Natural Resources Commissioner Dan Sullivan (NGP Photo)
House Natural Doc Hastings, Congressman, energy, Photo by Dave Harbour, Helium shortageResources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (NGP Photo), along with Ranking Member Ed Markey (D-MA), Rep. Bill Flores (R-TX) and Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ), today introduced H.R. 527, The Responsible Helium Administration and Stewardship Act.  This bipartisan legislation would prevent the closure of the Federal Helium Reserve, which by law is scheduled to close later this year resulting in a 30 percent reduction in the global helium supply.  
delivered a speech to hundreds of oil Commissioner Dan Sullivan, Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Attorney General, Houston, North American Prospect Expo (NAPE), Photo by Dave Harbour and gas explorers and investors during the 2013 North American Prospect Expo (NAPE) Business Conference yesterday in Houston.
 
The one-day conference is part of Winter NAPE, a 20-year-running energy trade show bringing nearly 20,000 attendees and exhibitors from around the globe to Houston this week to discuss hydrocarbon exploration and production. Sullivan traveled to Houston with staff from the Division of Oil and Gas to attend the conference, participate in the trade show, and promote Alaska’s world-class hydrocarbon basins to a diverse array of current and potential future investors.
 
Sullivan spoke during the business conference’s Policy and Regulatory Landscape/Dialogue on Energy panel, from 10:20 a.m.-noon (Central Time). Other speakers during this session were Lee Fuller, vice president of government affairs for the Independent Petroleum Association of America, and Dana Sigalos, stakeholder relations manager for ConocoPhillips. An estimated 800 to 900 people were expected at today’s business conference. The NAPE Expo trade show opens on Thursday and ends at noon on Friday.
 
In his remarks today, Sullivan highlighted Alaska’s hydrocarbon potential on the North Slope, in Cook Inlet, and in other energy basins where companies may explore on state land and in state waters, including basins located in the Kotzebue, Alaska Peninsula, and Nenana/Yukon Flats regions. Sullivan also discussed the Parnell Administration’s legislative agenda, including oil tax reform and permitting modernization.
 
On Thursday and Friday, Division of Oil and Gas staff will run a booth at the NAPE Expo to provide information on Alaska’s lease sales, including the upcoming Cook Inlet/Alaska Peninsula oil and gas and Augustine Island geothermal sales in May. The division has run a booth at the trade show for at least seven years.
 

The state’s participation in the Winter NAPE Expo is part of the Parnell Administration’s broader strategy to market and advocate for increased investment in Alaska’s plentiful natural resources.