#offshore-drilling

#offshore-drilling

California lawmakers introduced a last-minute deal that would streamline environmental approvals for up to 2,000 new wells annually in oil-rich Kern County, while tightening the regulatory requirements for offshore drilling. The looming closure of two California refineries has become a sore spot for Gov. Gavin Newsom and for California Democrats, pitting their longtime clean-energy goals against concerns about the rising cost of living.

During July and August at least 12 oil and gas vessels and permanent structures were detected inside Taiwan's EEZ including one within 50km of the restricted-waters border of the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands as well as several steel supports for fixed offshore drilling platforms, called jackets. Their presence inside Taiwan's EEZ have not been previously reported. Experts said the activity fit the pattern of Beijing's greyzone strategies for seizing disputed territory.