Canadian Natural Gas Declines on Lower U.S. Furnace-Fuel Demand–Bloomberg
Alaska Dispatch by Ben Anderson. An amendment to a bill that would have had sweeping effects on the oil and gas industry — including opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling and given a jumpstart to the stalled Keystone XL pipeline — was rejected by the Senate Tuesday by a vote of 41-57. (Note: The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, IOGCC, has supported reasonable development of ANWR for many years, as in this 2009 resolution: 9-102. One also notes that Alaska’s Governor Sean Parnell (NGP Photo) is this year’s IOGCC Chairman. -dh)
Commentary: Yesterday on KBYR, AM 700 statewide in 
Anchorage (link here, or click on audio link below), we enjoyed our interview with host Glen Biegel (NGP Photo outside studio on a winter day) who led the discussion on Alaska’s investment climate, the true meaning of Alaska’s constitution, federal regulations, state fiscal policy, oil taxes before and after Prudhoe Bay production began in 1977, and related energy issues. As usual, we advocated a simple message for public officials: "Keep the oil pipeline throughput increasing and sustainable for our kids by creating an attractive investment climate and make sure there is a change in Alaska energy policies at the federal level." -dh
Commentary: In her blog, yesterday, Alaska’s top volunteer energy organizer, Face Book Energy Diva Deborah Brollini (NGP Photo last night at the Anchorage Museum), modestly explained the .jpg)
significance of March 13. "Alaska Natural Resource Month and Discovery Day", she wrote, "are grassroots efforts by Alaskans, educators, and the private sector coming together to celebrate our natural resources, our energy potential, and our state’s economy. Alaska Natural Resource Month will be celebrated the entire month of March, and Discovery Day will be celebrated on March 13th which is the day that ARCO, and Humble Oil announced their Prudhoe Bay discovery back in 1968. This year also marks the 35-year anniversary of first oil through the Trans Alaska Pipeline. Alaskans are asked to celebrate in their own special way, and are encouraged to educate themselves and appreciate all of our state’s natural resources during the month of March." We observed, in attending the "Alaska Energy Day Kids Day (free)" Museum function for kids last night that many Alaskan companies were participating (event photos below) and the kids attending had a rich array of free souvenirs and games and activities to keep them entranced with "Discovery Day". As a side note, it was also an important, educational way of familiarizing Alaska’s junior set with job opportunities that could be available for them as they become ‘of age’ to take professional. oil field positions. We salute Deborah Brollini, CH2M HILL vice president Tom Maloney, Anchorage School District Superintendent Carol Comeau and the many other volunteer individuals and companies for contributing to this magnificent event celebrating the modern culture and important history of Alaska and her economy. More event photos below. -dh
Consumer Energy Alliance’s relevant links:
Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum tapped a chunk of oil shale against the podium at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center. “Thanks to the Marcellus shale and the Utica shale, we’re seeing our economy growing again, and we’ve seen a tremendous reduction in natural-gas prices,” the former Pennsylvania senator told the audience of hundreds. “It’s pretty remarkable to think that you can get oil out of this, but through that hydraulic fracturing you can.”
Newt Gingrich saw his presidential hopes all but dashed Tuesday in the Deep South, where he was rejected by voters in the very region that launched his storied political career more than three decades ago. The former House speaker placed second behind rival Rick Santorum in primaries in Mississippi and Alabama after banking his candidacy an all-Southern strategy that never fully bore fruit. Santorum’s victories in states home to the Republican Party’s most conservative voters all but ensures a head-to-head contest between front-runner Mitt Romney and the former Pennsylvania senator in upcoming contests.
Gov. Phil Bryant stressed the importance of Mississippi’s thriving energy sector in Biloxi at the Gulf Coast Energy Summit. “Other states envy Mississippi’s role as an energy powerhouse,” Bryant said on Monday. “Mississippi has become a model for other states because of our success in developing both traditional and renewable energy sources. “Mississippi is on the cutting edge of energy technology. Now it is time to continue moving forward with more energy jobs and more investment in oil, gas and all other forms of competitive energy.”
After tonight, Newt Gingrich has to be considered finished. You don’t get to be the nominee if you don’t win primaries, and if Gingrich can’t win Alabama and Mississippi, it’s hard to imagine any other state in the country where he can win. While Gingrich may remain some kind of factor, in almost every remaining state, this race devolves to a Romney-Santorum battle. That’s great news for Santorum, who has been hoping and yearning for a two-man race.
With gas prices nationwide jumping nearly a nickel over the weekend, GOP candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum focused on domestic drilling at an energy summit in Biloxi on Monday before Tuesday’s primary vote in Mississippi. The two, along with Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, took turns bashing President Barack Obama and his energy policy and saying they want to drill to lower prices and bring energy independence.
The institute, which advocates the creation of union jobs in renewable energy and analyzes sustainability issues, said that more than a million people work in agricultural or tourism jobs in the six states along Keystone XL’s route and that the economic costs could be considerable if a major spill occurred. The risks of an economically damaging accident are higher than those for conventional crude, the report said, because pipelines carrying oil sands crude are more prone to spills, an argument long made by opponents of the Keystone XL project.
What a difference a week makes for President Obama, as rising gas prices put more and more pressure on his administration. Last Tuesday at a news conference, the president insisted to Fox News that it was fallacy to think his team was in favor of higher gas prices to wean Americans off fossil fuels. "You think the president of the United States going into reelection wants gas prices to go up higher?" the president asked. "Is that — is there anybody here who thinks that makes a lot of sense?"
President Obama says he wants to end subsidies for what he calls "the fuel of the past," but lucky for him oil and gas will be the fuels of the future too. His budget-deficit blowout would be so much worse without Big Oil, because the truth is that this industry is subsidizing the government. Much, much worse, actually. The federal Energy Information Administration reports that the industry paid some $35.7 billion in corporate income taxes in 2009, the latest year for which data are available.
The brilliant green artificial turf on high-school football fields here serves as a vivid symbol of the natural-gas boom that brought prosperity to this traditionally poor corner of northwest Louisiana. But the foundation of this wealth has started to crumble. The price of natural gas has plunged to a 10-year low, prompting a flight of energy companies from gas fields across the country.
On Monday I wrote about how the White House, in releasing its energy progress report and going on the TV news circuit to talk about it, was trying to deflect attention from Republicans’ latest attack line: blaming the Obama administration for rising prices at the pump. Guess what? It turns out that most Americans don’t actually blame the President for the high gas prices—at least so far.
AP: Oil, natural gas rise amid improving US economy
A rosier assessment of the economy from the Federal Reserve on Tuesday gave a boost to flagging natural gas prices. After declining earlier, natural gas futures surged when the Fed forecast gradual declines in the unemployment rate as the economy expands moderately over the coming months. It also noted that consumer spending and business investment have picked up.
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Energy Day Museum Photos: (Check back; these will be loaded later today….)
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