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Enstar cutbacks? (Full story)
The initial sparring is over and the contestants have entered the ring for the next round of the tussle between Enstar Natural Gas Co., the State of Alaska and various gas users over Enstar’s multi-year attempt to establish new gas supply contracts with Cook Inlet gas producers.
Enstar’s latest try....
Alaska fits Talisman plan
Talisman Energy shows no signs of backing away from its view that Alaska is part of its refocused future on an array of global exploration areas — including such potential flashpoints as the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Colombia and offshore Indonesia — to find oil and natural gas reserves on a grand s....
Big gains for Alaska gas (Full story)
What will federal legislation to curb greenhouse gases mean for Alaska’s oil and gas? According to a recent analysis from the University of Alaska Anchorage Institute of Social and Economic Research, a lot more money for producers and the state.
Just how much money will depend on how the legislatio....
Pacific Energy gets extension to hire heavy lift vessel for jack-up (Full story)
State oil and gas officials have given a Cook Inlet operator 60 additional days to hire a ship capable of bringing a specialty rig to Alaskan waters.
California-based independent Pacific Energy Resources Ltd. now has until Sept. 29 to sign a contract with a heavy lift vessel operator to bring a jack....
BP, Savant get go ahead on Badami; ASRC joins project
The state recently approved a plan to restart the shut-in Badami field on the North Slope.
The plan of development gives BP and Savant Alaska until Sept. 30, 2009, to drill an exploration well at Badami, or give up a significant portion of the leases in the unit.
Savant Alaska, the local subsidiary....
Sunshine Oilsands sheds light on plans
After 18 months of busily and quietly accumulating 677,000 acres of properties at Alberta government land sales, startup Sunshine Oilsands has unveiled plans to spend an initial C$380 million.
The company, formed in February 2007, has so far invested C$100 million on land acquisition and completing....
Arctic ice: more there, less here
An apparent contradiction to a multi-year trend of shrinking ice cover in the Arctic, the Norwegian Meteorological Institute has reported more sea ice than normal north of the Svalbard archipelago, in the northwestern Barents Sea. Although the area is normally ice-free in July, there is an extensive....
BP reports $9.465 billion in 2Q profits
London oil giant BP made $9.465 billion during the second quarter of the year, a 28 percent increase over the second quarter of last year, the company reported on July 29.
The company does not break out Alaska-specific financial information on a quarterly basis, but BP’s Alaska operations have accou....
Marathon considering split of businesses
Marathon Oil is considering a plan to split the corporation into two independent companies, one focused on upstream activities and one focused on downstream activities.
Marathon said it has been considering the idea for several months, but probably won’t make a final decision until the fourth quarte....
Turning coal into liquid fuel
A small Calgary company is prepared to lead the rest of Canada in converting coal into liquid petroleum fuels, with plans for a C$4.5 billion project to produce 40,000 barrels per day over 50 years starting in 2014.
Alter NRG proposes to turn coal reserves in northwestern Alberta into diesel fuel an....
BLM sets September NPR-A lease sale
The fall National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska lease sale will be held Sept. 24.
The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management said July 25 that it will offer lands for lease within the NPR-A Sept. 24. The record of decision for the Northeast NPR-A supplemental integrated activity pla....
North Slope, Beaufort Sea sale date set
The state will open bids Oct. 22 for its 2008 North Slope and Beaufort Sea areawide oil and gas lease sales.
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources Division of Oil and Gas said July 25 that the bid opening will begin at 9 a.m. at the Wilda Marston Theater at the Loussac Public Library in Anchor....
Fineberg says state needs information
Three decades of operation of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline demonstrate that the State of Alaska can’t afford to get the tariff on a gas pipeline wrong, Richard Fineberg told legislators July 25. Fineberg said he reported on the building of the oil pipeline and has been involved for years in tariff.... |
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ANGDA and Enstar wait and work
In the three weeks since Gov. Sarah Palin announced a public-private partnership to build an in-state gas pipeline within five years, the organizations involved share a view of the near term work needed to advance the project, but continue to pursue independent ventures.
“We’re continuing with the....
Total adds to total in Synenco Energy
France’s Total made no secret of its determination to complete a takeover of Alberta oil sands startup Synenco Energy.
Having previously extended the deadline on its offer, wholly owned Total E&P Canada effectively locked up the deal July 24 by raising the all-cash offer to C$10.25 a share from C$9....
TC Alaska license reaches Senate floor
The TransCanada AGIA license edged out of the Alaska Senate Special Committee on Energy, the so-called super committee, by a vote of 7 to 5 the evening of July 30.
Senate floor debate was the next step; the Senate hadn’t gaveled in yet when Petroleum News wrapped up this issue midday July 31. The H....
Stevens indicted, vows to fight charges
The indictment of Alaska Republican Sen. Ted Stevens on charges that he lied about accepting gifts from an oilfield service contractor only adds to his party’s already bleak electoral prospects in November.
While Stevens has vowed to fight charges and, through a spokesman, to move “full steam ahead”....
Yukon Flats land assessment drags on
Appraising the land for a proposed land swap between Doyon Ltd. and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Yukon Flats of Interior Alaska is taking quite a long time, primarily because of the effect of rising oil prices on land values, Robert Jess, the manager of the Yukon Flats National Wildlife....
Seven square mile ice chunk breaks off
Officials said July 29 a chunk of ice about seven square miles in size has broken off Canada’s largest remaining ice shelf.
Trent University researcher Derek Mueller said he wouldn’t surprise him if even more ice broke off this summer from the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, a vast frozen plain off the north c....
Free trade payoff for Alberta
In almost 20 years of free trade between Canada and the United States, exports from the province of Alberta have grown 674 percent, compared with a 166 percent increase to other non-free-trade countries, according to a report by the University of Alberta’s Western Center for Economic Research.
The r....
DOI starts on new OCS leasing program
Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced July 30 that the U.S. Department of the Interior is starting the development of a new five-year oil and gas leasing program for the U.S. outer continental shelf. The program will span the years 2010 to 2015, a time period that overlaps the current....
Denali names Calvin, Coughlin, Jepsen
Three vice presidents have been named at Denali — The Alaska Gas Pipeline LLC.
Denali President Bud Fackrell said Dave Calvin has been named vice president and operations director; Patrick Coughlin vice president and general counsel; and Scott Jepsen vice president for external affairs.
Calvin joi....
Arctic Ocean drilling workshop in Nov.
A workshop to be held Nov. 3 to 5 in Bremerhaven, Germany, will bring together scientists interested in future drilling expeditions in the Arctic Ocean. Funded by the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, the European Science Foundation, the Arctic Ocean Science Board and the Nansen Arctic Drilling Progr....
Canadian service sector buoyant
Having emerged from a difficult 12 months, oilfield services companies are counting on a vigorous rebound in Canada.
The big U.S.-based companies — Halliburton, Baker Hughes, BJ Services and Weatherford — are all issuing the most optimistic forecasts since early 2007.
Bernard Duroc-Danner, Weatherf....
MMS holds Bristol Bay scoping meetings
Scoping meetings for the proposed North Aleutian basin lease sale will be held in the Bristol Bay region in August and September.
The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service said July 28 that the meetings will be held to gather information to be included in the environmental i.... |