ADN. The eastern population of the Steller sea lion will be taken off the threatened species list, a federal agency announced Wednesday. (Category: "It's about time." See our commentary mentioning this and other inappropriate listings, earlier this week. -dh) CBC by Margo McDiarmid. After decades of being out of sight and out of mind, pipelines are booming again in Canada with proposals for 14 new or expanded oil and gas pipeline projects.
Today's CNBC Comments Require Critical Thinking by Dave Harbour Have you ever heard smart people being interviewed about Alaska and/or energy issues and wondered how they could be so uninformed/devious (i.e. Could there be any other explanation?) This morning on CNBC, Jim Cramer spoke with Jason Furman. The 42 year-old Furman is an alumnus of the Brookings Institute and the President's Council of Economic Advisers Chairman. On energy, Cramer suggested that the government help with the labor shortage of energy producing states, addressing the mismatch between states with job shortages and states with employment shortages. [...]
Houston Readers: Next Saturday, October 19, Consumer Energy Alliance and the University of Houston will conduct another Energy Day. Free Family Festival with food, games and events along with fascinating exhibits dealing with science, energy, technology, innovation and conservation. Where and When: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Hermann Square, City Hall, 900 Smith Street, Houston! www.energydayfestival.org. -dh CBC News. Dozens of people showed up to a TransCanada public consultation on its pipeline proposal in Stittsville on Thursday evening. Energy Daily. Extracting shale oil and gas reserves through [...]
(See our 10-4-13 story), "...in answer to a question dealing with final terminus of the pipeline and siting for an LNG export plant, she said that "over twenty sites have been evaluated and prioritized but it is premature to announce the location of the site at this point." Alaska Journal of Commerce by Tim Bradner (NGP Photo of Bradner at Nikiski LNG Site, 2001). North Slope producers and TransCanada Corp. have selected a site at Nikiski on the Kenai Peninsula as the proposed terminus for a 42-inch North Slope gas [...]
Feds Reject ANWR Exploration Offer. News Miner/AP. A spokeswoman for Gov. Sean Parnell (NGP Photo) says the state is evaluating its options after its exploration plan for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was rejected again. The latest rejection came last month from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Daniel Ashe. In a letter to then-Natural Resources Commissioner Dan Sullivan, dated Sept. 20, Ashe said in part that the state misinterpreted agency regulations and submitted a plan years too late. Natural Resources Committee: Obama Administration Assault on American Mining Jobs On Thursday, [...]
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) yesterday issued a Call for Information and Nominations relating to a potential oil and gas Lease Sale 237 scheduled for the Chukchi Sea Planning Area off of Alaska in 2016. The Republic — Kevin Sweeney is returning as Sen. Lisa Murkowski's state director. Sweeney will replace Miles Baker, who will serve as director of government relations and external affairs for the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. That's the group charged with advancing an in-state gas line in Alaska. Alaska North Slope Borough Mayor Charlotte Brower (NGP Photo) welcomed news late yesterday that the U.S. Senate has [...]
HuffPost British Columbia/CP by Lauren Krugel. There's nothing more urgent right now for Canada than to get into the liquefied natural gas export game, CIBC executive and former federal Conservative cabinet minister Jim Prentice (NGP Photo) said Wednesday. (Canada and Alaska are competing for Asian and other LNG markets. Those first to lock in supply contracts will leave the runners up with markets that are 'slim pickings'. -dh) Houston, TX – In response to yesterday’s announcement that the EPA will institute strict limits on carbon emissions for new power plants, Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) President [...]
Beringia! For years the Federal government has been coordinating with Russia to create an International protected area (IPA) called “Beringia” (Beh-rin-gee-a) that could include millions of acres within Alaska and the Russian Far East. (Short version) (Senator Begich will look into the matter) By Dave Harbour The Presidents of the United States and Russia in 1990 found they had something in common. Their common interest evolved from the United States purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. Because of Alaska, both countries now share an interest in the Arctic. The [...]
Today We Begin the First Full Day of the Alaska Oil and Gas Congress--with American and Canadian content. Readers will find the two day agenda here, along with yesterday's important Alaska in-state energy seminar pre-conference agenda. Here is another current case involving EPA overreach, as reported by KTUU.com. Gov. Sean Parnell is repeating his contention that federal officials were heavy handed in investigating placer mines in the Fortymile River area last month. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports Parnell on Saturday traveled to Chicken to meet with miners. ... Parnell says four to seven [...]
EPA's Unreasonable Fuel Standards Tomorrow is 9/11. Join with good people in Lamar, Colorado and throughout the nation as we strive to, "never forget". Today, an Alaska World Affairs luncheon presentation by Arctic Ambassador David Balton (NGP Photo) will convene at the Anchorage Hilton Hotel. Students will receive free lunches courtesy of BP and the University of Alaska will provide hosted lunches for faculty and staff. (See our earlier report and comment regarding Arctic policy. This should be an important, educational forum and we hope for a series of penetrating questions dealing with [...]
Note to readers: we are traveling to Prudhoe Bay this morning for groundbreaking of the North Slope Borough's new, $90 million water and waste water treatment plant. More tomorrow. -dh News Miner. The Fairbanks Chapter of the Alaska Support Industry Alliance is hosting a discussion about the liquefied natural gas feasibility study at a lunch meeting from noon to 1 p.m. Sept. 4 at the Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge. Speakers at the meeting will be Gene Therriault of the Alaska Energy Authority and Mark Davis of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export [...]
The Overreaching EPA Also see Freedom Works Blog by Jon Gabriel by Dave Harbour Our hats are off to this perceptive, Fairbanks News-Miner opinion: An important policy call awaits Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy, who just visited Alaska. Will she use a section of the federal Clean Water Act to pre-empt any further consideration of the Pebble mine? Doing so would be an abuse of a questionable authority using incomplete information. Last month and for some time we have lamented erosion of the rule of law in the United States [...]
Here is A Link For Readers To Our Latest Column In Xtra, Anchorage's Community Newspaper. Here Is Our Unedited Submission: "Responsibility" Another Abuse of Endangered Species Act Relevant to our essay, above, on 'Responsibility', Canada's Globe & Mail piece by Jeffrey Jones notes the importance of tax policy to energy project investors. We believe that all decision makers will want to take heed. Those who support higher taxes and regulatory barriers, in essence, wish for fewer energy jobs and investment while those who seek moderate taxes and rules will create more attractive [...]
Former Energy Secretary, Spencer Abraham (NGP photo), gives opinion on EPA: "It remains to be seen how it will handle a number of issues. "It is hard to tell how realistic it will be on issues such as fracking and renewable fuels standards, which are big questions. "The jury is still out on whether the EPA still needs to reform its role in a way that is reasonable and that takes into account all sides of the equation, including economic growth and a strong economy." -EnergyBiz, by Ken Silverstein This [...]
Canadian Press. TransCanada Sues Rival Enbridge Governor Parnell Calls on Interior to Reconsider ANWR Plan (See yesterday's 8-21-13 letter here) (See our 8-9-13 story here) See our "Federal Overreach Summit" commentary, entitled Remembering the Past, in this week's (8-21) Xtra Community Newspaper. -dh August 21, 2013, Anchorage, Alaska – The State of Alaska today formally asked U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Daniel Ashe to reconsider and reverse his agency’s denial of the state’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) Section 1002(e) Exploration Plan. [...]
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