Denali sets open season date 01/17/2010
Will submit package to FERC in April, conduct 90-day OS beginning in July
Both Alaska natural gas pipeline projects have now set dates for their open seasons, the quest for customers to commit to filling a proposed line with natural gas. Denali, a joint venture of BP and C...

Exxon wins a round 01/17/2010
For second time, judge disallows breakup of Alaska's Point Thomson unit
An Alaska judge on Jan. 11 dealt the state government a blow in its quest to wrest control of the rich Point Thomson oil and gas field from ExxonMobil and other leaseholders. Superior Court Judge Shar...

FERC sets Alaska open season workshop 01/10/2010
Staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will hold an open season pre-filing workshop at the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage Jan. 12 from 1-5 p.m. FERC said the workshop wi...

Corps working on EIS for standalone line 01/03/2010
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working on a draft environmental impact statement for the State of Alaska's proposed standalone in-state gas pipeline project. The corps is the lead federal agency;...

Noah tells legislators time to choose 01/03/2010
Says Legislature funding too many options, confusing market; Irwin says information isn't in for standalone or AGIA line to market
Alaska legislators heard two different views in mid-December of what they should do about gas projects in the state: Harry Noah, the outgoing project manager for the state's in-state gas project, said...

Energy Committee lays out draft bills 12/27/2009
Policy bill includes energy efficiency; omnibus bill includes Energy Department to give cabinet-level focus to Alaska energy issues
The Alaska House Special Committee on Energy is preparing two bills for introduction in next year's session of the Legislature: a state energy policy bill and an energy omnibus bill which incorporates...

ANGDA resolves EIS project description 12/27/2009
Authority's board approves moving ahead with Beluga to Fairbanks gas line permitting work, exclusive agreement on propane project
The Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Land Management appear to have come to an agreement on a project description of ANGDA's Beluga-to-Fairb...

Energy policy: a neglected stepchild? 12/27/2009
The Congressional focus on greenhouse gases and climate change is pushing U.S. energy policy into the background, lawyer says
While debate in the U.S. Congress centers on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, energy policy and U.S. energy security have become somewhat neglected, Tom Roberts, a member of Washington, D....

What chance now for North Slope LNG? 12/20/2009
World market is growing fast but North Slope gas would need to compete on cost with massive new supplies close to tidewater
Few subjects raise the temperature more in a room full of Alaskans on a cold winter night than the perennial debate about exporting North Slope gas in a pipeline through Canada versus exporting the ga...

Obama picks Persily as new coordinator 12/13/2009
Veteran of state government, journalism will replace Pearce, lead small agency designed to streamline work on Alaska gas pipeline
President Obama on Dec. 9 announced he'll nominate Larry Persily of Juneau for the job of federal coordinator for Alaska natural gas transportation projects. If confirmed by the Senate, Persily will r...

ANGDA, agencies, at odds on EIS process 12/06/2009
Corps of Engineers has issues with description of Beluga-to-Fairbanks gas line; BLM doesn't think ANGDA has authority to go north
Federal agencies are butting heads with the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority over its project description for the proposed Beluga-to-Fairbanks or B2F gas line and over its authority to permit...

Climate change legal impacts heat up 12/06/2009
U.S. legislation, regulation and litigation will all have far-reaching impacts on the Alaska oil and gas industry in coming years
In one sense it makes no difference who is right and who is wrong in the debate over the effect of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases on the Earth's climate: The legal fallout from a broad view...

ANGDA advancing propane, gas co-op 11/22/2009
Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority asks for discussion of synergy with FNG, Alaska Gasline Port Authority LNG project
The board of directors of the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority got one meeting it's been asking for - a closed-door session with Gov. Sean Parnell - and asked for another, this one with the Co...

State of Alaska applies for FERC waiver 11/22/2009
Change would permit state to negotiate link between royalty gas and shipping capacity, easing royalty in-value to in-kind switches
State of Alaska oil and gas leases allow the state to take its royalty share - usually 12.5 percent - in-kind or in-value. Which means the producer can sell the oil or gas for the state and pay the st...

Denali sends 2nd report to legislators 11/22/2009
BP-ConocoPhillips JV has spent $120 million in advance of 2010 open season; has nearly completed cost estimates for pipeline, GTP
Bud Fackrell, president of Denali, told legislators in a Nov. 11 letter that the BP-ConocoPhillips-owned project has spent $120 million to date in advancing the gas pipeline project from the North Slo...

Pearce steps down as gas line coordinator 11/22/2009
President asked for resignation; legislative aide Persily says feds are checking his background for 'possible federal position'
Drue Pearce, the first and so far the only person to hold the position of federal coordinator for Alaska natural gas transportation projects, announced Nov. 16 she'll vacate the job at the request of...

The Explorers 2009: Alaska's energy resources - a crucial part of the answer to the nation's energy questions 11/15/2009
We Alaskans have a very special relationship to our environment. The land is our back yard. We use it for recreation and subsistence. The land has provided our livelihood, for the people and for the s...

Oil Patch Insider: TransCanada on Arctic gas; RDC conference Nov. 18-19; Buffett cash to build Alaska gas line? 11/15/2009
TransCanada, with a financial stake in the Mackenzie Gas Project and the prospect of operating the main gas pipeline to southern markets, but no ownership position, is ideally situated to tell it stra...

Renewable energy investments recommended 11/08/2009
Draft report from Senate Resources, Energy committees also recommended 'staying the course' on AGIA state-supported gas project
The draft of a report on the state's energy situation, released Oct. 19 by members of the Alaska Senate energy policy group, provides a wide-ranging look at proposals from energy-efficient buildings t...

Caught in political web 11/01/2009
Canadian cabinet committee reported to have turned down fiscal package
Backers of the Mackenzie Gas Project now seem to be getting dragged deeper into a Canadian government quagmire. Political insiders have told Petroleum News there could be growing differences over the...

Are Cook Inlet gas supplies in crisis? 10/25/2009
As winter approaches, Chevron manager presents facts, figures about natural gas supply and demand in Southcentral Alaska
Natural gas has flowed out of the Cook Inlet basin with apparent ease for around 40 years, in some ways the life blood of Southcentral Alaska, firing heater furnaces, fueling power stations and suppor...

Kenai gas field turns 50 years old 10/18/2009
Discovered by Unocal and Ohio Oil a half century ago, Kenai created the Cook Inlet natural gas industry and still fuels Southcentral
The Kenai gas field started out as an oddball no one quite knew what to do with, but became an essential component of daily life and industry in Southcentral Alaska. And now, at 50, the field is like...

Oil Patch Insider: Canada takes delivery of two Arctic submarines 10/04/2009
The Canadian government has taken delivery of two remote-controlled submarines that will be used in mapping the Arctic seabed. The program's purpose is to document Canada's territorial claims in the A...

Gas prices, availability, now and then 09/27/2009
Alaska Oil and Gas Congress hears pessimistic, optimistic views on future for Arctic gas; told it can't be highest-priced commodity
Natural gas prices are low and supply is plentiful. What does that mean for a proposed Alaska gas pipeline which could begin shipping gas in 2018? The 5th Annual Alaska Oil and Gas Congress, held in An...

Natural gas for consumers 09/27/2009
ANGDA works for our burner tips, not Chicago's, Heinze tells chamber
A lot of people are working on getting North Slope natural gas to Chicago and focused on the revenues the state will receive from commercializing Alaska's natural gas, Harold Heinze told the Anchorage...