This week’s oil and gas conference!

By |2016-12-22T22:34:29-09:00September 28th, 2010|Uncategorized|

ADN by Elizabeth Bluemink: Conoco Phillips said Tuesday it hasn't backed away from its efforts with BP to develop a North Slope gas pipeline. Monday.  Canadian Institute/American Conference Institute's Sixth Annual Oil and Gas Congress.  Cook Inlet Regional Corporation Chair Margaret Brown (CIRI Photo) and Northern Gas Pipelines Publisher Dave Harbour (NGP Photo) are Co-Chairs of this year's event --this week-- featuring leaders in U.S., Alaskan and Canadian governments, industry, media and indigenous organizations. ADN by Tim Bradner.  Oil is vital to Alaska. Royalties and oil taxes pay for 90 percent of the state budget, the Department [...]

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Alaska Economists Conduct OCS Debate – Governor Hopefuls Clash Over Gas Pipeline

By |2016-12-22T22:34:29-09:00September 23rd, 2010|Uncategorized|

Last night (9-22-10) the Alaska Chapter of the International Association of Energy Economists sponsored a forum at the University of Alaska-Anchorage to weigh the risks against the benefits of Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) development in the Arctic.  (More coming  next week....)  Comments from: Roger Marks, Michael Carey, Pete Slaiby (NGP Photo-l), John Schoen, Harold Curran (NGP Photo-r), David Ramseur  KFQD by Billy Hackett.  Republican Gov. Sean Parnell and Democrat Ethan Berkowitz debated Wednesday at an Alaska State Chamber of Commerce event. Parnell says he has demonstrated he is a man of action [...]

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Big OCS Meeting Tonight! – Big OCS Meeting Yesterday –

By |2016-12-22T22:34:29-09:00September 22nd, 2010|Uncategorized|

(Click for tonight's OCS meeting notice) Lawmakers Struggle With OCS Complexity Commentary and Report (Planned for completion 9-28) by Dave Harbour (ABM link) Alaska Senate Resource Co-chairmen, Senators Bill Wielechowski and Lesil McGuire (NGP Photo) presided over a full house at the Anchorage Legislative Information Office yesterday (9-21-10), dealing with the infinitely complex subject of Arctic oil spill preparation and response.  They approached the potentially controversial and divisive challenge with tact and courtesy.  Invited witnesses seemed cooperative.  While appearances can be deceiving, one could observe a common theme that nowhere in [...]

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ALERT: SUPPORT OCS Tomorrow Night In Anchorage – Alaska Legislators Convene OCS Spill Response Panel Today – Canadian and American Business and Government Leaders Have Oil Congress – Mackenzie Project Delayed Again?

By |2016-12-22T22:34:29-09:00September 21st, 2010|Uncategorized|

(The author admits and laments the human frailty that produced a typographical error in this morning's email alert!  -dh) Today:  The Alaska State Senate Resources Committee will hold a hearing (10 a.m. - 4 p.m. ) today at the Anchorage Legislative Information Office.  The hearing will deal with spill response systems in Alaska and include four panels:  1.  Industry, 2. Environmental, 3. Community, and 4. Agency.  *  Join the Alliance in Kenai on Sept. 21 for a luncheon featuring guest speaker David Hall of Cook Inlet Energy... more...      Yesterday: ADN by [...]

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Enstar Gas Storage Project Still On Schedule – State Prays While Feds March On

By |2016-12-22T22:34:30-09:00September 20th, 2010|Uncategorized|

On Friday Commonwealth North's Energy Action Coalition, chaired by Mary Ann Pease (NGP Photo-r), heard Executives with Enstar Natural Gas update members on the status of the Cook Inlet Natural Gas Storage Alaska, LLC (CINGS) project.     Enstar Regional Vice President, Colleen Starring (NGP Photo-l) said adequate natural gas storage is critical to Enstar's mission of providing energy to homes and businesses at all times of the year, particularly during the coldest days of winter.  "We're in a situation when we need the storage now," she said, "and expect [...]

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Today Is BOEM’s Comment Deadline – Canada Seeks To Resolve Arctic Boundaries – Does the Alaska Legislature Seek To Attract or Distract Oil and Gas Investors?

By |2016-12-22T22:34:30-09:00September 17th, 2010|Uncategorized|

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO COMMENT.  HERE'S THE BACKGROUND AND HERE'S HOW TO COMMENT.  THE VOLUME OF CITIZEN COMMENT IS IMPORTANT; ELECTED OFFICIAL COMMENT IS CRITICAL   1.  The U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) hosted a public meeting in Anchorage to discuss the Obama Administration’s offshore oil and gas drilling ban.  BOEM Director Michael Bromwich (NGP Photo-r) didn't announce the time or place of the meeting until a few days before, took no public testimony and refused to grant legislators' requests to be heard.  He [...]

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Obama Administration To Extract More Money To Regulate Big Oil … Jobs At Stake

By |2016-03-13T04:11:54-09:00September 16th, 2010|Uncategorized|

Associated Press.  The oil and gas industry says an Obama administration plan to double fees charged for inspections of offshore operations could cost jobs.  The industry recognizes the need for improved inspections and oversight following the massive BP oil spill, American Petroleum Institute president Jack Gerard said. But doubling the fees is not appropriate, especially during a recession, he said.  "This is not the time to go back and impose additional costs on industry," Gerard said Tuesday in a conference call with reporters.  The oil and gas industry contributes billions [...]

