Fuel Fix: A Houston-based exploration firm’s efforts to drill for natural gas in Alaska’s Cook Inlet is drawing the ire of shipping groups that believe it is violating the Jones Act.

AP/ADN by Becky Bohrer.  Governor Sean Parnell (NGP Photo) … told The Associated Press he iscurrently working to get the votes needed in the Senate to advance the tax cut narrowly passed by the House during the regular legislative session. The bill stalled in the Senate, with leaders in the majority bloc saying they didn’t have the information needed to make a sound decision, but the bill will still be in play when the Legislature reconvenes in January.  While Parnell said he’s open to other ideas for stemming and reversing the trend of declining production, "we need to see it. At this point, what we have on the table to increase jobs, increase production and basically create a longer-term future for Alaska, that’s what I’m looking for right now."  (Comment: we concur with the Governor that this step is essential if the state is to remain economically viable.   Also, see the Alaska Examiner, by Lawrence Wood, with Alyeska President Tom Barratt’s chilling warning.  -dh)

Calgary Herald by Dan Healing.  Formation watchers have drawn a bead on the Manitoba Spearfish light oil formation, with a report from FirstEnergy Capital suggesting it may have twice the amount of original oil in place per acre as the storied Saskatchewan Bakken. 

Anchorage Daily News (5/29/11) reports: Robert Duvall won’t be on board the ship that offloads Escopeta Oil’s jack-up rig this week but he will be making a trip north once the company starts drilling for oil and natural gas in Alaska’s Cook Inlet… A long-time friend of Houston-based Escopeta President Danny Davis, the well-known actor and director is a staunch supporter of domestic oil and gas drilling … "Alaska’s got plenty of oil and gas that we need down here," Duvall said in an interview Thursday with Petroleum News. "It’s preferable to importing energy from foreign sources, such as the Middle East."…Duvall would have been on board the vessel that is bringing the Spartan 151 jack-up rig into Cook Inlet, but he’s about to start work on an independent film, "Jayne Mansfield’s Car," directed by Billy Bob Thornton…However, Duvall plans to visit the offshore rig once it starts drilling.