Point Thomson EIS public meetings set 01/17/2010
Five public meetings have been set on the Point Thomson project environmental impact statement. The proposed project is an oil and natural gas condensate extraction operation at Point Thomson on the N...

Olgoonik, UIC to support Shell operations 01/10/2010
Shell is partnering with Olgoonik Corp., the Native village corporation for the Chukchi Sea coast village of Wainwright, and Ukpeaegvik Inupiat Corp., the Native village corporation for Barrow, to ope...

EPA proposes approving Shell air permit 01/10/2010
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposes to approve an air quality permit for Shell's planned exploration drilling operations in the Chukchi Sea, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conser...

NSB not part of suits against MMS 12/20/2009
The North Slope Borough said Dec. 15 that it has opted to continue to work with Shell and agencies on the company's Beaufort Sea exploration plan, and will not join lawsuits filed in the wake of feder...

Groups sue to stop Beaufort Sea drilling 12/20/2009
A group that helps manage Eskimo whaling in Alaska has sued to halt petroleum drilling proposed next year in the Beaufort Sea by a subsidiary of Shell Oil. The Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission and the...

Corps begins work on Point Thomson EIS 12/13/2009
ExxonMobil is moving ahead with development permitting for its Point Thomson project. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published a notice Dec. 4 of intention to prepare a draft environmental impact s...

Cooperation the key 11/29/2009
Mayor Itta spells out North Slope Borough expectations for OCS policy
As summer sea ice recedes and marine habitats change under the influence of a warming climate, the rapidly evolving situation in the Arctic is creating a situation where a wide variety of different gr...

The Explorers 2009: Northern Alaska and Arctic offshore 11/15/2009
In 1968 the discovery of the giant Prudhoe Bay field, the first field to be discovered on Alaska's North Slope and among the 20 largest oil fields ever discovered worldwide, triggered a northern Alask...

Beaufort leasing in state's 'best interest' 11/15/2009
Finding supports 10 years of planned sales in nearshore seas extending from Barrow to Canada; Native groups claim slight from state
Alaska oil industry regulators have cleared the way for a series of lease sales over the next decade along a vast swath of coastal waters in the Beaufort Sea. The state's oil and gas director, Kevin B...

FandW proposes polar bear critical habitat 10/25/2009
200,541 square-mile area includes much of the outer continental shelf, the barrier islands and land along the Beaufort Sea coast
On Oct. 22 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced its proposed designation of critical habitat for the polar bear, following the May 2008 listing of the bears as threatened under the Endangered...

Massive OCS feedback 10/25/2009
NOAA, Natives oppose much of 2010-'15 leasing plan; drillers, lawmakers endorse
A key scientific agency is advising the Obama administration against oil and gas leasing in large portions of the nation's Outer Continental Shelf. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration...

Oil Patch Bits: BP sponsors Alaska math and science conference 10/18/2009
On Oct. 7 Capital City Weekly carried an article about the 2009 Alaska Math and Science Conference, which is being held in Juneau for the first time Oct. 14-17 and is sponsored by the Alaska Department...

Field test of CO2-CH4 exchange planned 10/04/2009
ConocoPhillips has patented exchange technology developed in laboratory for producing methane hydrate without dissociating water
The U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory says technically recoverable gas hydrate resources on Alaska's North Slope are some 85 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered gas res...

Arctic Directory: UMIAQ expands its service offerings to facilitate energy project advancement 09/20/2009
Whether it is strategic regulatory planning or camp operations, UMIAQ works with clients to meet project objectives
Q. What do you most want people to know about your company? A. UMIAQ is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ukpeaand#289;vik Iņupiat Corporation. UIC is the village corporation for Barrow, Alaska and was fou...

40 tcf over 40 years = $40 billion 09/20/2009
Partners endorse Gorgon LNG: Chevron, Exxon and Shell move ahead with giant offshore project near Australia; first cargoes in 2014
Chevron and its partners have given the long-awaited final investment approvals for the giant Gorgon LNG project off western Australia. The announcement came Sept. 13 after the companies received the...

USCG commandant outlines Arctic strategy 08/30/2009
The Coast Guard's mission off Alaska's northern coast is the same as its mission off the Florida Keys: making sure that laws are enforced in the U.S. economic exclusion zone, as well as providing serv...

The winds of change in Arctic Alaska 08/30/2009
Politicians seek views on future Arctic policies in the face of climate change, industrial development and environmental protection
As the Arctic warms, the summer sea ice retreats and evolving weather patterns disrupt communities in northern Alaska, opinions on how to respond to the changes sweeping across the northernmost part o...

Arctic Ocean ice melting in summer heat 08/16/2009
The Arctic Ocean has given up tens of thousands more square miles of ice on Aug. 9 in a relentless summer of melt, with scientists watching through satellite eyes for a possible record low polar ice c...

BP in Alaska: North Slope oil yields economic benefits 07/12/2009
University of Alaska economist describes how North Slope oil transformed Alaska's economy
The success of BP and its partners in optimizing North Slope oil production for more than three decades spurred an economic bonanza in Alaska that has also benefited the nation, providing about 15 per...

Revised polar bear stocks out for review 06/28/2009
US Fish and Wildlife says Southern Beaufort Sea, Chukchi-Bering Sea populations strategic - declining or likely to be declining
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued revised population estimates for two stocks of Alaska polar bears, with comments due on the draft revised marine mammal stock assessment reports Sept. 10....

Consortium locates gas hydrates in GOM 05/24/2009
Government and industry project finds saturated deposits in reservoir sands at two out of three sites drilled in offshore expedition
In another key step towards the possible future development of gas hydrates, a potential major source of natural gas, a research team has found highly saturated deposits of the material in reservoir-q...

QandA on Beaufort proposed sale 05/17/2009
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Oil and Gas, will hold an informal question and answer session on the proposed Beaufort Sea areawide oil and gas lease sale preliminary finding...

Chevron gets approval for expanded Gorgon 05/10/2009
$25 billion LNG project off Australia gets environmental approval for third train, but investment decision is still months away
Chevron Corp. has received approval from Western Australia's Environmental Protection Authority to expand its Gorgon LNG project on Barrow Island. The approval came April 29. The huge project - now ex...

Hearings for Beaufort Sea areawide sales 05/10/2009
The State of Alaska is holding hearings to take public testimony on the proposed Beaufort Sea areawide oil and gas lease sale preliminary finding. The Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division...

Remediation money for Drew Point well 05/10/2009
Dry hole drilled by federal government in 1978 on Beaufort Sea coast; bottom plug set, but diesel left in top 2,000 feet of hole
The Alaska office of the Bureau of Land Management will receive $37.4 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for 30 projects in the state, and will use a portion of those fun...