4-12-13

Calgary Herald by James Wood. Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday that Ottawa and Alberta are taking a “Team Canada” approach when it comes to getting the controversial Keystone XL pipeline approved by the United States government. And he offered some praise for Premier Alison Redford, who has returned from a two-day trip to Washington D.C. where she touted the environmental record of Alberta and Canada — along with the merits of Keystone, a cross-border pipeline proposed by Calgary-based TransCanada which is intended to ship oil from northern Alberta to the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Intrastate Gasline Legislation

See Our Editorial: "The Government Gas Pipeline"

US Upstream by Tonya Zelinsky. The recent decision makes the AGDC a stand-alone corporation, giving it the tools to move forward on its plans for the US$7.5-billion Alaska Stand-Alone Pipeline (ASAP), which would connect North Slope gas with Alaska tidewater.

War over gas pipelines flares in Alaska Senate – Alaska Dispatch – It’s being Mike Chenault, AGDC, Gas Pipeline, ACES, AGIA, Photo by Dave Harbour, Speaker of the House, Alaska

Mike Chenault, AGDC, Gas Pipeline, ACES, AGIA, Photo by Dave Harbour, Speaker of the House, Alaska

developed by the state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corp., a subsidiary of the Alaska Housing Finance Corp. Chenault (NGP Photo) joined in the attack on the lawyers, noting that he was proud of his 12th-grade education and saying he was so upset at …

Senate panel advances in-state gas line – San Francisco Chronicle – … on a bill aimed at advancing an in-state natural gas pipeline. The Senate Finance Committee advanced its version of HB4 Thursday. It contains provisions that supporters say the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. needs to get a project to an open season

Energy issues on floor of House, Senate; committee tables oil tax – Alaskajournal.com – In the Senate, a bill making changes to statutes governing an in-state gas pipeline project will be voted on. House Bill 4 makes technical changes in laws governing the Alaska Gasline Development Corp., the state corporation formed to pursue an in …

Bill to shift Knik bridge construction to AHFC doesn’t move – Anchorage Daily News – Costello’s amendment creates a new public corporation inside AHFC, the Knik Crossing Development Corp. That follows the model for the Alaska Gasline Development Corp., created by Fauske inside the AHFC when he picked up that project in 2010.

House Approves Gas Trucking Bill. (Governor’s Statement)

Resource Development Council for Alaska (RDC) Urges Oil Tax Reform Support As Legislature Moves Toward Adjournment!

Senate Finance Committee Released Oil Tax Reform Bill Yesterday.

RDC issued the following call to action yesterday:

With only days left in session, the Legislature continues its deliberations on SB 21, oil production tax reform. Critical votes are right around the corner.

Alaskans from across the state have made their voices heard. Hundreds have testified on the bill in numerous committee hearings this session with a strong majority supporting the legislation. Dozens of RDC members from across Alaska’s natural resource industries, including mining, forestry, and tourism, have weighed in not once, but numerous times.

Moreover, in a recent poll, most Alaskans supported oil production tax reform because they recognize that more production and more investment are needed to stem the North Slope’s steady production decline, boost future state revenue, and most importantly, grow our economy.

Independent experts have testified that SB 21 will better protect the State at low oil prices, while ensuring we are competitive at high oil prices. Companies have testified that SB 21 in its current form will lead to greater investment and more production.

The Legislature has been working extremely hard over the past few months analyzing oil taxation policy, and now is the time for our legislators to create a better climate for new investment and production.

If you support increased industry investment and oil production in Alaska, email legislators immediately to let them know you support SB 21. Those opposing the bill have ramped up their efforts and their voices are being heard in Juneau. Legislators need to hear from you, too. Please do not allow the opposition to speak for you.

An efficient and fast tool for emailing your legislators is available through Prosperity Alaska. Emailing your elected officials takes less than two minutes. Choose from a letter template or personalize your own, and your message will be emailed directly.

Email your legislators now and let them know you support CS SB21.

Read RDC’s latest testimony on the bill.

Robert Dillon (NGP Photo) of Senator Lisa Murkowski’s Energy Committee sends us the following note which should once again demonstrate to Alaska lawmakers that Alaska’s energy reserves are not unique and must be competitive if Alaska is to prosper. -dh

ICYMI: The scientific body responsible for evaluating our nation’s recoverable natural gas resources this week released a report showing future gas supply estimates increased by 22.1 percent since 2010 to a total of 2,688 trillion cubic feet.

That’s the highest resource evaluation in the 48-year history of the Potential Gas Committee, a nonprofit organization of natural gas experts at the Colorado School of Mines. The committee’s assessment confirms that the United States possesses abundant, recoverable natural gas resources both onshore and offshore that can benefit all sectors of the U.S. economy, including helping to reduce our nation’s trade imbalance.

The Potential Gas Committee’s year-end 2012 assessment of 2,384 Tcf includes 2,226 Tcf of gas potentially recoverable from “traditional” reservoirs (conventional, tight sands and carbonates, and shales) and 158 Tcf in coalbed reservoirs. Compared to year-end 2010, assessed traditional resources increased by 486.4 Tcf (28%), while coalbed gas resources declined by a nominal 0.4 Tcf (0.2%), resulting in a net increase in total potential resources of 486.1 Tcf (25.6%).

Since 2002, the Potential Gas Committee’s estimates of potential gas resources (excluding proved reserves) rose 111.5 percent. In other words, over the past decade, the size of the potential resource base has more than doubled thanks to new technology and American ingenuity. Most of the increase arose from new evaluations of shale gas resources in the Atlantic, Rocky Mountain and Gulf Coast areas.

View slides from the April 9 Potential Gas Committee report here and a press release on the report here.

AOL Energy has a pretty good summary of the report:http://aol.it/12PfJ4Y