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Point Of Personal Privilege We honor our late ARCO colleague, well respected throughout the North American oil patch, Jim Weeks (NGP Photo), by sharing below, a celebration of his life: James Dale Weeks, 67, of Anchorage AK, passed away peacefully on August 20th 2013, at Providence Hospital with family by his side. His Celebration of Life will be held from 4:30 to 8 pm on September 6th, 2013 at the Petroleum Club of Anchorage. He is survived by his beloved wife of 42 years, Marty, his son, Justin, daughter Cassie, brother, Donald of Basin Wyoming, and sisters, Barbara Osborne of Rawlins Wyoming, Betty Flyr and Donna Wilk of Littleton Colorado. Jim was born to Margaret and Don Weeks in Rawlins, Wyoming on August 8th, 1946. He graduated from Rawlins High School in 1964 and went on to receive a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Wyoming in Laramie and then completed an MBA from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. His career in the oil and gas industry began in 1969 when he was hired by Arco in Houston, TX as an operations engineer working on rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. After transfers to Dallas, Pasadena, and Denver, Alaska came calling in 1983 where he was promoted to Operations manager of Kuparuk River Field. After a brief relocation to Houston in 1987, he returned to Alaska in 1988 as an executive, assuming the role of Senior VP of Arco Alaska, overseeing all production of Prudhoe Bay. In 1995, his expertise and reputation led him to Beijing, China to serve as President and GM of Arco, China Inc. After a 30 year career with Arco, Jim retired in 1999, but his passion for crude didn’t stop there. Through UltraStar, an independent energy company, Jim continued his quest for black gold. Jim’s passion for oil and gas exploration was unparalled but his friends and family would agree that he also held an equally large passion for laughter. Anyone who met him was sure to witness his contagious smile, hear many of his stories, and one of a kind jokes. As an avid fisherman, Jim held a special place in his heart for his cabin on the Little Susitna River, affectionately referred to as “The Penal Colony,” where he spent many years with his friends and family. If you were not in the mood for fresh fish straight off his line, he would offer to cook up his famous barbeque ribs, or chili. Jim, a true Alaskan pioneer and legendary oilman, will be fondly remembered for his extraordinary generosity, large heart and infectious sense of humor. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts in Jim’s memory can be made to the American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org). |
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Financial Post by Jeff Lewis. Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver is recalling the spectre of the aborted Mackenzie Valley pipeline to warn that resource projects have a limited shelf life, as the federal government seeks consensus on major energy projects. The Arctic pipeline, felled by a shale gas boom in the United States, “represented a tremendous opportunity for aboriginal partners. But the regulatory review took almost a decade to complete,” Mr. Oliver said Monday in prepared remarks at a meeting of provincial and territorial energy ministers in Yellowknife, N.W.T.
Fairbanks News Miner. The Fairbanks Chapter of the Alaska Support Industry Alliance is hosting a discussion about the liquefied natural gas feasibility study at a lunch meeting from noon to 1 p.m. Sept. 4 at the Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge. Speakers at the meeting will be Gene Therriault of the Alaska Energy Authority and Mark Davis of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority. The luncheon costs $18. For more information, email info@alaskaal liance.com.
Consumer Energy Alliance Clips:
Daily Democrat: California's low-carbon fuel rule is working, but threats loom
California is replacing oil with cleaner-burning fuels in cars and trucks, thanks to a landmark low-carbon fuel rule, according to a recent report. But the rule's fate is uncertain amid legal chaos and a shortfall in the production of clean biofuels.
Politico: McAuliffe, Cuccinelli talk energy
Virginia's two gubernatorial candidates participate in a forum on energy issues hosted by the Consumer Energy Alliance in Arlington on Thursday morning.
The Hill: GOP to probe Obama's climate plans
House Republicans have scheduled their first big hearing on President Obama’s sweeping second-term climate change agenda. The Energy and Commerce Committee has invited officials from 13 agencies to a Sept. 18 hearing on the executive actions Obama unveiled in late June.
KTIC 840am: Bold Nebraska holds groundbreaking for barn
Bold Nebraska recently held a groundbreaking ceremony near York for the Build Our Energy Barn. Executive Director Jane Kleeb shares Bold Nebraska's stance and thoughts on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.
Townhall Finance: Keystone XL: not just a pipeline, a life-line
The final State Department report on the Keystone XL pipeline’s environmental impact is expected in a matter of weeks. Yet, the administration continues to send mixed messages as to which direction it is leaning.
Wall Street Journal: Founding Father of the Shale Boom Says the Best is Yet to Come
“We’re not even at half time yet" says Hans Helmerich, as he steps down as CEO of the oilfield services company that became one of America's most active on-shore drillers.
Reuters: Traders cash in on U.S. propane boom
The United States has emerged as a big net exporter of propane and other liquefied petroleum gases (LPGs), thanks to the shale revolution, becoming a prime supplier of heating, cooking and motor fuel for countries across Latin America.
Philly.com: Questions on potential of PGW plant to export gas
A Philadelphia Gas Works consultant said it "may be feasible" to convert the city-owned utility's Port Richmond liquefied natural gas plant to export Marcellus Shale gas by sea.
