2-21-14 Canada Pressures Obama On Keystone; Murkowski Pressures For Arctic Ambassador

Lindsay Williams alerts us that Alaska Senate Resources Committee Chairman Cathy Giessel (NGP Photo) will hold a hearing Monday morning from 8-8:50 a.m. on SB 138 Gas Pipeline, AGDC, Oil & Gas Production Tax.

Globe & Mail. Prime Minister Stephen Harper was again rebuffed in his bid to press U.S. President Barack Obama to approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline when he raised the issue during a North American leaders’ summit in Toluca, Mexico. *** Globe & Mail.

Tracts of land that had been set aside for reindeer grazing in Canada’s North have instead been offered up by the Conservative government for oil and gas exploration, newly released documents show. (Comment: As we in Alaska have learned, oil development and caribou herd growth are compatible. -dh)

Lisa Murkowski, Arctic Ambassador, Photo by Dave Harbour KETCHIKAN, Alaska, Senate Energy Committee – One day after sharing her concerns that the recently-announced 'Special Representative for the Arctic' position represents mere "window dressing" on Arctic engagement, Senator Lisa Murkowski (NGP Photo) called on Secretary John Kerry to meet with her and provide more information about the nature of the position — and why he is declining to name an official to a full Ambassador position.

With Senator Murkowski having recently delivered the Keynote Address at the Global Arctic Symposium and planning to participate in this weekend's Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region (SCPAR) and meet with the Chair of the Arctic Council, she wants to be assured that the Obama Administration is truly raising the profile of its Arctic agenda.

In a letter to Secretary Kerry (attached), Murkowski writes:

“I am also pleased that the position will be filled by a high level individual of substantial stature and expertise. I am gravely concerned, however, that the Special Representative will not be on par with our Arctic partners at international bilateral and multilateral events, nor will it have the authority within the U.S. Government to direct resources to the Far North and I welcome the opportunity to engage with you on these issues.”

When the State Department announced its plans to name a 'Special Representative to the Arctic,' Murkowski first vocalized these concerns — given that 7 of the 8 Arctic nations (and non-Arctic nations like Thailand) have appointed full Ambassadors — since the United States should not relegate its Arctic involvement given the global attention and investment in the region.

Calgary Herald by James Wood. As Canada presses the Obama administration to approve the Keystone XL project, the Alberta government has spent more than $2 million on U.S. lobbyists since 2008 on key issues such as the oil pipeline — although the flow of provincial money has dried up this year.

Bakken News: A year of records – 02/23/2014 It's hard to talk about North Dakota oil production these days without talking about setting records, and December production was no exception. But the record is not of the type people are used to seeing as a decline in output in December marks the largest single drop in average daily production in….

Houston Chronicle/AP by Becky Bohrer.

Federal agencies are ready to work on an Alaska liquefied natural gas project but don't want another false start, state lawmakers were told Wednesday.

In testimony submitted to the Senate Finance Committee, Larry Persily (NGP Photo), the federal coordinator of Alaska gas pipeline projects, said agencies would like to know a project has a real shot at making it this time.