexican Senate in development of the Constitutional Reform and subsequent Laws, engagement which led to his appointment as board member of PEMEX. 

The rest of Octavio’s bio can be found here.