The White House review of proposed rules for an expanded credit for capturing and storing carbon dioxide resulted in changes that give the IRS more time to take back the credits in case of carbon leaks. US Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue ordered the US Forest Service to expedite environmental reviews on its land, paving the way for more grazing, logging, and oil development on public lands. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission approved new rules governing well construction, testing, and related matters, which the agency says will result in the strongest rules nationwide to protect groundwater from contamination from oil and gas activity. The Texas Railroad Commission’s chairman has said the commission will look into policies to “drastically reduce” natural gas flaring from the state’s shale patch as investors become increasingly sensitive to climate-change concerns. New Mexico state regulators vowed to keep the oil and gas industry in check during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent market collapse, as some groups worried that shut-in wells and other cost-saving measures could lead to operators flouting environmental regulations. The Alberta Energy Regulator has suspended a wide array of environmental monitoring requirements for oilsands companies over public health concerns raised by the COVID-19 pandemic. After years of negotiations, the province announced that it had reached a preliminary agreement with the federal government that it calls a “major step toward providing Alberta’s oil and gas industry a single set of strong rules to reduce methane emissions and protect the environment.” As the oil industry faces bankruptcies and shutdowns, a new analysis uncovers low inspection rates and almost no financial penalties—with a handful of exceptions.

Actions to decarbonize operations and operations during the COVID-19 pandemic are among the highlights. Royal Dutch Shell will announce a major restructuring by the end of the year as the energy company prepares to accelerate its shift toward low carbon, Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden told employees, a company source said. The oil and gas industry was created by fierce entrepreneurs, wildcatters, and visionaries. But, in the last 50 years, it has lost its way. The industry desperately needs a paradigm shift. Here are four pillars upon which we think the reinvention of the oil and gas industry should be based. The company is creating two new business groups: Natural Resources, focused on developing the upstream oil and gas portfolio sustainably, and Energy Evolution, dedicated to supporting the evolution of the company’s power generation, product transformation, and marketing. Launched in collaboration with industry leaders and academia, the Microsoft Energy Core aims to accelerate digital transformation, build coalitions for responsible innovation, deliver skilling initiatives, and address sustainability and societal challenges. The controversial surveying technique has been used around Australia to look for oil and gas, but some environmentalists and scientists have warned the effects on marine life could be deadly.

Recent items of interest on environmental issues related to the oil and gas industry.

What Are the Security Challenges of the Oil and Gas Market? Protecting the oil and gas market is key to a thriving economy. The list of security challenges for oil and gas requires the best technology solutions the industry has to offer. A panel of experts addresses the question "What are the security challenges of the oil and gas market?" As the world’s top oil producers prepared for a weeklong meeting in April to plan a response to slumping prices of crude, espionage hackers commenced a sophisticated spearphishing campaign that was concentrated on US-based energy companies. Malaysia’s push to explore energy blocks off its coast has turned into a five-nation face off involving US and Chinese warships, raising the risk of a direct confrontation as broader tensions grow between the world’s biggest economies.

Can safety professionals leverage the spotlight on the profession to push correction and compliance? The platform, created by DrillingVR and safety group DROPS, has been designed to present online space for collaboration, meetings, and learning about dropped-object prevention. Between your current level of safety performance and excellent safety performance there is a gap. If you are going to reach excellence, you must bridge that gap. Before you can bridge it, you must identify the basic elements that create it. Energy companies began preparations to resume oil and gas production in the US Gulf of Mexico a day after Tropical Storm Cristobal blew through with high winds and heavy rains. The testing, inspection, and certification company is reporting a 900% rise in demand for the remote inspection of offshore assets and equipment since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report from the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers is in relation to a person who used alcohol-based hand gel sanitizer and, after application but before the liquid had fully evaporated, touched a metal surface, where a build-up of static ignited the alcohol.

Due to the ongoing global public health concerns related to COVID-19, the rapidly changing environment and following extensive consultation with our key partners and stakeholders, SPE has taken the decision to reschedule the SPE Norway Subsurface Conference, originally planned for 22 April 2020. The event has been tentatively re-scheduled to take place on 14 September 2020 at the Quality Hotel Edvard Greig. SPE will continue to monitor the ongoing situation and will revise the new date if required. SPE is committed to delivering a successful and safe event. SPE will be reaching out to all participants to confirm their rescheduling arrangements.

At the 2018 SPE International Conference and Exhibition on Health, Safety, Security, Environment, and Social Responsibility, Abdulla Al Marzooqi, manager of ADNOC’s Group HSE Unit and conference chairman, spoke with reporter Eithne Treanor. Abdulmunim Al Kindy, upstream director at the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, delivered the keynote address at SPE’s international HSE conference in Abu Dhabi, saying that fundamental changes in work practices mean that effective HSE protection measures must remain at the center of operations. Abdulla Al Marzooqi, manager of health, safety, and environment for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, is the conference chair for the 2018 SPE International Conference and Exhibition on Health, Safety, Security, Environment, and Social Responsibility. When SPE’s international health, safety, and environment conference opens in April, it will bring together professionals from around the world. This gathering of professionals, on top of the technical information shared, is what makes the conference so important, said Jack Hinton, program cochair.

The company said its goals underscore its strong environmental, social, and governance performance as it responds to rising global energy demand. In addition, it said, the goals are aligned with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. Working to lower sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide emissions is beneficial from an environmental point of view, but it is not free. In fact, it comes with a substantial cost increase. This paper explores options for emission reduction at ADNOC’s Habshan gas-processing plant along with their costs.

What are the impacts of the energy crunch on OCTG demand? Mekers Offshore, a Zhejiang-based company, launched its first in a series of liftboats at Shanghai Bestway Dajin Heavy Industries yard in Jiangsu, China.

A recovery in the energy industry is key to the oilfield water sector in the Permian. But the industry must address issues such as further research, regulatory changes, and technology. Centennial said in its 10-Q report for Q1 that the economic downturn increased the likelihood that the transaction would fail to close by its original timeline. Sourcing water, flowback water services threatened as D&Cs decline. Cutbacks in oil and gas production and drilling and completions will result in a decrease in produced water and will also lead to a reduction in water infrastructure investment. The fact sheet, in conjunction with other IPIECA water management guidance, is intended as a guide to explore opportunities to reuse produced water.