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Governor Candidates Wrestle on Energy Issues

By |2016-12-22T22:34:30-09:00September 15th, 2010|Uncategorized|

Alaska Dispatch by Patti Epler.  The second half of the gubernatorial campaign game kicked off in earnest Tuesday when Republican Gov. Sean Parnell (NGP Photo-l) and Democrat challenger Ethan Berkowitz (NGP Photo) met up in Kenai at a debate hosted by the Kenai and Soldotna chambers of commerce.  Observers called it "heated."  And Parnell was quick to send out a press release touting his own performance. (Unlike other candidates, Parnell hardly ever speaks directly to the press and prefers to communicate through statements prepared by his staff.) "Governor Parnell takes Berkowitz to [...]

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BLM’s NPR-Alaska Shakedown – BOEM Stalls Shallow Water GOM Development

By |2016-03-13T03:58:37-09:00September 14th, 2010|Uncategorized|

Boding badly for Alaska, Interior's BLM is developing rules for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska that are based on 'climate change and the recent listing of polar bears as a threatened and endangered species...."   We urge Anchorage citizens to attend the September 23 meeting!  -dh The Bureau of Land Management seeks public input as it begins to develop its integrated activity plan and environmental impact statement for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Previous NPR-A plans dealt with portions of NPR-A. The new plan will cover all of the more than 22 million acres in NPR-A [...]

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Petroleum Economist Dissects ACES – ADN OCS Editorial – Economist Raises Red Flag – International Energy Economists Host Energy Debate

By |2016-12-22T22:34:30-09:00September 13th, 2010|Uncategorized|

  Alaska’s Oil and Gas Production Tax Severely Limits Upside Profit Potential   Published: Oil and Gas Financial Journal, Sep 1, 2010 - Roger Marks, Consulting Petroleum Economist, Anchorage, Alaska (NGP Photo)   Alaska's oil (and gas) production (or severance) tax, called "ACES" (Alaska's Clear and Equitable Share), was enacted in 2007 (effective July 1 of that year). The tax has a base tax rate of 25% on the net value of oil, the value after all exploration, development, production, operating, and transportation costs are deducted.   There is also a progressivity element [...]

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Alaska Sues Feds

By |2016-12-22T22:34:30-09:00September 10th, 2010|Commentary, Federal Obstruction|

What Could One Possibly Do to Help Rid Ourselves of Unjustified Moratoria?   One Could Start by Joining Consumer Energy Alliance's Call to Action To Comment Before the September 17 Deadline! Trouble in the Colony by  Dave Harbour    Thursday, Governor Sean Parnell (NGP Photo-r) and Alaska's Attorney General, Dan Sullivan (NGP Photo-l, with Parnell), announced that the State would resist being treated like a 'second class citizen' by the Federal government--and filed a lawsuit to overturn the 'arbitrary and capricious'  actions of Secretary Ken Salazar to illegally establish oil and gas [...]

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Key OCS Meeting Tonight In Anchorage – BP Reveals Gulf Explosion’s Investigation Results

By |2016-12-22T22:34:31-09:00September 8th, 2010|Commentary, Federal Obstruction|

-  The cement and shoe track barriers – and in particular the cement slurry that was used – at the bottom of the Macondo well failed to contain hydrocarbons within the reservoir, as they were designed to do,  and allowed gas and liquids to flow up the production casing; -  The results of the negative pressure test were incorrectly accepted  by  BP and Transocean, although well integrity had not been established; -  Over a 40-minute period, the Transocean rig crew failed to recognize and act on the influx of hydrocarbons [...]

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What’s Wrong With Alaska?

By |2016-12-22T22:34:31-09:00September 7th, 2010|Alaska Taxes, Commentary|

Billions of petroleum related investment dollars are flowing from Asia to Canada. Q.  What's wrong with Alaska? A.  It is among the most expensive operating environments in the world (i.e. labor, transportation, climate, transportation, remoteness to the markets).  It is mostly owned by the Federal government, with an Administration openly hostile to natural resource development.  Federal statutory, regulatory, leasing and taxing policies are volatile and threatening.  Alaska state petroleum taxes are the highest in the free world and unpredictable.  Alaska's government spending and income projections are unsustainable, mark of an [...]

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Is Alaska A Victim of Irrational Policy: Endangered Species Act?

By |2016-12-22T22:34:31-09:00September 6th, 2010|Uncategorized|

Friday we described Governor Sean Parnell's (NGP Photo) effort to defend against irrational application in the 49th State of the Endangered Species Act (ESA); today, we provide Lee Gerhard's outstanding 2002 ESA critique--still applicable today.    Rational Science for Rational Policy: Scientific Problems of the Endangered Species Act   Wall Street Journal, January 10, 2002 by Lee C. Gerhard   The General Case   Legislation that addresses popular concerns often contains wording that creates problems greater than those the law was meant to address. Sometimes these unintended consequences occur inadvertently through failure to [...]

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