Good morning, here's what the Oilman has for you today:

• Law Revision Threatens GOM Oil Industry

• Shell Turns Up Pressure on Venture Global

• Tweet of the Day

Law Revision Threatens GOM Oil Industry

A revision of the Endangered Species Act could threaten oil production in the Gulf.

The government has until December to complete it.

If it fails, drilling in the Gulf could be halted.

The court ruling that sent the industry into a frenzy

It all started with activists.

These challenged the legal basis for approval of oil and gas activity under the ESA.

A judge ruled in their favor last month.

So now the government has until December 20 to revise the ESA assessment for oil and gas drilling.

The industry has also launched a lobbying offensive to avoid a halt to drilling in the Gulf.

It accounts for 15% of the national total.

Imagine what happens when those 15% suddenly disappear.

Nothing good, that’s what.

Did you know that if it was a country, the GOM would be among the top 12 oil producers in the world?

That’s how important it is that this revision is done on time.

It is also important that it is done right.

Instead of just tightening the regulatory screws on the industry further.

A cascade of effects

Here’s what happens if the NOAA doesn’t finish the revision on time.

Approvals for oil and gas operations will have to draw on info from hundreds of documents.

That would make the approval process longer, to put it mildly.

Ironically, failure to revise the law would also affect offshore wind permitting.

That should give the NOAA a special incentive to make the December 20 deadline.

Shell Turns Up Pressure on Venture Global

Shell has slammed Venture Global with a wrongful earnings claim.

The supermajor says the LNG supplier made $3.5 billion unlawfully.

The saga continues

Half a dozen energy companies are after Venture Global.

The LNG maker skirted its long-term contract obligations to them.

So it could sell LNG on the spot market for higher prices.

Venture Global says it can do what it wants until its Calcasieu Pass facility is in operation.

And it still isn’t because the company is asking for extension after extension.

So Shell and the others are losing money and LNG cargos.

They had enough last year and sued.

Meanwhile, Venture Global asked for yet another extension to its construction period.

The spot market is definitely sweeter than long-term contracts.

But here’s the thing: Shell, BP, and the other claimants funded the construction.

They were what’s called foundational investors.

So it’s a really bad look on Venture to keep pretending it’s not finished.

While it keeps selling LNG on the spot market.

A boomerang soaring high

Venture Global could really mess things up for itself.

If the majors sue successfully, it would be slammed with compensation demands.

These could be in the billions.

Proportionate to the losses that the other companies suffered.

And what does Venture Global do instead of damage control?

It calls Shell’s latest claim “paid propaganda.”

This won’t end well for the LNG upstart.

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