Comment:  This week the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) attacked the Bureau of Land Management, saying it is, "The only entity which has had difficulty complying with Alaska’s drilling program…."   This interagency criticism comes to light in a July 27, 2010 letter sent from the three AOGCC commissioners to Alaska’s Congressional Delegation.  The letter comments on a bill sponsored by Congressman Henry Waxman entitled the, "Blowout Prevention Act of 2010".  In the letter, Commissioners Dan Seamount (Chairman, NGP Photo-l), John Norman and Cathy Foerster first describe Waxman’s proposed legislation as an "…unwarranted, unprecedented and far-reaching extension of Federal regulatory authority to lands heretofore under State jurisdiction.  Judged against the failures of regulators to oversee and enforce Federal regulations," the letter says, "as well as the lack of Federal regulatory oversight and enforcement…, this extension of jurisdiction is unwarranted; and, it poses an immediate threat to drilling in Alaska and Alaska’s environment."   Download the full letter here.  -dh

ADN, by Richard Mauer.  At 2 p.m. Alaska time, TransCanada’s 90-day "open season" will conclude and a company official in Tony PalmerHouston will begin opening bids for space in the proposed 48-inch diameter line — assuming any bids arrive.  If they do, their contents will remain trade secrets for at least five months, if not forever. But within an hour or so after the bids are read, TransCanada’s vice president for the Alaska project, Tony Palmer (NGP Photo), plans to give a brief statement to reporters.

Alaska Dispatch by Patti Epler.  Tony Palmer, vice president of Alaska development for TransCanada Corp., said in an interview Thursday morning that his company intends to release some "generic information" about the bids once the open season closes and the bids are opened, at about 2 p.m Friday.  "If we have no bids, we’ll be able to say so immediately," Palmer said.  If bids are received, he said the company will be able to say whether or not there were significant bids accounting for substantial volume of the proposed large diameter pipeline.

Juneau Empire by Pat Fogry.  Three top contenders for the Republican governor’s nomination competed for support among members of the Juneau Chamber of Commerce Thursday, agreeing on several core Republican issues, but disagreeing strongly on natural gas pipeline plans.