Pioneer to spud first development wells 11/25/2007
Big independent in final stages of offshore North Slope Oooguruk oil field construction; prepares to drill first of 40 wells
In mid-November Ken Sheffield, president of Pioneer Natural Resources Alaska, told attendees of the Resource Development Council's annual conference that Pioneer is nearing the end of the construction...

Cosmo drilling done, flow test next 11/25/2007
Pioneer Natural Resources Alaska has finished drilling a horizontal appraisal well in the 25,000-acre Cosmopolitan unit in the Cook Inlet basin. Company President Ken Sheffield told attendees of the m...

Employment booming on North Slope 11/25/2007
Employment is booming in the North Slope oil fields, according to a state labor economist. Projected employment is expected to reach 11,400 jobs this year - the highest number since oil production beg...

THE EXPLORERS 2007: Small independents in high gear 11/18/2007
Five small EandP gas companies plan to drill exploration wells on Alaska's North Slope winter 2007-08
Five small independent oil and gas companies expect to drill exploration wells on Alaska's North Slope in the winter exploration season of 2007-08. In the past, the highest number of small independent...

THE EXPLORERS 2007: Exploring on pause, development on go 11/18/2007
Pioneer focusing on Oooguruk development, Cosmo delineation; exploration still on hold due to disappointing results, concern about Alaska's tax regime
Dallas-based Pioneer Natural Resources has no immediate plans to resume its Alaska oil and gas exploration program, Timothy Dove, Pioneer's president and chief operating officer, said on Sept. 27, 200...

THE EXPLORERS 2007: Marathon continues to chase inlet gas 11/18/2007
Company sees significant opportunity in the Cook Inlet region but wants competitive gas pricing and a stable fiscal, regulatory environment in Alaska
Although oil and gas production in Alaska is declining, there are still plenty of resources to find and develop, Mitch Little, Marathon's Alaska production manager, told Petroleum News Oct. 2, 2007. "...

THE EXPLORERS 2007: Eni moving forward with Nikaitchuq 11/18/2007
Beaufort Sea project sanction expected by end of 2007, first oil 2009; Maggiore, Rock Flour undergoing evaluation
The signs are good that Eni will move forward with development of its Nikaitchuq unit offshore Alaska's North Slope in 2008. On Oct. 5, 2007, the Houston-based affiliate of Italy's Eni SpA received S...

THE EXPLORERS 2007: Statoil Hydro enters Alaska; Ken Boyd 'man on the ground' for mega-major 11/18/2007
In mid-2007, Norsk Hydro USA hired Ken Boyd as a consultant in Alaska. Jim Meek, manager of business development for the Houston-based affiliate of Norway's Hydro which merged in October 2007 with Nor...

THE EXPLORERS 2007: ConocoPhillips drops 300,000 acres 11/18/2007
Major and its independent partners focused on appraising previously announced NPR-A discoveries
ConocoPhillips Alaska's exploration program reached into far western NPR-A last winter, 2006-07. In 2007-08 the company plans to drill closer in, with proposed exploration wells - the program had not...

THE EXPLORERS 2007: Anadarko to drill first ANS gas well 11/18/2007
Has two rigs under contract, drilling 2 Brooks Range gas prospects, going back to finish Jacob's Ladder
Anadarko Petroleum and its partners in the Brooks Range Foothills, BG Alaska and Petro-Canada, plan to drill the first two natural gas exploration wells in northern Alaska this winter. Gas discoveries...

THE EXPLORERS 2007: Alaska gets $2 million from lease sales 11/18/2007
An Alaska investor group and a new company dominated the State of Alaska's annual North Slope and Beaufort Sea areawide lease sales. When bids were read Oct. 24 in Anchorage by Acting Director of the...

Industry less and less happy with ACES 11/18/2007
Companies tell Senate Finance that more taxes will lower, not raise, investment levels; bill includes more than two increases
Industry representatives were glum when they testified at Senate Finance Nov. 14. They'd had less than 24 hours to look through the committee substitute for Senate Bill 2001, the evolving bill that be...

