Tim Bradner: Ending state's gas line partnership with producers would be a mistake

News updates of particular interest to our energy readers, courtesy of the Alaska State Senate Majority: Walker faces recall effort in response to budget vetoes Governor Bill Walker faces a potential campaign to recall him from office. Joe Miller backs the effort. He was the runner-up in the 2010 U.S. Senate campaign and 2014 Senate Republican primary. Sullivan on Trump VP vetting; ‘I was probably as surprised as you’ Is Donald Trump considering Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan for Vice President? A piece by People magazine speculating the Senator may [...]

Brennan: Walker stiffs state creditors Added by Tom Brennan on July 3, 2016. Saved under News & Commentary By Tom Brennan Tom Brennan, Anchorage Daily Planet. NGP file photo by Dave Harbour The news media’s references to Gov. Bill Walker’s moves on the oil tax credit obligation as “tax credit reform” are disingenuous. That’s a fancy word meaning bullpucky. Reform would mean changing the law to limit or modify its use in the future. What Walker did was stiff the state’s industry creditors on money owed from past [...]

ANCHORAGE (KTUU) The Division of Oil and Gas, on behalf of Gov. Bill Walker, this week set a Sept. 1 deadline for BP Exploration to provide new information about plans to sell North Slope gas. The request came as the state has refused to sign off on oil companies’ 2016 development plan for Prudhoe Bay, saying that the companies must first describe how they will market and sell natural gas in addition to oil. "As governor of Alaska, I need to know producers’ plans regarding the marketing of gas," Walker [...]

  Oil-sniffing dogs can help detect pipeline leaks, Calgary handler says Alaska  Governor Bill Walker has continued to accrue ill will reflecting a lack of confidence in his leadership.  In recent posts, readers will note: The governor has called for yet another special session of the Legislature to consider matters lawmakers rejected in the recently adjourned special session.  (What do they call it when one continues doing the same thing while expecting a different result?) The governor has insisted that the people and legislature give more "revenue" to government before significantly cutting [...]

Today's new, relevant links for our readers, courtesy of Alaska State Senate Majority: Governor fends off criticism over Alaska LNG, says oil companies back a bigger state role Gov. Bill Walker on Tuesday shot back at what he called "misstatements" about his pursuit of an Alaska-led gas project, decrying assertions by critics that he would force the leading North Slope oil producers to market gas by threatening to put them in default on their leases. Jahna Lindemuth is Alaska's new attorney general Gov. Bill Walker on Tuesday announced that Jahna [...]

Comment: We guess that if 30-40 protesters gathered outside the offices of any Canadian environmental organizations or took a pro-free enterprise march around Toronto Island Park, nary a CBC reporter or editor would care....  -dh CBC.     ...  The group set out on May 28 from Amqui, Que., on the Peoples' (Sounds like Mao, doesn't it?  -dh) March for Mother Earth, a 785-kilometre trek that hopes to send a message of protest against oil and gas exploration in the region. The projects the group opposes include: The Chaleur Terminal project, a plan to build a three-kilometre pipeline [...]

We present this early Saturday report for our readers who might otherwise miss it over the weekend You won't see this side-by-side review anywhere else!  On the one hand, we have accomplished Oil & Gas attorney, Brad Keithley, describing his view of how the budget has been manipulated to reflect more cost cutting than has actually occurred.  On the other hand, Alaska State Representative, Mark Neuman, House Finance Co Chairman, describes significant budget cuts that have been made along with the budget process.  We think our sophisticated readers will gain much [...]

Alaska Public Media re: Alaska Considering Full Ownership Of Energy Project Gov. Bill Walker’s administration is considering major changes to the Alaska LNG project, the effort to build a massive natural gas pipeline from the North Slope. State officials said today the administration is considering increasing Alaska’s stake in the project — or even taking over ownership completely. ...  Read more here. Keith Meyer started work as president of the state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corporation last week. In an interview today, he said if the state increases its ownership, it would look for outside [...]

ACTION ALERT Five-Year OCS Lease Sale Plan, deadline today! PLEASE RESPOND TODAY: HERE’S HOW Mining.com by Dean Pelkey.  Fort Saint John fights for pipeline/LNG project against environmental activists..., Platts (Read more).  Alaska and North Slope producers are discussing possible new ownership structures for the large Alaska LNG project From our friend, Larry Persily, here are the latest news links of interest to our readers: Oil and gas news briefs for June 16, 2016 LNG producers may need to curtail supply if prices fall further (Australian Financial Review; June [...]

ALASKANOMICS: Today we observe Alaska's unsolved fiscal crisis and conclude that special interest advocates will ultimately create the "lowest common denominator" solution, which may be neither logical nor an answer to the fiscal mismatch between government income and spending.   Follow Alaskanomics for reliable updates!   -dh Nearing end, Legislature rebuffs most of Walker’s deficit plan 2015 State Employment Growth Turned Negative at Year End AJOC EDITORIAL: Money for nothing and the checks for free Alaska LNG outlines issues for next round of resource reports Economic Luncheon Seminar- The Keys [...]

Calgary Herald by Don Braid. Premier Rachel Notley won the support of 97.8 per cent of her party members Saturday. The other 2.2 per cent were said to be hiding in a broom closet at the convention hotel. Notley is respected, admired, even adored in her party. Part of this is circumstance. Any New Democrat who wins in Alberta is bound to be popular with a party that wandered in the wilds for half a century. But the other part, that’s all her. Notley can be fierce and funny in the same sentence. She [...]

Comment:  Just imaging what would happen to free enterprise -- and even national defense activity -- in Alaska if the presumptive Democrat nominee were to become President.    -dh FROM: THE HILL. SIERRA CLUB BACKS CLINTON: The Sierra Club on Thursday endorsed Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Michael Brune, the group's executive director, said in a statement that Clinton "will be the strong environmental champion that we need to lead our country," handing the former secretary of State her second major environmental endorsement of the week. "The Sierra Club, like so [...]