Alaska’s Constitutional Crisis – Natural Gas Demand Higher Than Ever And Going Higher

Reminding Readers: the Deadline Is TODAY: For Protecting Public Use of the Oceans and Great Lakes.  Use This Webpage to Easily Comment by the Friday Deadline On Another Example Of Federal Overreach — As Washington Bosses Seek To Zone (Restrict) Ocean Use.

ADN Compass Piece by Mike Hawker (NGP Photo).  the Senate refuses to pass the capital budget to the House until the House guarantees to not change contingency language that our Attorney General and the Department of Law say is unconstitutional — and that many House members believe compromises our sovereign responsibilities.

Commentary: Deborah Brollini (NGP Photo).  It’s inappropriate for Senate Judiciary to be holding hearings during this special session on whether or not ACES is working. Here is the Governor’s proclamation on what the Senate should ONLY be working on (http://bit.ly/ilVZRv ) The senate had already had 90 days to evaluate ACES and decided to not take up SB 49 on January 19th. Not appropriate – Deborah Brollini http://www.aksenate.org/index.

Calgary Herald by Shaun Polczer.  The battered natural gas sector got some good news on Thursday amid signs that a long-awaited recovery might be in the cards later this year.  First, the U.S. government’s Energy Information Agency reported that storage inventories grew by 31 billion cubic feet last week, less than the consensus forecast of 38 bcf and well below the five-year average injection of 65 bcf for this time of year. Inventories are now actually one per cent below the five-year average.  Futures responded by climbing 16 cents in New York to $4.63 US per million British thermal units and the 12-month strip is once again flirting with $5, which will provide a life line for producers who rely on hedging to protect their balance sheets.  So far so good.  The U.S. Department of Energy also reported Thursday that American gas demand in 2010 set a new record of 22.1 trillion cubic feet, exceeding the previous high in 2000 by a whopping 10 per cent. According to the Chicago-based Gas Technology Institute, future demand growth will be led by the power generation sector, where natural gas will replace older coal-fired power plants across the country. Power generation demand in 2010 was also at an all-time high, 40 per cent higher than demand in 2000, bouncing back sharply from pre-recession levels.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (NGP Photo), R-Alaska, issued the following statement today in response to Majority Leader Reid’s plan to hold a vote after the recess on raising taxes on energy producers.  “Despite the fact that we, as a country, need more energy, not less, Democrats appear committed to a campaign to increase oil prices and drive investment, jobs and oil production overseas," Murkowski said.  Murkowski, the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said policies that increase the cost of producing energy will only drive up gasoline prices further and increase the economic challenges facing American families and the nation as a whole.