Meet Alaska Part II
(Scroll Down For Part I. Remember that we wish our archives to maintain the highest degree of accuracy. Accordingly, we solicit reader responses: additions, corrections to anything included herein.)
by
Dave Harbour
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THIS MORNING IN WASHINGTON: You Read It Here First!
Murkowski called on President Obama to take a leadership role on lifting the export ban and offered her support in Congress. “Your leadership will be critical to our success in this endeavor,” Murkowski wrote to the president. “In particular, I would draw your attention to the status of our nation’s hydrocarbon trade. While exports of our natural gas and petroleum products have grown, our work is far from finished, and our policies are, in some cases, far from adequate. “Despite the obvious geopolitical, economic, and environmental benefits of building out our nation’s liquefaction capacity as soon as possible, the Department of Energy continues to slow-walk its approval of export licenses to our allies. The Keystone XL pipeline, which the State Department estimated would support over 42,000 jobs, remains unapproved even after years of delay. I once again urge you to take immediate action on these infrastructure projects, which you have generally promised to champion,” Murkowski continued. The administration retains the authority to lift the ban on its own. The U.S. Commerce Department can authorize a swap if domestic crude cannot be marketed in the United States. The president can also issue a national interest determination. “Lifting the prohibition on crude oil exports also presents us with a rare opportunity to work together in a bipartisan fashion to address this situation before it becomes a problem,” Murkowski wrote. “Together, we can send a strong signal to the world that the United States is ready to lead on energy, the environment, and trade. Lifting the ban will help create jobs, boost the economy, and keep our production at record levels.” The full text of Murkowski’s letter to the president is available on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee website. Murkowski sent similar letters to the State, Energy, and Commerce departments, and to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which can be found in the documents section under letters. Murkowski, the energy panel’s top Republican, released a white paper on energy exports last week. The paper, A Signal to the World: Renovating the Architecture of U.S. Energy Exports, is available on the committee’s website, as is supporting analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. See our 1-7-14 Story (You read it here first!) |
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (.JPG)
Yesterday we pretty much focused on various aspects of Governor Sean Parnell’s (NGP Photo) announcement at Friday’s Meet Alaska conference, that all major gas pipeline/LNG project parties had reached, “alignment”.
Today, we recognize the people represented at the Alaska Support Industry Alliance’s annual “Meet Alaska” event — and what they said — for the benefit of our thousands of Asian, Canadian and US readers who were not present.
ConocoPhillips' Exploration & Production Executive Vice President based much of his presentation on Alaska's competitive positioning in the world oil and gas market.
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Matt Fox (NGP Photo) told the audience that his company — the largest oil & gas exploration company in the world — would be spending most of its available capital on development and on major projects. (See Fox's slide presentation here.)
While noting his company's interest and investment in the Eagle Ford, Bakken, Permian Basin and other prospective oil & gas areas of the world, Fox also reminded the audience that, "International LNG is a global commodity as well as oil."
He said that the shale phenomenon has provided the United States with a hundred years of supply on a very flat supply curve, "…stabilizing the price range for a long time to come."
While Russian and North Sea gas supply sets prices in Europe, a recent $16 Mcf price in Japan — still exacerbated by the nuclear accident — provides Alaska with a window of opportunity.
However, he said, "we have to make sure that we have confidence in Alaska's fiscal regime."
"Competition is incredible," he said, adding that Alaska's recent enactment of production tax reform (SB 21) was already stimulating more investment in the state.
"You have to go back quite a ways to find where we spent more money on Alaska North Slope (ANS) than now, following passage of SB 21."
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The Alliance also represents Alaskan mining support industries and National Mining Association president Hal Quinn (NGP Photo) addressed the state's competitive challenges.
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Quinn emphasized the importance of allowing oil, gas and mining industries to be free to export and engage in the world market, noting that coal not only provides the U.S. with 40% of its electrical supply but coal supplies 40% of world electric supplies as well".
Maintaining a vibrant world market that supplies reliable energy is critical, he said, noting that India's labor force alone is projected to grow at a rate of 1 million/month.
