Help Hilcorp Today!

Hilcorp Alaska, LLC is currently pursuing the necessary permits and authorizations to develop the Liberty reservoir several miles offshore the central North Slope. The first major step in this process is the approval of the Development and Production Plan (DPP), which Hilcorp recently filed with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). BOEM has extended the public comment period on the preparation of a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) to Monday, March 28, 2016. Click here to provide comments. Then click on the “Comment Now” button. Our thanks to the Alaska Support Industry Alliance for this information!

Talking Points:

The Liberty oilfield contains one of the largest potential sources of new light oil production on the North Slope, with an estimated 80-130 million barrels of recoverable oil.
Development of Liberty will help offset declining light oil production on the North Slope and contribute to increasing the life span and efficiency of TAPS.
New oil is needed to keep the pipeline operating efficiently now that throughput is less than 25 percent of capacity. An additional 60,000-70,000 barrels of oil per day from Liberty will be an important addition to keeping the pipeline operational for decades to come.
Artificial islands in the Beaufort Sea date back to the mid-1970s. In the last 40 years, 18 islands have been responsibly constructed for exploration and development of oil and gas off the Alaska coast.
Hilcorp will utilize the construction and operational technology perfected at Alaska’s other offshore facilities. It’s proven to be a safe and effective means for oil and gas development in the Arctic. Like Liberty, the majority of the artificial islands were constructed in shallow water depths less than 20 feet.
Alaska has a 30-year record of safely operating offshore in the Arctic. Endicott, the first offshore development on the North Slope, has been in operation for almost three decades, and now there are three other offshore fields in production: Northstar (2001), Oooguruk (2008) and Nikaitchuq (2011).
As the first Outer Continental Shelf oil project in the U.S. Arctic, Liberty will provide important tax and economic benefits to the federal government, the State of Alaska and North Slope Borough. It will generate well-paying construction and permanent jobs for Alaskans. It will create opportunities for many Alaska businesses.
In its recent report, the National Petroleum Council said the U.S. should immediately begin oil and gas exploration and development in the U.S. Arctic or risk a renewed heavy reliance on imported oil in the future. In order for the U.S. to keep domestic production high and imports low, oil companies should move forward with new Arctic development. If development proceeds, production could come on line around the same time that Lower 48 production is projected to decline sharply.

Alaska Support Industry Reminder: Today’s Deadline To Submit Comments On Hilcorp Liberty Project DEIS!.

From the publishers of Ak-Headline comes today’s useful Industrial/Political report:

Media misses the mark. Again. Alaska’s lawmakers continue to wrestle with various tax plans amid ongoing rock bottom oil prices. Critics of the current oil tax system claim that oil companies will be able to convert a portion of their losses into credits that won’t be applied until prices go up—meaning those credits will potentially be paid long into the future.Resources committee member Rep. Craig Johnson, said the new version of the bill still closes some loopholes that could otherwise give individual companies huge tax deductions for new oil development. “We did some of that while protecting our long-term investment and being able to get the oil out of the ground in the future,” Johnson said. “The policy is: We need a healthy industry. And I think the bill we put forward keeps us having a healthy industry while taking away some of the problems that we’ve got with the big fields and potential billion dollars in credits.” In a recent newsletter, the Alaska Support Industry Alliance has asked “should the oil industry remain a vital part of Alaska’s economy, or should the government use it as a slush fund to balance their checkbook?” Many groups have fought any reductions to the credit program, arguing that low oil prices are already causing companies to lose money. BP, for example, reported a$194 million loss for its Alaska operations in 2015. Headlamp Is not surprised, but disappointed that the Alaska Dispatch would intentionally mislead readers about oil tax revenue. Simply put: the state is receiving more in oil tax revenue than they are paying out in credits.

Nice try, EPA. According to the Alaska Dispatch News, the EPA is pushing back in a court fight over the stalled Pebble mine, suggesting that the project’s troubles stem from falling gold and copper prices, not government actions. Pebble filed a Freedom of Information Act request in 2014 to secure the documents, but the EPA did not hand over all of what it was looking for. Pebble sued, and Alaska U.S. District Judge Russel Holland ordered the agency to review the documents the company was seeking. The federal agency apparently withheld 10 of the 130 requested documents. Now the EPA is pushing for records from Pebble. The agency is asking U.S. District Judge Russell Holland to force Pebble to provide documents on its mining plan, finances, lost investors and payments to select Pebble advocates and groups connected to the Bristol Bay region. There was nothing ambiguous about Pebble’s request, the agency’s lack of compliance, or Judge Holland’s ruling. The federal agency cannot avoid its misdoings by putting the blame back on Pebble. This will be an ongoing story—stick with Headlamp as we cover the latest.

AKLNG facing hard times—and opportunity. According to a recent Forbes commentary, Alaska certainly has to tread carefully to not risk the future of the AKLNG megaproject. The ongoing low-price environment and industry pullback present a myriad of hurdles for the megaproject. However the commentary also notes that AKLNG has some advantages over its Lower 48 counterparts. The gas stream coming out of the North Slope will be richer (higher Btu value) than U.S. utility-grade gas out of the Gulf Coast and also higher than coal-seam gas out of Australia, another competitor. This makes Alaska’s gas more attractive to Asian buyers. Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Neil Beveridge said last week that “gas is structurally going to be in demand long term.”

About the Author: wpnorthern

Dave Harbour, publisher of Northern Gas Pipelines, is a former Chairman of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, a Commissioner Emeritus of NARUC, NARUC's Official Representative to IOGCC and Vice Chairman of NARUC's Gas Committee. He served as Gas Committee Chairman of the Western Conference of Public Service Commissioners. He also served as commissioner of the Anchorage Bicentennial Commission and the Anchorage Heritage Land Bank Commission. He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree: English, at Colorado State University, a Master of Science Degree: Communications-Journalism at Murray State University and graduated from Utility Regulatory School for Commissioners at Michigan State University. He served as a Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs at Alaska Pacific University, taught bank marketing classes at the University of Alaska and was an English teacher at Los Alamos High School. Harbour served in ranks of Private - Captain during a 4-year assignment with the Army in Korea, Idaho, Georgia and Fort Meade and received the Meritorious Service Medal among other commendations. Harbour is also a past Chairman of the Alaska Council on Economic Education, the Alaska Oil & Gas Association Government Affairs Committee, the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, the Export Council of Alaska and the Department of Commerce's District Export Council. He is a past President of the Alaska Press Club, American Bald Eagle Foundation, Consumer Energy Alliance-Alaska and Common Sense for Alaska. Harbour was instrumental in founding the American Bald Eagle Research Institute (UAS), the Alaska Support Industry Alliance, the Downtown Anchorage Business Partnership, and Arctic Power. He also served as CEO of several small Alaska organizations, including the Anchorage Parking Authority and Action Security, Inc. Harbour is also Chairman Emeritus of the Alaska Oil & Gas Congress. Harbour's wife, Nancy, is a professional, performing arts administrator and his three boys, Todd, Benjamin and William work in the fields of environmental management, energy marketing and medicine.