ADN Editorial.  This year, the Legislature and then-Gov. Sarah Palin funded a comprehensive study of in-state gas issues, including the feasibility of a bullet line.  "The state is really leading that effort now," though Enstar is participating in it, says John Sims, the company’s director of corporate communications.  "Enstar has shifted our focus to our short term strategy. We have needs that have to be met in 2011, and obviously there’s no way a bullet line would meet those needs."  There are good reasons talk about the bullet line has quieted down, according to Marty Rutherford (NGP Photo) and Mark Myers, two of state government’s most knowledgeable oil and gas experts. Both are high-ranking officials at the Department of Natural Resources. Both quit Gov. Frank Murkowski’s administration….

 


Northern Pipelines Blog by Brett Chandler.  Interesting, the skepticism that seems to be bubbling to the surface about shale gas plays. A few more interesting links can be found on AK Engineer’s blog, too. The bottom line here is that shale gas is more expensive to find and produce than conventional gas, and that the wells may not stay productive very long.
 
 
PNA by Gary Park.  The smallest interest partner in the Mackenzie Gas Project has suddenly become its biggest booster at a time when hopes are waning.  ExxonMobil, whose wholly owned Canadian unit has a 5.2 percent stake, believes natural gas demand will rise by 50 percent over the next 20 years, creating enough demand to move the C$16.2 billion Mackenzie project forward.  Andrew Swiger, senior vice president and a member of ExxonMobil’s management committee, told a Calgary audience there is “room for a lot of gas in North America” based on estimates that demand will grow by 1.8 percent a year to 2030