COMMENTARY: "Alaska Should Never Become Like Hostile Argentina!

In this video of yesterday's Senate Resources Committee meeting a minority senator (i.e. Hollis French {NGP Hollis French, Senator, Alaska, Photo by Dave HarbourPhoto} of Anchorage) proposes that witnesses be required to testify under oath.  This unprecedented (or at least rare) action is sure to further convince investors that Alaska is a risky place to do business.  Some might say, "Well, we have the statutory right to interview witnesses under oath."  Our concern with that clever response is, "Fine, then why not interview all witnesses under oath?  Why just interview major investors under oath; why not interview major beneficiaries of state spending to testify under oath?"  In short, treating the oil industry witnesses differently than education, union, health care, municipal and non profit witnesses contributes to an atmosphere of hostility and discriminatory treatment.  Hostility toward investors cannot encourage investment.  The only question is how much damage such hostility will reap on investment decisions.  The answer to that question, unfortunately, is that we will never know how it would have been the other way.  We do know that after Cathy Giessel, Senate Resources Committee, Alaska, oil, Photo by Dave Harbourone Alaskan investor's experience in Argentina, investors will be all the more wary now about hostile rhetoric that always precedes increases in tax and regulatory burdens — and even expropriation of property.  We compliment Committee Chair Cathy Giessel (NGP Photo) on her smooth handling of a difficult situation.  -dh


Globe & Mail by Jeffrey Jones.  CALGARY'S STRONG ENERGY SECTOR!

Washington Times / AP by Becky Bohrer.  The House Rules Committee on Tuesday advanced legislation that would allow out-of-state residents to serve on the board of directors of the Alaska Gasline Development Corp.


Office of the Alaska Gas Pipeline Federal Coordinator, by Bill White.  (Comment: An analysis issued yesterday that could bode well for an Alaska gas pipeline/LNG project — if the state of Alaska can convince investors of its new-found reliability as a stable fiscal regime.  -dh)

Anxiety is rising in the liquefied natural gas business over the slow rollout of North American LNG export projects. Anxiety about supply. Anxiety about pricing.

The worry was simmering at the big Gastech Conference & Exhibition held March 24-27 in Goyang, South Korea, as LNG buyers and sellers fretted that the world's constrained supply could last beyond the next few years.

"Despite all the rhetoric and hubris that our industry generated, LNG will be shorter for longer than most people are imagining," said Martin Houston, a recently retired chief operating officer of the U.K.'s BG Group, a global LNG supplier.

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