Enstar and ANGDA: Partners after years apart 07/13/2008
Anyone following ANGDA and Enstar even over just the past few months might have been surprised to see the companies sitting at the same table to announce a partnership. For nearly five years, Enstar h...

Gas headed north 07/13/2008
State of Alaska, ANGDA Enstar to build pipeline from Cook Inlet to Fairbanks
Worried minds contemplating the dwindling natural gas supply in the Cook Inlet have long looked north for a solution, but the answer they expected to find always involved supply. Could the answer up n...

Murkowski chief of staff pleads guilty to fraud 03/09/2008
According to his plea bargain, Clark will assist feds in Alaska corruption probe, giving fuel to rumors of more indictments to come
Jim Clark - the man who represented former Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski at the gas line negotiating table with ExxonMobil, BP and ConocoPhillips - has pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges. Clark, ch...

Committee finds probable cause that Harris broke ethics law 12/30/2007
A legislative ethics committee has determined there was "probable cause" that House Speaker John Harris broke state ethics law when his office issued a news release calling on Ben Stevens to resign fr...

Palin: Ben Stevens should step down 09/23/2007
Alaska's Republican governor urges former state senator and son of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens to give up national GOP position
The son of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens should give up his position as a committee member for the national Republican Party, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said. Ben Stevens, former Senate president, and his father...

Judge links Ben Stevens to FBI probe 09/02/2007
A federal judge has linked former Alaska Senate President Ben Stevens to an FBI corruption probe. At the same time, a federal prosecutor revealed there are "multiple, ongoing nonpublic investigations...

After 2-month delay, Stevens releases report 07/22/2007
U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, filed the annual report on his personal finances with the Senate Ethics Committee July 17 after receiving a two-month extension to fix what he called a few simple tech...

Palin freezes energy lobbying, ad contract 06/03/2007
Questions about how Pac/West Communications spent funds raised; no-bid $3M award an issue for some from the beginning
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has frozen the contract of a firm originally hired with a no-bid contract to push for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to petroleum drilling. Palin at first supporte...

Public corruption scandal erupts in Alaska 05/13/2007
Former, current state legislators arrested and Veco's Allen confesses in federal probe; PPT and oil field contractor under cloud
In the latest chapter of a political scandal that began unfolding last summer, three Alaska politicians and two oil industry executives are facing federal criminal charges that could earn them stiff f...

Ethics debate heats up in Juneau 01/28/2007
Experts advise state legislators on strategies to restore public trust via overhaul of rules of conduct for citizen Legislature
Republican leaders in the Alaska Legislature have vowed to draft ethics legislation to close loopholes in state laws, and Gov. Sarah Palin is planning to craft her own ethics package. Thanks to prese...

Legal, ethics training may not be enough 10/08/2006
State legislators say Alaska's ethical standards for conduct offer too much wiggle room for lawmakers inclined to cross line
When newly elected Alaska legislators get to Juneau, one of their first duties is to attend an orientation workshop that prepares them for what lies ahead. The detailed grounding, which takes three to...

Some candidates return VECO donations 09/17/2006
Alaska state candidates concerned about public perception; others keep money, say votes not affected by oilfield service company
With the general election less than two months away, incumbents and challengers alike are assessing how to handle campaign donations from oil services company VECO Corp., which the FBI is investigatin...

Undue influence a no-no 09/10/2006
Alaska raids seen as second step in FBI crackdown on suspected public corruption
When FBI agents raided the offices of six Alaska legislators Aug. 31, their actions likely stemmed from a new broader interpretation of what constitutes a violation of federal anti-bribery statutes th...

Palin, Knowles to consider competing North Slope gas pipeline proposals 08/27/2006
Rutherford says TransCanada gas line contract could be finalized in as little as three months
Alaska's Republican governor, Frank Murkowski, ousted in Aug. 22's primary election, has vowed to continue to push his fiscal contract for a natural gas pipeline to Canada in the time he has left in o...

With PPT oil tax passed, what's next? 08/20/2006
Administration needs to satisfy Alaska Legislature to move gas contract; industry concerned about tax rate, contract, regulations
The Alaska Legislature passed - and Gov. Frank Murkowski was scheduled to sign Aug. 19 - a major revision of the state's oil and gas production tax. The bill passed Aug. 10 was higher than the 20 perc...

Basin control a concern for consultants 08/06/2006
Gas pipeline sponsors say construction cost control goal of ownership; post-completion pipeline becomes a portfolio issue
Basin control and cost control were the opposing issues of concern when the Alaska Senate Special Committee on Natural Gas Development heard July 31 from legislative consultants and the gas pipeline s...

Lawmakers look at alternatives to 20/20 07/16/2006
Hawker, Samuels propose levy based on capital investment; Wagoner wants tax on gross; administration will reintroduce 20/20
Two Anchorage lawmakers aim to break a stalemate over the rewrite of Alaska's oil production taxes with an alternative version of a proposal to tax oil companies' profits. Republican Reps. Mike Hawker...

Amended NPR-A grant program bill moves 05/07/2006
Bill addresses getting money from National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska lease bonus and royalty payments into Permanent Fund
A firefight between the state and the North Slope Borough appears to have been averted - at least for this session of the Alaska Legislature - with a compromise worked out in the House. The issue is...

Senate Resources votes 5 aye, 2 nay 04/02/2006
Committee concludes deliberations on SB 305; Stevens, Seekins oppose 25 percent tax rate; Cook Inlet considerations dropped
Senate Resources completed work on a committee substitute for Senate Bill 305 March 29, voting 5 to 2 in favor of the bill, with two Republican senators, Ralph Seekins of Fairbanks and Ben Stevens of...

Ted Stevens: focus on investment climate 03/26/2006
Administration calls for return to original production profits tax bill; Ben Stevens says he opposes committee substitute
The battle in Juneau over appropriate changes to production tax rates took an interesting turn the week of March 20, with Sen. Ben Stevens, R-Anchorage, noting in a meeting of Senate Resources March 2...

Logsdon: Great time to pump investment 03/05/2006
Petroleum economist takes Alaska Senate committee on virtual tour of what growing North Slope production would mean to state
One of the stated goals of the administration's proposed production profits tax - along with increasing revenues to the state - is to encourage investment in the state, including investment in explora...

Legislators quiz van Meurs on PPT plan 02/19/2006
The administration's presentation to joint House-Senate Finance committees drew a variety of questions on proposed oil tax
Legislators had a number of questions following the Feb. 1 production profit sharing tax presentation by Pedro van Meurs, a consultant to the state, and Roger Marks of the Alaska Department of Revenue...

Alaska oil tax: PPT with numbers 02/12/2006
Pedro Van Meurs and Roger Marks give Alaska legislators numeric examples for proposed production profit tax
There isn't a bill yet - and legislators aren't sure when they'll see one. But they did get a walkthrough Feb. 1 of what revenues from the administration's proposed profit sharing production tax on o...

Federal agencies moving pipeline issues 05/22/2005
FERC, departments of Energy, Interior, tell Alaska legislators North Slope gas line issues moving forward in Washington
The amount of money Congress would have to appropriate for a federal loan guarantee would be in the 2-10 percent range and a joint pipeline office would be set up to oversee operation of an Alaska gas...

Producers can't warehouse North Slope natural gas 05/08/2005
Legislators told leases require companies to develop and market gas; can turn down other pipeline projects only if they market gas
The Alaska Legislature's Legislative Budget and Audit and Senate Resources committees heard from attorneys April 20 on the subject of what leaseholders are required to do under their leases to develop...