1-04-12 Editorial Writers Hit Alaska's Investment Climate...And More

1-04-12 Editorial Writers Hit Alaska’s Investment Climate…And More

ADN/AP by Becky Bohrer. Full resolution has yet to be reached in a long-running dispute over leases on the Point Thomson gas fields, more than two months after Alaska’s governor announced a settlement. * ADN. Chevron says its wholly owned indirect subsidiary Union Oil Co. of California has completed a sale of Alaska oil and gas assets in Cook Inlet to Houston-based Hilcorp Alaska LLC. * Fairbanks News Miner by Matt Buxton. Money for the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects was cut from $4 million to $1 million in the recently signed 2012 federal budget. (See yesterday’s link to this story below. -dh)

Alaska Dispatch by Andrew Halcro (NGP Photo). Some have questioned the rosy potential expressed to lawmakers by independents. One official stated the project economics used by an independent during a recent presentation to the Legislature were simply not believable. In addition, a recent report released by oil and gas consultant Pedro Van Meurs concluded that the generous exploration tax credits that have attracted independents, were completely disconnected from the actual transition into production.

The Northern Right by Dave Stieren (NGP Photo). My advice for 2012? Define the impact ACES has had on the state. Take some time to inform a public that is still woefully ill-informed about the long-term impact the policy has created. End the “it’s too high,” and spend time to explain the why. Alaska, for all its size, is a small town. When time is taken to show that everyone from the grocer to the cab driver is in the oil industry, the public listens. It is, after all, a life lesson.

Examiner by Deborah Brollini (NGP Photo). I personally wish grown men would act like men, and be the protectors and providers they were put on this earth to be, and protect my children, and their future. I would like to believe Senator Stedman is sincere, and I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt as we go into this legislative session in the spirit of Senator Ted Stevens “to hell with politics, do what is best for Alaska.” Senator Stedman, do the right thing this legislative session, and do right by my children… because they deserve a future. (Here is Brollini’s initial oil tax OpEd, and here is the link to Senate President Gary Stevens’ recent, related statement on oil tax reform.)

Comment: The stage is set for the great 2012 oil and gas legislative tax debate and the outcome of the debate will determine whether Alaska prospers or falls into an economic death spiral characterized by falling revenue and increasing expenses. Readers will recall the other dimentions of the debate (i.e. anti-tax reform, expressed by our state Senate President Gary Stevens in yesterday’s story below and tax reform expressed by Governor Sean Parnell.) We encourage all elected officials to keep a careful eye on the ball: "It’s not about maximizing income for this generation but sustaining it for the next generations!" -dh

Edmonton Journal, by Dave Cooper. An ocean of cheap natural gas has flooded the marketplace, thanks to new fracking technology, which is opening once-inaccessible reservoirs in the U.S. and Canada.

Edmonton Sun Editorial. Then there’s the outcry over the Keystone XL pipeline — a project far cleaner and more democratic than many oil pipelines operating out of the Middle East. Plus it will bring jobs to many unemployed Canadians and Aboriginal communities.

Consumer Energy Alliance News Clips, January 4, 2012.

Climate Progress: Pipeline Inspector-Turned Whistleblower Calls Keystone Potential “Disaster”

By forcing the White House to make a decision on the politically and environmentally-toxic Keystone XL pipeline as part of an agreement reached in December to extend the payroll tax cut, Republicans are being lambasted by environmental groups for undercutting the federal environmental review process.

AP: Obama signs bills toughening pipeline safety, easing airport screening for military members

President Barack Obama has signed legislation to toughen oil and gas pipeline regulations and another to ease airport security procedures for members of the military on official travel. The president signed the legislation Tuesday as part of a post-holiday, back-to-business day that included approval of several other measures approved by Congress late last year.

AP: Oil Falls Slightly Amid Improving US Economy

Oil prices inched lower toward $102 a barrel Wednesday in Asia as investors eyed signs of an improving U.S. economy. Benchmark crude for February delivery fell 40 cents to $102.56 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract jumped $4.13 to settle at $102.96 in New York on Tuesday.

Wall Street Journal: More Brown Jobs

Try as government usually does, it’s hard to keep the U.S. economy down. That’s the message of yesterday’s announcement of some $4.8 billion in new foreign investment in America’s booming shale oil and gas industry. France’s Total SA will invest $2.3 billion in Chesapeake Energy Corp. assets to explore the Utica shale formations in Ohio, while China Petrochemical Corp. will spend $2.5 billion in a joint venture with Devon Energy to explore oil and gas projects from the Tuscaloosa Marine shale in Alabama and Mississippi to the Niobrara in Colorado.

About the Author: wpnorthern

Dave Harbour, publisher of Northern Gas Pipelines, is a former Chairman of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, a Commissioner Emeritus of NARUC, NARUC's Official Representative to IOGCC and Vice Chairman of NARUC's Gas Committee. He served as Gas Committee Chairman of the Western Conference of Public Service Commissioners. He also served as commissioner of the Anchorage Bicentennial Commission and the Anchorage Heritage Land Bank Commission. He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree: English, at Colorado State University, a Master of Science Degree: Communications-Journalism at Murray State University and graduated from Utility Regulatory School for Commissioners at Michigan State University. He served as a Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs at Alaska Pacific University, taught bank marketing classes at the University of Alaska and was an English teacher at Los Alamos High School. Harbour served in ranks of Private - Captain during a 4-year assignment with the Army in Korea, Idaho, Georgia and Fort Meade and received the Meritorious Service Medal among other commendations. Harbour is also a past Chairman of the Alaska Council on Economic Education, the Alaska Oil & Gas Association Government Affairs Committee, the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, the Export Council of Alaska and the Department of Commerce's District Export Council. He is a past President of the Alaska Press Club, American Bald Eagle Foundation, Consumer Energy Alliance-Alaska and Common Sense for Alaska. Harbour was instrumental in founding the American Bald Eagle Research Institute (UAS), the Alaska Support Industry Alliance, the Downtown Anchorage Business Partnership, and Arctic Power. He also served as CEO of several small Alaska organizations, including the Anchorage Parking Authority and Action Security, Inc. Harbour is also Chairman Emeritus of the Alaska Oil & Gas Congress. Harbour's wife, Nancy, is a professional, performing arts administrator and his three boys, Todd, Benjamin and William work in the fields of environmental management, energy marketing and medicine.