Minerals provide 15% of America's Gross Domestic Product he said. (We further observe that reasonably priced energy supplies are the foundation upon which other mineral exploration and development and manufacture is based. -dh)
After Quinn criticized the EPA for exercising federal overreaching authority that could stop a lawful mining project before it has filed for a permit (See our earlier commentary), he also cautioned the audience about unjustified delays in the federal permitting process. "No one should ever confuse the rigor of the permitting process with its length," he said. (See Quinn's presentation here.)
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ExxonMobil's Gina Dickerson (NGP Photo) provided an encouraging update of activities aimed at accessing the ANS gas and gas liquids potential at Point Thomson.
As project manager, Dickerson briefed the audience on the project's three wells (i.e. two for production and one for injection); the 17" pipeline to Badami facilities; the nearly $2 billion spent on the project to date, 70% of which has been spent in Alaska; a 48 mile winter ice road to the Endicott's accessible facilities, and the dramatic 2-year progress toward completing an airstrip and support facilities. (See Dickerson's presentation here.)
(Still in progress; more coming on Thursday….)
Today's Consumer Energy Alliance Clips:
90.5 WESA – NPR: Energy Alliance: Fracking Is Not a 'Four-Letter Word'. An energy supply and consumption watchdog group is taking its fight against a proposed moratorium on shale drilling in Pennsylvania to the lawmakers sponsoring the bill and to their constituents. The Consumer Energy Alliance sent a letter to State Sen. Jim Ferlo (D-Allegheny) asking him to pull the legislation from consideration. SB 1100 was introduced in September and was referred to the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee where it has languished ever since. The bill calls for the state to stop issuing new drilling permits until a full assessment of the environmental, social and economic impacts of shale drilling can be completed.
Capital Soup: Consumer Energy Alliance-Florida Statement on Subcommittee Passage of Hydraulic Fracturing Legislation The Florida House of Representatives’ House Subcommittee on Natural Resources and Agriculture today passed House Bills 71 and 157, sensible hydraulic fracturing legislation sponsored by Rep. Ray Rodrigues (R – Lee County). Upon passage of the legislation, Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) – Florida Executive Director Kevin Doyle issued the following statement: “Consumer Energy Alliance applauds both Representative Ray Rodrigues for sponsoring legislation that would lay the foundation for a transparent process for hydraulic fracturing in the State of Florida and the Florida House Subcommittee on Natural Resources and Agriculture for its passage today. As we continue to shift our energy reliance toward natural gas, Florida’s business community and consumers can be negatively impacted if we do not have the right policies in place to protect the benefits that our current energy situation is providing to our country.”
Consumer Energy Alliance’s The Energy Voice: Penn. State Senators asked to ‘Keep The Heat On This Winter’ It’s January. It’s Cold. No surprise there, but why in the middle of the harsh winter months are Pennsylvania State Senators working to advance legislation to put a moratorium on shale gas development in Pennsylvania? The bill is SB 1100 or the Statewide Natural Gas Drilling Moratorium Act. If made into law, Pennsylvania’s bustling shale gas economy would come to a halt. Who would be affected? In total 2.6 million people
in Pennsylvania use natural gas with 38% using natural gas to heat their homes. And, because of, not in spite of shale gas development – home heating costs in Pennsylvania are down 50% over the past five years.
Washington Examiner: Will Democratic senators who support the Keystone pipeline throw environmentalists under the bus for re-election? Six Democrats who voted for the Keystone XL pipeline at least once are up for re-election in 2014 — and they may throw environmentalists under the bus to boost their chances. The move could force President Obama's hand in approving the pipeline, which environmentalists have opposed, claiming great risk to the environment and water supplies. Republicans need to pick up six seats in 2014 to retake control of the Senate, and it already appears that the Democrat strategy to keep control will involve getting as far away from Obama's policies — especially Obamacare — as possible. Republicans need to defend 14 Senate seats, while Democrats have to defend 21 seats in order to keep control.
Fuel Fix: Senator: Rail accidents put spotlight on pipeline needs (video) Fiery explosions involving oil-carrying trains help make the case for Keystone XL and other new pipelines to transport the crude, a Senate Republican says. “Clearly, pipelines are part of the solution,” said Sen. John Hoeven, of North Dakota, on Platts Energy Week. “We need more pipelines. Keystone XL pipeline is a good example that would not only reduce congestion in terms of rail, but also truck.” Recent accidents involving oil cars have spotlighted the risks of transporting crude by rail. The most recent U.S. accident involved the derailment of a BNSF Railway train in Casselton, N.D. last month. The resulting explosion of oil-carrying tankers forced many residents to evacuate.