Philly.com: Planned natural-gas power plant acquired by Texas private-equity firm
A Dallas, Texas, private-equity firm, Panda Power Funds, is acquiring Moxie Energy's planned Liberty Generating Station in Bradford County, Pa., billed as the first power plant developed to use natural gas from the Marcellus Shale formation. The 829-megawatt plant will produce enough power to supply 1 million homes.
Washington Post: Names & Faces: Hannah protests fracking; ‘Prison Break’ star says he's gay
Daryl Hannah joined the nonprofit group Americans Against Fracking and other activists in a demonstration Thursday in Washington’s Lafayette Square. Americans Against Fracking — a collective of about 200 national and regional organizations — said it has gathered about 650,000 signatures to petition President Obama and the Bureau of Land Management to end fracking on federal land.
Associated Press: Some say industry arrogance fueled fracking anger
The boom in oil and gas fracking has led to jobs, billions in royalties and profits, and even some environmental gains. But some experts say arrogance, a lack of transparency and poor communication on the part of the drilling industry have helped fuel public anger over the process of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
USA Today: Preserve our national parks
In 1883, Theodore Roosevelt embarked on a hunting trip into the remote and storied badlands of western North Dakota. This trip, and the subsequent time he spent at his Elkhorn Ranch and in hunting trips in neighboring states, played a critical role in forming his strong conservation ethic. Extraordinarily prescient, he saw more clearly than most of his contemporaries the damage that would be done to our natural resources if the nation allowed untrammeled development.
Wall Street Journal: Pro- and anti-fracking groups plan show for Obama
Supporters and opponents of natural gas drilling using high-volume hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, plan to put on a show for President Obama when his tour bus rolls into Binghamton.
Switchboard: Anti-Fracking Protestors to Appeal Directly to President Obama during Presidential Visit to Shale Country
President Obama’s welcome on his trip to Pennsylvania and New York this week may not be as warm as he’d hoped. Anti-fracking citizens in both states, dismayed at the President’s decision to embrace natural gas development as a major energy priority, plan to protest his visit to shale country.
Santa Barbara Independent: What Is Offshore Fracking?
Last week, as a coalition of environmental agencies called on the California Coastal Commission to do everything it could to regulate the use of hydraulic fracturing at the Santa Barbara Channel’s offshore oil rigs, representatives from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement — or BSEE, which approves offshore drilling permits — were busy explaining to The Santa Barbara Independent how offshore “fracking” is far different than the onshore use of the now controversial technology.
CNYCentral: Group protests fracking at presidential visit in Syracuse
Protestors began to show up for President Obama’s visit to Syracuse about three hours before the event.
State Impact Pennsylvania: Obama To Visit Scranton for Higher Ed Talk With Fracking In The Background
President Barack Obama is heading to Scranton tomorrow to talk about higher education, but the elephant in the gymnasium at Lackawanna College will be fracking.
News 10: Fracking fight fractures some Capitol alliances
There's an old adage that if people on opposite sides of an issue are both mad at you, then you must be doing something right. Of course, those warring sides think it's proof that you're on the wrong track.
The Patriot-News: Here's one southeast Pa. Democrat who supports fracking: PennLive letters
I am one Democrat who is glad to see that some of our party leaders are standing up to the extremist positions of some of our state committee members who were bullied by some lunatics into voting for a moratorium on fracking in Pennsylvania.
Des Moine Register: Northeast Iowa pulled into debate on fracking
While Americans from Wisconsin to the nation’s capital this week ramped up the fight against frack sand mining, two of Iowa’s counties have banned the digging temporarily.
Daily Caller: Obama visits NY amid fracking rift with Cuomo
President Barack Obama’s education tour of New York could prove to be awkward for Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo if the president is pressed on his support for hydraulic fracturing and expanded natural gas drilling.
Businessweek: U.S. to Examine Claims Oil Companies Undermining Renewable Fuels
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said it will examine allegations that oil companies may be undermining efforts to distribute renewable fuels.
E & E News: Alaska urges Obama admin to reconsider ANWR seismic studies
Alaska state officials yesterday petitioned the Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider its decision to bar the state from conducting seismic studies in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Oil and Gas Journal: US Senators say oil firms may be blocking renewable fuels
US Sens. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said oil companies may be using anticompetitive practices to block access to renewable fuels, and asked for a federal investigation.
Rigzone: Second Draft of Hydraulic Fracturing Rule 'Undercuts US States Authority'
The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) and the Western Energy Alliance (WEA) say the second draft of the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) proposed draft rule to regulate hydraulic fracturing and well construction on federal lands would undercut U.S. state authority to regulate energy production.
Associated Press: Comments pan ocean gas terminal planned for NJ, NY
Public comments on a proposal to build a liquefied natural gas terminal off the New Jersey and New York coasts are running 1,000-to-1 against the plan.
Dallas News: Regulation revamp on gas drilling in Dallas gets a hearing
A fierce debate over natural gas drilling regulations in Dallas continued during a sometimes contentious public hearing at City Hall on Thursday.
SCV News: Sacramento Dems Call on Feds to Get Cracking on Fracking Regs
The federal government needs to strengthen proposed regulations of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) and other practices to ensure protection of the public’s health and safety and the environment, California lawmakers said in a letter Thursday.
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