Solving Cook Inlet's gas conundrum 11/18/2007
Region needs gas for foreseeable future; gas exploration, gas storage, North Slope gas, LNG all factor into energy supply options
The days of an overabundance of cheap natural gas from Cook Inlet basin may be over, but Southcentral Alaska needs reliable gas supplies for years to come was a recurring theme during the first day of...

Seven drilling ANS exploration wells 11/18/2007
Gas target of two Anadarko's wells; four small independents to drill; Chevron starts multi-year exploratory program in Foothills
Seven oil and gas companies plan to drill exploration wells on Alaska's North Slope this winter; an eighth company is moving forward with plans to re-enter an old exploration well on an undeveloped pr...

Alaska oil forecast shaky 11/18/2007
Production interruptions, infrastructure renewal, slowed heavy oil pace the cause
The fall production forecast for Alaska's North Slope is down from the spring forecast - down for the next eight years. Projected volumes have dropped as much as 130,000 barrels per day for fiscal yea...

Investment at risk 11/18/2007
Oil company execs says consequences dire if Alaska hikes taxes again
Investment in Alaska is in jeopardy if the state's oil production tax is overhauled in such a way that it significantly increases the State of Alaska's take, oil company executives told attendees of t...

Production tax hike moving 11/11/2007
An increase to a 25 percent tax base and aggressive progressivity are features of committee substitutes for Gov. Sarah Palin's revision of the petroleum profits tax. Committee substitutes reached the...

North Slope output averages 721,000 bpd 11/11/2007
Alaska North Slope production averaged 721,000 barrels per day in October, up 11 percent from 649,117 bpd in September. September production was pulled down by Prudhoe Bay, which dropped 16.7 percent...

TransCanada eyes larger role 11/11/2007
CEO Hal Kvisle 'enthused' about Mackenzie Gas Project being based on 'flat-line' gas outlook in Alberta; offers TransCanada's expertise to build and operate the C$7B natural gas pipeline
Worried about declining natural gas production in Alberta, TransCanada Chief Executive Officer Hal Kvisle is making no secret of his company's eagerness to expand its role in the Mackenzie Gas Project...

Econ One: industry costs up 11/11/2007
Consultant says Revenue used 2002-05 information; steep rises began in '05
The Alaska Department of Revenue used publicly available cost data from 2002-05 when it assembled a fiscal note on expected North Slope production and operating and capital costs for the legislation t...

PETROLEUM DIRECTORY: Alaska Marketplace Announces 66 Finalists 11/04/2007
Sixty-six finalists from across Alaska have been selected to advance to the next round of the 2007 Alaska Marketplace competition, where they will vie for a portion of nearly $1 million in award money...

PETROLEUM DIRECTORY: Northern Air Cargo's philosophy: Teamwork that delivers 11/04/2007
NAC's transportation and related services deliver everything from overnight letters to support for large projects throughout North America
NAC has worked in the Alaska bush for more than 51 years and remains committed to providing the most dependable air cargo services to individuals and organizations throughout Alaska and beyond. Q. Wh...

Marathon continues to chase Cook Inlet gas 11/04/2007
Company sees significant opportunity in the region but wants competitive gas pricing and a stable fiscal, regulatory environment in Alaska
Although oil and gas production in Alaska is declining, there are still plenty of resources to find and develop, Mitch Little, Marathon's Alaska production manager, told Petroleum News Oct. 2, 2007. "...

BP agrees to $20 million for Prudhoe spill 11/04/2007
BP will pay $20 million and plead guilty to a misdemeanor violation of the federal Water Pollution Act for the largest oil spill ever on the North Slope, Justice Department officials said Oct. 25. Th...

BRPC to drill 3-4 wells on three prospects, North Shore development possible 10/28/2007
In testimony to the Alaska Legislature on Oct. 22, Alaska Venture Capital Group Managing Director Ken Thompson said AVCG and its joint venture partners in Brooks Range Petroleum Corporation Group are...