Associated Press: Trains Will Still Move Oil Despite Wrecks, Keystone XL The climate hazards of shale oil development in the U.S. and Canada are indisputable: Producing and burning shale oil emit large amounts of greenhouse gases that fuel climate change. Shale oil's other hazards, however, have begun to capture far more attention. That's because recent train derailments have made painfully clear the dangers of just getting that oil to refineries. First, it was an oil train derailment in Lac-Mégantic, Québec, on July 6 that was visible from space and killed 47 people. Another train derailed and exploded in Aliceville, Ala., on Nov. 8. And another went off the rails in Casselton, N.D., on Dec. 30. The latest was in Plaster Rock, New Brunswick, on Jan. 7.
Time: To Drill Or Not to Drill—Debate Over Offshore Testing and Drilling in the Atlantic With the United States is currently producing record amounts of oil and natural gas, thanks to fracking and other new technologies, the government is eyeing the possibility of conducting offshore seismic testing of the ocean floor off the Atlantic Seaboard for future oil drilling. A primer: Why the Atlantic? The Atlantic Ocean’s floor has remained off-limits to oil drilling since 1982, due to congressional and presidential orders. In 2011, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), an agency within the US Department of the Interior, estimated a mean of 3.30 billion barrels of oil—approximately half of what the US consumes each year—sit under the ocean’s floor.
Platts: Net gas production increases across six US producing basins: EIA Net gas production across six significant gas-producing basins rose by about 221,000 Mcf/d in December compared with the previous month, according to the US Energy Administration's monthly drilling productivity report, released Monday. The report, which measures activity in five shale gas plays as well as the Permian Basin, found that month-over-month gas production grew in three of the plays studied and declined in three. The Marcellus Shale led the increase in gas production, increasing by about 261,000 Mcf/d in December to 13.46 Bcf/d compared with the previous month. Gas output in the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas saw a 107,000 Mcf/d increase in December to just over 6 Bcf/d.
Columbus Biz Insider: MoveOn.org funding anti-fracking activists in Ohio MoveOn.org is ramping up its anti-fracking campaign by giving training and aid to six activists in Ohio. The advocacy group’s #FrackingFighter project supports grassroots organizers who object to hydraulic fracturing in oil and gas-rich states across the country. The practice is credited with helping boost domestic production of oil and natural gas, but many groups are concerned it risks the health of the environment and residents who live near well sites.
San Angelo Live!: Trillions of Dollars Left in Texas Oil Plays Over the next 10 years, Texas shale formations are projected to produce up to 1/3 of the global oil supply says a professor who is studying it. Currently, Texas ranks 10th in the world in oil production, with the Eagle Ford oil fields in South Texas and oil fields mainly west of San Angelo, the Cline Shale and the Wolfcamp, producing two million barrels of oil per day combined, according to Gene Lockhard at RigZone. “We gave up trying to track the Cline Shale alone,” said Dr. Tom Tunstall of the University of Texas at San Antonio Institute of Economic Development. “In many cases a drill site has both Cline and Wolfcamp Shale under it.” He explains that determining which particular shale the black gold is flowing from would take a team of geologists and significant time for research efforts.
NewsMax: NY Gov. Cuomo Blasted by Energy Industry for Stalling on Fracking New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is being criticized by a top energy-industry leader for deliberately holding up the approval of a permit for natural gas drilling in the state using flimsy claims about safety concerns. American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard accuses the Democrat of hiding "for far too long" behind the "excuse" of conducting a health study on the safety of fracking for natural gas, noting that its safety has already been proven in roughly 30 states across the nation, The New York Post reports. "I think it's shortsighted, I think it's unfortunate because it hurts his state. It hurts economic development in his state," Gerard told The Post.
