| Petroleum News. With Premier Christy Clark at the helm, the British Columbia government entered a two-day summit on Sept. 9 with about 500 First Nations leaders hoping to bridge the chasm on future economic, social and legal relations. |
Walker Returns to Japan To Market Gas He Does Not Control (But Japanese hospitality is so impressive!)
Alert: Alaskans Concerned about a nearly 50% gap between state income and spending should attend Tomorrow's Forum On Alaska's Fiscal and Economic Future! Here's the program and here's how to watch live. For additional reference, here's a Rasmuson Foundation state fiscal policy poll.
(Commentary: Alaska's elected leaders have been unwilling/unable to match limitless wants with limited cash.
Their solution has been to avoid spending cuts and constituent rage by filling deficits with savings.
Now the easily available savings are almost gone; the annual deficit increases along with low oil prices; oil royalties and taxes are not matching increased spending; and, an unfunded state employee pension liability exceeds the size of the state budget.
Ironically, the recent passage of oil tax reform has led to big energy investments which could assist Alaska in propping up its fiscal house, in the long term. Reform legislation also contained tax incentives for energy that are good for the long run but jeopardize short term budget balancing.
Accordingly, investors — along with the three credit rating agencies — will be assessing the state's credit worthiness and its ability to protect current and future investments from the risk of predatory taxes in absence of effective spending reforms.
Meanwhile, Alaska's governor and several legislators have further diminished Alaska's attractiveness to investors. They have done this by continuing to raise the the possibility of creating new industry taxes.
When less income begets higher taxes, which begets lower income, leading to higher taxes, a condition is created which economists refer to as an economic "death spiral".
Beware, Alaska for the long-anticipated time of truth now hovers at your doorstep. -dh)
News Miner by Jeff Richardson. University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen presented an ambitious budget plan to the UA Board of Regents on Thursday, but said he’s approaching state funding with “a sense of realism” amid a tight spending environment.
Governor Bill Walker on Thursday continued to expound upon the benefits of Alaska’s liquefied natural gas potential in meetings with Japan’s top energy executives and officials, who had all attended Wednesday’s LNG Producer-Consumer Conference opening ceremony.
Alaska Journal of Commerce by Tim Bradner. In a gloomy assessment of the negotiations, Dan Fauske (NGP Photo), CEO of the state – owned Alaska Gasline Development Corp, to ld a combined meeting of the House and Senate Resources committees that, “The state (negotiating) team is very concerned about the lack of progress on many of the key commercial and fiscal issues.” More… |
“When it comes to trade, Japan and Korea are our closest neighbors,” Governor Walker said. “Their populations provide the large consumer base Alaska needs to export our abundant supply of natural gas.”
Governor Walker and his team met with the president of JERA Co., Inc., which was established in April when Tokyo Electric Power and Chubu Electric Power companies formed a joint marketing venture to focus on developing new energy upstream investments and fuel procurement.
“I was touched and impressed by your enthusiasm and passion for Alaska,” said JERA President Yuji Kakimi of Governor Walker’s Wednesday speech at the LNG Producer-Consumer Conference. “Alaska seems like a promising candidate for sourcing LNG.” More….
Petroleum News. Sen. Pete Kelly steadfastly defended funding the tax credits….
Journal of Commerce by Tim Bradner. The president of the state-own gas development corporation told state legislators Sept. 9 that Gov. Bill Walker is unlikely to call a special legislative session to ratify Alaska LNG Project agreements unless progress is made quickly on several key issues.
Walker must issue a call for a special session 30 days in advance and the clock is ticking on that deadline for a special session in mid-to-late October, which had been the governor’s hope.
No agreement on the key outstanding issues were announced as of Sept. 15.
In a gloomy assessment of the negotiations, Dan Fauske (NGP Photo), CEO of the state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corp, told a combined meeting of the House and Senate Resources committees that, “The state (negotiating) team is very concerned about the lack of progress on many of the key commercial and fiscal issues.” More…
Governor Walker Draws Praise From Japan’s Top Energy Executives
Governor Walker wraps up fourth day of week-long meetings touting Alaska’s LNG potential
September 17, 2015 TOKYO—Governor Bill Walker on Thursday continued to expound upon the benefits of Alaska’s liquefied natural gas potential in meetings with Japan’s top energy executives and officials, who had all attended Wednesday’s LNG Producer-Consumer Conference opening ceremony.
“When it comes to trade, Japan and Korea are our closest neighbors,” Governor Walker said. “Their populations provide the large consumer base Alaska needs to export our abundant supply of natural gas.”
Governor Walker and his team met with the president of JERA Co., Inc., which was established in April when Tokyo Electric Power and Chubu Electric Power companies formed a joint marketing venture to focus on developing new energy upstream investments and fuel procurement.
“I was touched and impressed by your enthusiasm and passion for Alaska,” said JERA President Yuji Kakimi of Governor Walker’s Wednesday speech at the LNG Producer-Consumer Conference. “Alaska seems like a promising candidate for sourcing LNG.”
Governor Walker and his team also met with the chairman and president of LNG Japan Corporation, an energy trading house.
“After the Great East Japan Earthquake, the role of LNG has become even more important to supply the power demand of our country,” said LNG Japan Corporation President Norikazu Onishi. “Japanese companies have the capacity to purchase from the United States.”
Mitsui & Company executives told Governor Walker, Department of Natural Resources Deputy Commissioner Marty Rutherford and Alaska Gas Team General Manager Audie Setters of the LNG export terminal they and a consortium of companies built in Cameron, Louisiana.
“But exporting LNG from the Gulf Coast to East Asia takes up to 26 days,” said Naoshi Kanzaki, Mitsui’s General Manager of Natural Gas. “It would be a much shorter time to export from Alaska.”
Governor Walker told Mitsui executives shipping LNG from Alaska to Japan would take seven days.
Governor Walker and his team also met with top executives of Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), a public financial institution that provides energy investment funding for Japanese companies.
“I’m confident your passion for Alaska will produce a project,” said JBIC Chief Operating Officer Koichi Yajima, who had also heard Governor Walker’s Wednesday speech. “Alaska can be a stable provider of LNG for Japan.”
Governor Walker also met in Tokyo with ExxonMobil executives: Rob Franklin, President of Gas & Power Marketing; Stephen Wong, President of Greater China/Japan Gas Marketing; and Tetsuro Takano, General Manager of LNG Market Development in Japan. Governor Walker also met with Hiroshi Imura, ConocoPhillips Japan President and Yoshiaki Nakazato, President of Sumitomo Metal Mining, which owns Pogo Gold Mine in Alaska.
Governor Walker and his team will wrap up their weeklong series of meetings Friday with Hyogo Governor Toshizo Ido and top executives of Osaka Gas and Kansai Electric Power Company. He and his team will also tour Osaka Gas Senboku LNG Terminal.
Attached: Photos of Governor Walker meeting with the President of JERA Co., Inc., LNG Japan Corporation, Mitsui, and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).
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