Proceedings magazine is a communication tool for the Coast Guard's Marine Safety & Security Council. Each quarterly magazine focuses on a specific theme of interest to the marine industry.
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Just a decade ago, America's conventional oil and gas production was facing signif cant decline. The country was preparing to rely even more heavily on foreign oil and gas, and the industry had spent tens of billions of dollars on new import terminals. Since then, advances in energy production tech- nology, including directional and horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing, and new platform and global positioning technology have revolutionized oil and gas production. This has turned a nation once looking abroad for more energy resources into a top oil and gas producer, with production lev- els continuing to climb. This radical change in the country's oil and gas production has been coined "America's Energy Renaissance," which currently accounts for 8 percent of the U.S. GDP and now signif cantly impacts our ports and waterways in various ways. During the American Waterway Operators' 2015 spring convention, the Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Paul Zukunft, said: "The Energy Renaissance in the U.S. is causing tremendous change across our maritime transportation system … Predictions suggest that domestic energy pro- duction will exceed consumption by 2020. This is signif cant, because much of that oil and gas will move to market on our nation's maritime transportation system." This impact has already been seen, with new cargoes transported over the water, increased oil tanker and gas carrier transits, and new marine fuels and fueling operations. Even with the drop in global oil prices, we have seen American oil production more than double since 2008, and natural gas pro- duction is up about 24 percent. In April 2015, U.S. oil production reached its highest levels since the early 1970s, hitting 9.7 million barrels per day. Analysts predict production will remain at relatively the same level and rise even further once prices rebound. In addition, the U.S. is positioned to capture a large portion of global liquef ed gas demand, which is estimated to grow by more than 5 percent each year over the next ten years, with more than 33 large- scale liquefaction facilities requesting government approval to export. Using liquef ed natural gas as a transportation fuel is another aspect of the gas industry already changing the maritime environment as we know it. The f rst U.S.-certif cated LNG-fueled vessel is in operation, and 11 others are currently under construction in the U.S. There are more than 50 addi- tional vessels under construction internationally, with LNG bunkering operations on the East, West, and Gulf Coasts approved or currently under review. Many predict this trend will continue with more than 1,000 non-LNG carrier oceangoing vessels by 2020. This edition of Proceedings is devoted to how this drastic shift in U.S. energy production is affect- ing the maritime transportation system. The edition opens with introductions to the new cargoes and operations, and contains separate sections on more detailed aspects of the maritime liquef ed gas and petroleum industries. The edition closes with a series of articles on how the Coast Guard is undergoing a servicewide effort to revitalize its marine safety enterprise, retooling existing processes and personnel, and researching other changes and additional resources needed to accommodate the expected maritime growth. It has been an honor to champion this edition and work with the numerous highly talented authors from various Coast Guard off ces, other government agencies, academia, and the oil and gas industry. The unif ed approach in putting this edition together is a ref ection of the cooperation already in place throughout the maritime community to ready our ports for these changes and ensure that, as Admiral Zunkunft best put it, "… the Coast Guard facilitates this growth safely, and that we do not impede it." Champion's Point of View 5 Fall 2015 Proceedings www.uscg.mil/proceedings Editorial Team Barbara Chiarizia Executive Editor Diana Forbes Managing Editor Leslie C. Goodwin Art Director Proceedings is published quarterly in the interest of safety at sea under the auspices of the Marine Safety & Security Council. Special permission for republication, either in whole or in part, except for copyrighted mate- rial, is not required, provided credit is given to Proceedings. The articles contained in Proceed- ings are submitted by diverse public and private interests in the maritime community as a means to promote maritime safety and security. The views expressed by the authors do not necessarily represent those of the U.S. Coast Guard or the Department of Homeland Security or represent off cial policy. Editorial Contact Email: HQS-DG-NMCProceedings@ uscg.mil Mail: Commandant (CG-DCO-84) ATTN: Editor, Proceedings Magazine U.S. Coast Guard Stop 7318 2703 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. S.E. Washington, DC 20593-7318 Web: www.uscg.mil/proceedings Phone: (202) 372-2316 Subscription Requests Proceedings is free. Subscriptions www.uscg.mil/proceedings by cdr JAson sMith Detachment Chief, LGC NCOE U.S. Coast Guard