Pittsburgh Tribune Review: Challenge of South Fayette's zoning regulations on oil and gas drilling postponed Range Resources on Monday agreed to postpone its challenge of South Fayette's zoning regulations on oil and gas drilling, deciding that a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision that overturned statewide drilling rules left too much unclear. Clifford Levine, representing Range Resources and Cuddy Partners LP, was scheduled to argue on Monday and Tuesday nights before the township's zoning hearing board and challenge drilling regulations South Fayette adopted in November 2010. But just before the hearing was to begin, he and township solicitor Jonathan Kamin agreed to table the challenge indefinitely until state courts decide what remains of Pennsylvania's Act 13, which had overruled many local drilling regulations until the state Supreme Court threw out parts of the law in December.
StateImpact Pennsylvania – NPR: Pa. DEP seeks input on overhaul of drilling regulations Five years into Pennsylvania’s shale gas boom, the state is overhauling environmental regulations for drillers and changing the way the industry operates above ground. A public hearing Monday night in Williamsport, Lycoming County set drillers, who argued the rules would go too far, against environmentalists who say the Department of Environmental Protection did not go far enough. “I understand they’re walking a fine line. It’s a hard job for an agency,” said Nadia Steinzor, a New York-based organizer with the environmental group Earthworks. “You can’t satisfy everybody, but they know enough now.”
Philadelphia Daily News: Democratic candidates seeking gubernatorial nomination speak at Philadelphia forum
EIGHT DEMOCRATS seeking the nomination to challenge Gov. Corbett's bid for a second term spent last night mostly agreeing on the topic of sustainable energy while also showing some differences in style. Drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale region that covers much of Pennsylvania was a steady topic in the forum at the Academy of Natural Sciences, where the crowd was not friendly to that industry. One candidate, Mechanicsburg pastor Max Myers, drew cheers when he called for a moratorium on natural-gas drilling.
The Southern Illinoisan: Fracking panel still at issue: Board says it's about info, not an end run A proposed “fracking” oversight committee would not open Johnson County to the oil drilling process but rather allow the county to be prepared if the process does come, commissioners said during a meeting Monday. A group of citizens attended the county board meeting to express their concerns about a proposed committee that would look at high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing and the possible effects it would have on the county. “The committee would tell us the impacts it might have on our infrastructure, local real estate, any other way it could affect us on a local level,” said Commissioner Ernie Henshaw, who initially suggested forming the committee.
Boulder Daily Camera: Local company cites Lafayette's fracking ban as reason to expand in Louisville A Boulder company that counts oil and gas operators among its customers and cited Lafayette's ballot measure to prohibit fracking as a major reason behind its decision not to relocate to that city has opened a new office in Louisville. XetaWave, a maker of long-range radios and wireless technology platforms, began its expansion into a 17,000-square-foot building in the Colorado Technology Center over the weekend. Founder and CEO Jonathan Sawyer said the Lafayette Community Rights Act, which was passed by voters in November and bans all new oil and gas drilling within city limits, puts a business like his in questionable legal territory.
Northern Colorado Business Report: Niobrara oil production to increase in February Oil companies in the Niobrara will produce 290,000 barrels of oil per day per day in February, an increase of 6,000 barrels per day from the 284,000 barrels per day produced in January. Natural-gas production, meanwhile, will fall 33,000 cubic feet to 4.293 million cubic feet per day in February from 4.326 million cubic feet per day in January. The information comes from a report released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Monday. The federal agency releases the report each month, with its first report issued in Octob
KSBY: Public comment hearing held on fracking You've probably heard of the term "fracking." It's a way of getting to oil and gas below the surface, and a Senate bill last year approved the process. But it's controversial, and the state is trying to come up with a way to regulate the process. The California Department of Conservation says fracking has been happening across the state since the 1940s and 50s but more controls and guidelines are needed. People opposed to fracking say they are concerned about issues such as climate change and air quality. Those for it say it's a way to recover natural energy resources locally versus having them imported.
The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register: Shale Industry Spends Billions Powered by extensive Marcellus and Utica shale processing and pipelining infrastructure, the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area saw construction investments grow from $60.3 million in 2012 to $1.72 billion in 2013. "I see another 5-10 years of construction like this," said Keith Hughes, business manager at Ironworkers Local No. 549 in Wheeling. "It has been tremendous for our area and we appreciate all of the work we are getting." Williams Energy will eventually invest a total of $4.5 billion for Utica and Marcellus shale natural gas processing infrastructure in Marshall County, while Blue Racer Midstream and MarkWest Energy continue working on similar ambitious projects throughout the Upper Ohio Valley.
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