5-4-12

5-4-12

Alaska’s Attorney General challenges EPA’s authority to mandate regional rules when the Clean Water Act gives authority for national regulation. This linked letter signals yet another states’ rights issue developing between local and federal jurisdictions. The outcome could affect virtually every type of natural resource development – particularly mining, oil and gas – for years to come. -dh

As technology advances, shale potential in many regionsbecomes more realistic. As oil and gas prices and supply change, we urge readers — including lawmakers concerned with competitiveness of their oil and gas jurisdictions–to be aware that their resources may not be as rare as they once thought. E&P Magazine captured this concept in its Arctic shale article last September which we repeat below. We also note the abundance of gas hydrates as illustrated in the McClatchy story below. -dh

E&P Magazine. One-third of Canada’s conventional natural gas and light crude oil are in the Arctic region north of the 60° north latitude. However, there is also a large but unquantified potential for unconventional oil and gas from shale and hydrates in the Arctic. “The industry focus is in the Beaufort Sea, Mackenzie Delta and Mackenzie Valley. In the 2011 bidding round, 13 parcels were bid with two in the shallow Beaufort Sea and 11 in the central Mackenzie Valley,” said Mimi Fortier, director general, Northern Oil and Gas Branch, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada.

ADN/McClatchy by Renee Schoof. Will the world be tapping methane hydrates deep in the permafrost and off the edges of continents decades from now? Part of the answer will rest with research in Alaska.

Bob Reid, APG, Aboriginal Pipeline Group, LNG, Mackenzie, Photo by Dave Harbour

CALGARY, Alberta, May 3 (Reuters) – The native-owned corporation that would control a third of a long-delayed gas pipeline in Canada’s Far North is open to discussing the idea of a liquefied natural gas project that would allow reserves to be shipped to Asia to kickstart development, its president said on Thursday Bob Reid (NGP Photo), president of Aboriginal Pipeline Group, said the company is not locked into a particular route and is "absolutely" willing to talk about ch anging plans to include an LNG option, an idea that appears to be building momentum as North American gas prices languish near 10-year lows.

Fuel Fix, by G. Allen Brooks, Managing director of PPHB LP. Regulation has come to the offshore service industry, yet virtually all of the visitors and exhibiting companies at the OTC remain unware of this dramatic change to their industry. Like fog quietly rolling in, so too came the expansion of federal regulatory jurisdiction to the offshore service industry. Just a year ago, in a speech at OTC, Michael Bromwich (NGP Photo), then director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement set forth a plan to extend federal regulation to all service companies operating offshore.

Enbridge asks court to overturn NB gas regulations – CBC.ca – (CBC) In the court documents, Enbridge claims changes to the way natural gas rates are set will stifle growth of the province’s pipeline network and …

ADN by Lisa Demer. A plan for a large-diameter pipeline bringing North Slope natural gas to major commercial markets officially shifted Wednesday from one that would send Alaska’s gas to the Lower 48 through Alberta to one that would end in Southcentral Alaska and liquefy gas for export on Asia-bound tankers.

Canadian budget bill undermines environment, critics charge – Nature.com – … of oil and natural gas pipelines that traverse provincial or international borders. … told CBC Radio’s The Current on 1 May (link to audio excerpt).