Deadline for commenting on The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) intent to create an Integrated Activity Plan and an Environmental Impact Statement for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) was last Friday.  We are astounded at how few of Alaska’s public officials and companies and organizations commented.  If you know of other comments, please email us.  Otherwise, we recognize the following for having taken the time: Senator Lesil McGuire (NGP Photo), Mayor Dan Sullivan (NGP Photo), Our Own Comment,  Resource Development Council for Alaska. 

 

On Today’s Denali Open Season Deadline for Bids: Comment from Alaska Gas Pipeline Blog.  Hundreds of millions have been spent on the Denali and the TransCanada open seasons, hopefully not in vain.

 

ADN Commentary by Paul Jenkins.  Kevin Meyers (NGP Photo-r), Conoco Phillips’ North American exploration and production senior vice president, told the Alaska World Trade Center annual conference that with no new oil discoveries, the trans-Alaska oil pipeline — the one that provides 90 percent of state revenues — could in a few years dry up to a minimum operating level of 500,000 barrels daily. Small discoveries, efficiencies and new developments near known fields could perhaps stretch it to eight, he said.

Severely diminished throughput could be devastating to Alaska’s economy and the pipeline itself. The remedy for both? More oil. Unfortunately, production is down and dropping. Tim Bradner (NGP Photo) reported in the Alaska Journal of Commerce that Meyers says there is little oil exploration under way and, given that, prospects for new discoveries are nothing to write home about.
It seems almost any hope for a new discovery lies offshore, but the federal government has blocked drilling there while it reviews offshore safety in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It will be a while before a decision is made on Arctic offshore drilling.

Latest Gas Pipeline CAMPAIGN Comments:

Berkowitz, 9-28.  ConocoPhillips CEO Jim Mulva has admitted to the London’ Financial Times that they are "reassessing" their involvement in the natural gas pipeline. Ethan Berkowitz, the Democratic Party’s candidate for Governor responded, "This is the final nail in the coffin for Sean Parnell’s ‘Gasline Success Ruse’."