Chicago Tribune Editorial.  The president should approve the Keystone XL pipeline, which would link the rich oil sands in the Canadian province of Alberta to U.S. refineries and ports in the Gulf of Mexico. Last Friday evening, 17 Democrats joined all of the U.S. Senate's Republicans in urging Obama to do just that. The 62-37 vote was nonbinding but signaled bipartisan frustration with the administration's reluctance to approve the project. Seward Phoenix Log by Wolfgang Kurtz.  There’s no plan to get critical natural gas supplies to Southcentral Alaska that has [...]

We thank a number of NGP readers along with interested students and other citizens for attending a special forum last night at the University of Alaska-Anchorage, "The Taxes In Our Future".   Yesterday the Alaska Senate concluded its big oil production tax reform debate, finally voting to pass reform legislation (i.e. SB 21).  (See Historic Debate Video: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)    -dh This morning, Alaska Commissioner of Natural Resources, Dan Sullivan (NGP Photo), briefed the State Senate In-State Energy Committee on gas pipeline project progress.  (See Video) Sullivan focused on [...]

We hope our Anchorage readers will attend a tax panel presentation tonight at the University of Alaska:"The Taxes of Our Future".   -dh  ***  First Nations say they will fight Oilsands, pipeline Juneau Empire/AP by Becky Bohrer.  The long-awaited debate on the dominant issue this legislative session — overhauling Alaska’s oil tax structure — could finally begin on the Senate floor Wednesday, with majority leaders indicating they have the votes to pass the bill.  (Here is our testimony on this subject to the Senate Resources Committee, given on February 20, 2013.) We received [...]

University of Alaska graduate Andrew Lundquist (NGP Photo with former Governor Walter J. Hickel) has joined the ConocoPhillips Executive Leadership Team as Senior Vice President, Government Affairs.  Lundquist has held high level positions within the White House and offices of both Senator Frank Murkowski and Senator Ted Stevens.  (Source: Reuters News Service)   Fairbanks News Miner by Matt Buxton.  After sitting in committees for most of the session, momentum is building in Juneau for Fairbanks’ natural gas trucking plan, legislation critical to lowering the Interior’s heating and electricity bills. The Senate Labor [...]

Edmonton Journal by Sheila Pratt.  A few weeks before he stepped down as premier, Ed Stelmach flew to Fort McMurray with a key document tucked into his briefcase.  The proposal for a 20-year supply of land — enough to stabilize sky-high housing prices, enough to handle an expected 200,000 people — was a key issue for Mayor Melissa Blake and the struggling boomtown. Energy Central Commentary by Marty Rosenberg.  Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden (NGP Photo-R) has taken the helm of the powerful Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.   Many [...]

Testify today on Alaska's predatory oil and gas production tax.  -dh  Monday, February 18 Senate Resources - 6 p.m. SB 21 - Oil and Gas Production Tax Juneau - Capitol Room 205 Statewide - Local LIO List Here Alaska State Senate.  Fairbanks’s three state senators say Governor Sean Parnell’s (NGP Photo) mid-day announcement that North Slope oil producers have aligned on a 42-inch natural gas line is a good step in the right direction.  “I’m glad to see the producers and TransCanada have met the governor’s deadline to give us alignment on a concept,” said Senator [...]

Natural Resources Commissioner Dan Sullivan (NGP Photo) House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (NGP Photo), along with Ranking Member Ed Markey (D-MA), Rep. Bill Flores (R-TX) and Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ), today introduced H.R. 527, The Responsible Helium Administration and Stewardship Act.  This bipartisan legislation would prevent the closure of the Federal Helium Reserve, which by law is scheduled to close later this year resulting in a 30 percent reduction in the global helium supply.   delivered a speech to hundreds of oil and gas explorers and investors during [...]

Energy 20/20: A Vision for American’s Energy Future.   To read the full document, click  here: http://bit.ly/Energy2020Doc   To view the fact sheet, click  here: http://bit.ly/Energy2020Facts   To read her speech from the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) Winter Committee Meetings, click here: http://bit.ly/Energy2020NARUC   To watch an excerpt of her NARUC speech, click here:  http://bit.ly/EnergyIsGood   To watch her full speech at NARUC, click here: http://bit.ly/NARUCSpeech2013   To watch her press conference on Energy 20/20, click here:  http://bit.ly/Energy2020Presser   To watch her interview with Andrea Mitchell, click here:  http://bit.ly/Energy2020MSNBC Premiers' meeting to [...]

CBC News.  New Brunswick Premier David Alward is in Alberta to work out the logistics of building a pipeline from the oilsands to the largest refinery in Canada.  The Irving pipeline would connect the oilsands of Alberta to the Irving Refinery in Saint John, N.B., which currently processes 300,000 barrels of oil a day and could move up to a million per day. Note: Your author is attending the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) winter meeting at the Renaissance Washington Hotel (999 9th Street NW) in Washington, DC from Monday, February 4th through Thursday, February 7th. [...]