This afternoon, Governor Sean Parnell, (NGP Photo-r) will open the four day  Alaska Oil and Gas Congress, Chaired by Dave Harbour, NGP Publisher.  Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Irwin (NGP Photo-l) will deliver tomorrow’s Keynote address.  More to come….    *     Alaska Journal of Commerce, by Tim Bradner. Governor Sean Parnell said he is pleased with progress on the pipeline, that he has been told the Denali consortium led by BP and ConocoPhillips will have cost estimates completed by the end of the year, and that ExxonMobil Corp. has aligned itself with TransCanada Corp., which is leading a separate pipeline initiative. The TransCanada/ExxonMobil group expects to have their cost estimates finished by the first quarter of 2010, Parnell said.  On OCS, Parnell said will go to Washington, D.C., to meet with {Interior Secretary Ken} Salazar and congressional leaders to promote leasing. Parnell said he believes Salazar will allow OCS leasing to proceed in a new five-year leasing plan and will allow exploration on existing Alaska OCS leases.  Companies like Shell have spent several billion dollars on leases and preparations for exploration, but have not been able to drill because of litigation, Parnell said.  "We know we can do offshore development right, from an environmental perspective. We’ve had decades of safe offshore production in Cook Inlet and we know how to do it," Parnell said.

 

Senator Lisa Murkowski OCS Op-Ed. We need offshore production to ensure the long-term viability of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline and a future natural gas pipeline to the Lower 48.  According to the University of Alaska, offshore development could create 35,000 new jobs.  Keeping Alaska’s rich resources locked up will only increase America’s dependence on foreign energy and impede efforts to recover from the recession. Oil and gas development is also one of the largest sources of government revenue — a mechanism to provide services while keeping taxes low.  Not all money raised from development should flow to the federal treasury, however.  Sharing a portion of revenues with coastal states and communities is simply the right thing to do. I’ve introduced bipartisan legislation to ensure that all states with offshore production receive a fair share.
 

Globe and Mail by Bill Curry.  Federal public servants at Transport Canada are routinely filing millions of dollars in expenses – including overtime, salaries and computers – toward a construction project that doesn’t exist.  Further, The Globe and Mail has learned that public servants who object to the scheme are routinely overruled by their managers.  The Mackenzie Valley pipeline remains a mega-project that is perpetually on the horizon – yet it lacks the financial backing and environmental approvals to green-light construction.     *     ADN Editorial. Once again, Enstar, the local natural gas company, explained its continuing difficulty securing natural gas supplies as production from Cook Inlet continues to shrink. By early 2011, Enstar might not have enough gas to meet demand during a prolonged winter cold snap.