NOAA extends beluga comment period 01/17/2010
At the request of Alaska's congressional delegation the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has extended by 30 days the public comment period on the proposed designation of 3,000 square mi...

Responses split on RCA storage authority 01/17/2010
CINGS request for declaratory ruling draws response: CEA, MLandP say storage should be regulated utility; Aurora, Marathon say not
There is unanimity on one thing: Third-party natural gas storage is needed in Cook Inlet. That was a theme running through responses received by the Regulatory Commission of Alaska when it asked for...

ExxonMobil joins critics of tariff hike 01/10/2010
ExxonMobil is among parties lodging concerns about Cook Inlet Pipe Line Co.'s steep tariff hike. Steven Serpati, on behalf of ExxonMobil, filed a brief public comment with the Regulatory Commission of...

Anchorage to assess Beluga whale listing 01/10/2010
The Municipality of Anchorage has hired attorney William Stelle of law firm KandL Gates LLP to coordinate the municipality's response to the National Marine Fisheries Service designation of critical hab...

Time to take a stand on climate change? 01/10/2010
Alaska legislators want information to determine a strategy on responding to climate change actions and the use of the ESA in AK
The stakes are high and the rhetoric climbing in the debate between those who want to apply the Endangered Species Act for the protection of wildlife potentially threatened by a warming climate, and t...

New Nicolai Creek gas well goes on line 01/10/2010
Aurora Gas has brought no. 11 well into operation and company applies for new PA and unit expansion at west Cook Inlet gas field
Independent gas producer Aurora Gas has brought on line a new well, the Nicolai Creek No. 11, in its Nicolai Creek gas field, at the northern end of Trading Bay, on the western coast of Alaska's Cook...

December production down from November 01/10/2010
Alaska North Slope production drops 1.6%, month to month; Endicott, Milne, Alpine, Prudhoe Bay all have reduced volumes
Alaska North Slope crude oil production dropped 1.56 percent in December, averaging 688,765 barrels per day compared to the November average of 699,675 bpd. ANS crude oil production peaked in 1988 at...

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...

Swenson named in-state gas line manager 01/03/2010
Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell has named Bob Swenson of Fairbanks to replace Harry Noah as the state's in-state gas line project manager. Noah announced his resignation earlier this year, citing the demands...

RCA approves Cook Inlet line rate hike 01/03/2010
Cook Inlet Pipe Line's 259 percent increase subject to refund; firm rips objector; RCA invites oil producers, others, to challenge
The Regulatory Commission of Alaska has approved Cook Inlet Pipe Line Co.'s controversial 259 percent rate increase, at least temporarily, and invited oil producers or others to challenge it and possi...

Need regulatory clarity 01/03/2010
CINGS wants to know if RCA will regulate new Cannery Loop gas storage facility
Anxious to move forward with the development of a new natural gas storage facility in Alaska's Cook Inlet basin, to support declining winter utility gas deliverability, on Dec. 21 TransCanada subsidia...

Cook Inlet recovery act 12/27/2009
Alaska state Reps. Mike Hawker, R-Anchorage, and Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski, said Dec. 22 that they will introduce legislation promoting Cook Inlet natural gas exploration, production, storage and deliv...

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...

Oil Patch Insider: Banks offers Davis no state guarantees for Cook Inlet wells 12/27/2009
On Dec. 22 the top executive of Escopeta Oil and Gas received a polite, but "absolutely not" reply from the State of Alaska's oil chief in response to his Dec. 16 request that the state guarantee no "...

Plenty of gas 12/27/2009
DNR assessment points to more than a decade of Cook Inlet gas reserves
In the light of widespread concern about the capacity of Alaska's Cook Inlet gas fields to continue to supply sufficient natural gas to meet the needs of local gas and power utilities, the Alaska Depa...

Mining News: Pebble bobs to, fro on waves of opinion 12/20/2009
Fisheries board rejects plan to establish Bristol Bay fish refuge; Native corporations differ sharply on mining project's impact
The Pebble Partnership, a 50-50 joint venture between Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. and Anglo American plc, can chalk up one win and one potential loss toward the development of a mine at its copper-...

Taking another look at Susitna hydropower 12/20/2009
To some an elegant dream but to others a gargantuan nightmare, the prospect of a mega hydropower project on the Susitna River, in the upcountry somewhere between the Talkeetna Mountains and the Alaska...

ExxonMobil buys XTO Energy for $31 billion 12/20/2009
XTO has two platforms in Cook Inlet, which will make Exxon a producer in Alaska; main focus of purchase XTO's natural gas assets
ExxonMobil will buy XTO Energy Inc. in an all-stock deal worth $31 billion as the oil giant moved aggressively Dec. 14 to capitalize on the growing supply of natural gas at home. The deal could signal...

Fire damages FNG Port Mackenzie plant 12/20/2009
A fire ripped through a maintenance shop adjacent the Fairbanks Natural Gas LNG plant at Port MacKenzie, north of Anchorage, early in the morning of Dec. 17. The cause of the fire has yet to be determ...

BBNC opposes offshore leasing, Pebble 12/20/2009
Native regional corporation says oil and gas leasing, mine development are too risky for fish-rich Bristol Bay; others fire back
A major stakeholder in the Bristol Bay region has come out against offshore oil and gas leasing in the North Aleutian basin. The Bristol Bay Native Corp. announced Dec. 11 its board passed a resolutio...

Noah: standalone line work on schedule 12/20/2009
Parks Highway route selected because it is shorter, could cost less; gas conditioning in Cook Inlet, at PBU facilities, considered
Harry Noah, special manager of the in-state gas pipeline project, told Alaska legislators Dec. 16 that the standalone or bullet line - a project which would deliver gas just within Alaska, not to outs...

Huge tariff increase 12/20/2009
Cook Inlet Pipe Line Co. cites Mount Redoubt damage for 259% hike; west side line runs 42 miles from Granite Point to Drift River
Citing damage from the erupting Mount Redoubt volcano, Cook Inlet Pipe Line Co. is seeking a steep rate increase from Alaska regulators. The company, a Chevron subsidiary, submitted a tariff of $14.57...

Oil Patch Insider: Davis asks State of Alaska for guarantee Escopeta's leases can be drilled in beluga habitat 12/20/2009
In light of the imminent creation by the federal government of a critical habitat for beluga whales in upper Cook Inlet, Escopeta Oil and Gas President Danny Davis has asked the State of Alaska for as...