The offshore jurisdiction of states in the southeastern U.S. could triple in the relatively near future. Two Louisiana Congressmen, U.S. Sen. David Vitter and U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, recently introduced companion bills styled as the Offshore Fairness Act (OFA), which would extend the offshore jurisdictions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida (partially), Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Andrew Quackenbos
BOEM Five Year Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program Under Attack
Posted in Energy, Offshore OilThe Center for Sustainable Economy, a non-profit public interest consulting firm, filed a lawsuit today against the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in an attempt to halt that agency’s first approved five-year Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program since the BP oil spill. The Program, which establishes a schedule for 2012-2017… Continue Reading
Costa Concordia – Lessons Learned and Path Forward
Posted in Marine Services, Maritime Contracts, Ports & Cargo ShippingWhen the Costa Concordia ran aground on a reef off Giglio Island near the Tuscan coast of Italy last month, owners and insurers of vessels certainly paid attention. How could they not? The incident was the most noteworthy shipping casualty since the Exxon Valdez disaster, and it is now being called the biggest ever shipping… Continue Reading
Pressure on Hydraulic Fracturing Operations Continues to Rise
Posted in Energy, Hydraulic FracturingWith 2011 in the rearview, businesses all over the country are looking forward to fresh start in 2012. But the opportunity to start fresh will elude natural gas producers partaking in hydraulic fracturing operations, as recent events in Ohio have caused additional uproar concerning the practice. On December 30, 2011, Ohio state officials ordered the… Continue Reading
EPA proposes new vessel general permits–let the games begin.
Posted in Energy, Marine Services, Maritime Contracts, Ports & Cargo ShippingThe EPA issued drafts of two vessel general permits seeking to regulate discharge from commercial vessels (military and recreational vessels are excluded) on November 30. The draft permits – (1) Vessel General Permit for Discharges Incidental to The Normal Operation of Vessels (VGP) and (2) Small Vessel General Permit for Discharges Incidental to The Normal… Continue Reading