Page 36: of Marine News Magazine (April 2012)

water permitting in the Gulf lag pre-spill rates. Only three deepwater permits were issued monthly from November to January, down 48 percent from the average of 5.8 permits per month prior to the spill. Approval times for plans are much longer than before the spill, and detailed, environmental assessments are required now for deepwater drilling plans. Its not getting any easier, most agree. WINDPOWER : A W AYTOUSEDEPLETEDFIELDSSome of the Gulf's shallow water wells are starting to run dry, driving the industry into deeper water. As oil becomes more expensive to extract, companies are look- ing to adapt old fields for offshore wind energy. Baryonyx Corp. in Austin, Texas plans to build two wind farms, 5 and 10 miles offshore respectively from Port Isabel, Texas. Power will be delivered to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas or ERCOT transmission grid. Offshore wind farms can also help oil and gas com- panies ? who ship diesel fuel to run generators on their platforms and rigs ? save on fuel costs. NEW, LNG-POWERED OSVSFORTHEGULFMost vessels fueled by liquid natural gas more than meet current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emission standards, and LNG is cost effective. But LNG is still new and slow to catch on,? Guidry of Harvey Gulf said. I have only four of them being built.? That said, Harvey Gulf arguably remains ahead of the pack in building increasingly redundant safety systems out in front of coming regulations for their growing, ultra-modern fleet of workboats. As announced this past February and October, Harvey Baldwin Filters has been protecting alltypes of engine-powered equipment with its lube, air, fuel, hydraulic and coolant filters for over 75 years. Baldwin filters are recognized by maintenance professionals worldwide as high quality, reliable and cost-effective products, making Baldwin the rightchoice for your filtration needs. Photo courtesy Dept. of Interior Above: Various types of drilling operations exhibited.