1-19-17 We have been traveling and will soon update these pages
We thank our patient readers for bearing with us as we travel this week. We'll have you and our archives updated just as soon as we can! -dh
1-18-17 Projects That Government Could Have Killed
Journal of Commerce, by Andrew Jensen. We aren’t hearing much from the opponents of the 2013 oil tax reform lately. Facts tend to get in the way of rhetorical hyperbole, and it appears that reality has finally caught up with Democrats and Gov. Bill Walker, who collectively agitated for the repeal Senate Bill 21 in a 2014 voter referendum. Losing that fight didn’t end the debate, however. Nor did the undisputed evidence from Walker’s own Revenue Department that SB 21 was bringing in more money than the previous [...]
1-13-17 AGDC Has Questions To Answer
Alaska Dispatch News: AGDC has long, and potentially costly, to-do list as it takes over LNG project
ConocoPhillips this morning announced a new Alaska North Slope discovery! … With Massive Subsidy The Fairbanks, Alaska LNG/Gas Distribution Project Struggles On
ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc. today announced a new oil discovery in the Greater Mooses Tooth (GMT) Unit located in the northeast portion of the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska (NPRA). Here’s a link to the full release Quick reference from the release: The Willow discovery wells, Tiŋmiaq 2 and 6, were drilled in early 2016 and encountered 72 feet and 42 feet of net pay, respectively, in the Brookian Nanushuk formation. ConocoPhillips has a 78 percent working interest in the discovery and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation holds a 22 percent interest. [...]
1-12-17 We Value Tim Bradner’s Analysis
Is the ANS gas glass half full or half empty? by Dave Harbour Tim Bradner has a long history with the Alaska oil and gas business. With his brother, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Bradner, he brings to his clear-eyed journalism a sharp and accurate political perspective. Tim Bradner. Northern Gas Pipelines file photo by Dave Harbour His ADN article today illustrates Bradner's grasp of Alaska's current Alaska North Slope (ANS) gas challenge, "Alaska Needs Options For Its Natural Gas". Sadly, Alaska is truly [...]
1-11-17
From Ak-Headlamp. At a Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce luncheon in the Carlson Center, senior vice president of Caelus Energy's Alaska operations Pat Foley, nudged Chamber members to contact their legislators and ask for a consistent oil-tax-credit program that encourages investment in the North Slope. "It's a dour time, but I'm optimistic," Foley told Chamber members, "and I think in the next five years, we're going to see that pipeline-training facility full." Foley said the North Slope must remain a vibrant business environment for Caelus to be successful, and legislators should work toward "a tax policy that is [...]
1-9-17 Honest Energy Folks Should Beware of Socialists
Dear Friends: Our long term readers know that this webpage was born over 15 years ago, when certain special interests sought to demonize some Alaskan and some Canadian energy interests. One of our secondary goals has been to facilitate greater diplomacy and understanding among citizens of both countries -- in support of both separate and joint energy projects. Hopefully, the sort of blog entry we have today will lead us ever closer to greater understanding among citizens of the two countries. -dh "...because that's where the [...]
1-6-17 Gas Pipeline Logic
Today's Headline From Argus: "State Agency Takes Over Troubled Alaska LNG Project". Today's Logic: if some of the largest energy investors in the world (i.e. BP, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil) believe now is not the time for an Alaska North Slope gas export project, why would a state bureaucracy (i.e. Governor) enmeshed in fiscal crisis hang on for dear life to an economically infeasible, multi-hundred million dollar, risky, volatile, commodity-based, private-sector energy project -- when consumer-friendly, low LNG/gas prices and over supply continue to dominate gas markets? "Hope" is often the [...]
1-1-17 Alaska’s Economic Outlook: 2017
Courtesy: Alaska Business Monthly Alaska Economic Outlook 2017 'Bright, if...' Greg Wolf, Executive Director, World Trade Center Anchorage (Serving all of Alaska) joins a couple dozen other Alaska leaders with assessments of the 2017 Economic Outlook for Alaska. Greg Wolf, Executive Director, World Trade Center Anchorage (Serving all of Alaska) joins a couple dozen other Alaska leaders with assessments of the 2017 Economic Outlook for Alaska. COMPOSITE PHOTO BY JUDY PATRICK PHOTOGRAPHY & DAVID GEIGER, ABM ART DIRECTOR ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY From the Editor Happy New Year! We [...]
12-30-16 Northern Energy Conversations End 2016 And Will Begin 2017
Year-end Gasline Commentary by Dave Harbour See yesterday's column Yesterday, we previewed an LNG/gas line commentary planned for next week, as the new year begins. Today, we bring you a news release from the Alaska Government-Run LNG Project, complete with enough participant qualifications to seriously dilute the message that the project is "progressing" (Column right). We would love for 2017 to bring Alaska and the United States economy news of a sustainable market for a feasible Alaska North Slope (ANS) natural gas project. We must remember, [...]
12-29-16 Government Gas Project Bombarded by Questions
Congresswoman Maxine Waters As 2017 begins next week, we'll bring readers a review of Alaska's government gas project questions. As Argentina and Venezuela and Brazil have demonstrated, government control of energy projects brings unearned riches to politicians in exchange for corruption, poorly run projects and miserable results for citizens. In the present era, Alaska Governor Bill Walker -- like Congresswoman Maxine Waters -- is determined to learn the painful lessons of socialized energy industries all over again. He is falsely claiming that out of the midst of [...]
12-28-16 Valuable U.S. Transition Counsel: Rightsizing Government Employment, Programs & Rules Is Critical To A Viable Energy Industry … And All Free Enterprises And Jobs And National Security
How Trump can reduce the federal workforce and drain the swamp by Robert Romano The private sector nationally -- and in Alaska -- has responded to the need for efficiency. The federal, public sector is long past due for a reality check...a complete reorganization, to include elimination of the majority of functions added recently and without Congressional budgetary oversight. -dh Republican presidential candidates the past many years have spoken of plans to reduce the federal workforce and rein in the bureaucracy in Washington, D.C. Rudy Giuliani in [...]
12-27-16
Today's Northern Energy Headlines For Our Readers The first day of Christmas is TODAY! Freezing temps mean it’s time to clean the legacy wells on the North Slope (See our 2012 editorial) Tillerson might help Alaska's gas project despite brittle relations with governor US rig count up 16 this week to 653; Alaska adds 3 Alaska gas line project requires consistent policy, fiscal certainty _______________________________
12-25-16 Merry Christmas!
MERRY CHRISTMAS...GOOD NEWS: From Our Canadian "Climate Change" Expert (Our actual Christmas message posted yesterday) Hi, Politicians continue to embrace the media’s torrent of global-warming/climate-change/emission-reduction propaganda. This propaganda wrongly vilifies “carbon” (i.e. carbon dioxide, “CO2”), thereby facilitating the introduction of a carbon tax. What will happen when the climate-change alarmists are no longer able to deny the current reality ofGLOBAL COOLING, especially the inevitable return of the low temperatures of the Dalton (1790-1830) and Maunder (1645-1715) Minimums? If logic were to prevail, these believers of CO2-induced global [...]
12-24-16 Early Christmas Eve Post
Dear readers: Most importantly, Merry Christmas, and may we all take time to remember the reason for the season. After all, where would we be without the founders of our nation and the framers of our Constitution who attributed creation of the United States of America to the Creator of mankind? And why would we be gathering tonight for dinner, presents and celebration without primarily celebrating the birth of God's Son who became the Savior of the world, if only we would accept Him? * * [...]