EIA forecasts $80 oil price this year 01/17/2010
Henry Hub natural gas spot price projected to average $5.36 per thousand cubic feet in '10; storage levels expected to remain high
The U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration said Jan. 12 in its Short-Term Energy Outlook that it expects the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil to average $80 per barrel...

Greening of Oil: Technology that lessens impact makes good business sense 01/17/2010
North Slope Borough chooses to work with Shell versus joining latest lawsuit
The use of advanced technologies that reduce environmental impact and improve business efficiency distinguishes Shell in the oil and gas industry, Michael Macrander, Shell's Alaska lead scientist, tol...

Shell goes for reduced OCS footprint 01/03/2010
Macrander says using advanced technologies to minimize environmental impacts makes business sense and protects the Arctic offshore
The use of advanced technologies that reduce environmental impacts and improve business efficiency distinguishes Shell in the oil and gas industry, Michael Macrander, Shell's Alaska lead scientist, to...

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....

Enbridge warns of possible pipeline over-capacity 12/27/2009
Between TransCanada and Enbridge - Canada's two biggest energy pipeline companies - there's seldom a meeting of the minds. From the time they got caught up squabbling over rights to ship Alaska North...

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...

EIA expects $76 per barrel this winter 12/20/2009
Henry Hub natural gas spot price projected at $3.95 per thousand cubic feet this year, $4.62 in 2010; US natural gas consumption down
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Dec. 8 in its Short-Term Energy Outlook that it expects the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil to average $76 from October through March, with a...

On the one hand, on... 12/20/2009
Husky, Nexen on opposite sides of cap-ex fence in Canada as analysts count on largest companies sticking close to '09 spending
As Canada's leading upstream companies start to unveil their 2010 capital spending programs, some appear more inclined to bide their time than others. Analysts doubt the budgets of major players will...

Seeking answers 12/13/2009
15 lawmakers ask Parnell if state oil tax policy helps or hurts Alaska investment
A group of leading state legislators on Dec. 4 asked Gov. Sean Parnell for a raft of information they want to use to evaluate whether the 2007 oil tax reform is helping or hurting industry investment...

Logistics also an issue at Pioneer's Oooguruk 12/06/2009
Point Thomson isn't the only North Slope field to face logistics challenges. Getting supplies to Oooguruk was one of the issues addressed by Ken Sheffield, president of Pioneer Natural Resources Alas...

Logistics key to Point Thomson project 12/06/2009
Last year's ice road only available to move materials for four weeks; barges used in summer; rolligons moved significant amounts
ExxonMobil has been fighting a running battle with the State of Alaska over development of its North Slope Point Thomson field - but it has also been waging a logistics battle to get equipment and sup...

BP: More challenges than a few years ago 11/29/2009
Minge tells RDC BP's 50-year Alaska strategy a dream, not a promise; cost structure threatens light oil; costs up 4 times oil price
BP has talked in recent years about the company's 50-year future in Alaska. But that strategy is "a dream: It's not a promise," BP Exploration (Alaska) President John Minge told the Resource Developm...

Arctic gas on the menu 11/22/2009
TransCan execs say Alaska, Mackenzie essential for NA energy supply
Alaska and Mackenzie Delta gas, along with shale volumes from the United States and Canada, could play an essential role within the next decade if North America is to meet the "big challenge" of offse...

The Explorers 2009: ENI Petroleum 11/15/2009
Italian major Eni Petroleum took its first stab at Alaska in the late 1960s as Agip Petroleum, but didn't begin exploring in earnest until summer 2005, when it bought a portfolio of North Slope leases...

The Explorers 2009: Cook Inlet basin 11/15/2009
Cook Inlet, a major sea inlet between the Kenai Peninsula and the mainland of Southcentral Alaska, lies over part of a deep sedimentary basin that has formed between the Kenai Mountains and the mounta...

The Explorers 2009: Alaska Peninsula and North Aleutian basin 11/15/2009
The North Aleutian basin, also known as the Bristol Bay basin, extends more than 200 miles along the north side of the Alaska Peninsula and out into the southern Bering Sea shelf. The southeastern por...

EIA increases WTI crude forecast price 11/15/2009
Non-OECD oil demand growth to more than offset slowing OECD consumption; first growth in oil consumption in 5 quarters expected
The Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration is forecasting an increase for the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil - up $7 per barrel compared with the EIA's October outlook. ...

Watching the offshore drilling from afar 11/01/2009
Any drilling that Shell does in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas would be closely scrutinized, not just by personnel on the drillship, but by multiple, expert eyes, thousands of miles from the drilling o...

Preparing and planning for the OCS 11/01/2009
Shell engineer describes the complex, multiyear process required to bring an oil field online in the Beaufort or Chukchi Seas
As Shell waits behind the starting gate, champing at the bit, ready to move ahead with exploratory drilling on the Alaska outer continental shelf of the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, it may be tempting t...

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...

Stevens: State needs 'incentive climate' 10/11/2009
Alaska must unite to tout its natural resource potential to world industry and Washington, ex-senator tells Alliance crowd
Citing the spirit and drive of statehood proponents 50 years ago, former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens said Alaskans today must unite in a bipartisan effort to "encourage global industry to invest in our stat...

Arctic Directory: MMS recognizes Exxon for safety excellence 09/20/2009
The U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service announced March 25 that Exxon Mobil Corp. is one of the winners of the 2008 District Safety Award for Excellence for the Gulf of Mexic...

Arctic Directory: CGGVeritas awarded two new BP seismic contracts 09/20/2009
CGGVeritas said Jan. 23 that it has been awarded two long-term seismic acquisition contracts by BP to undertake multiple high-end marine 3-D, wide-azimuth and 4-D seismic surveys. The first contract e...

EIA sees volatility for spot oil prices 09/20/2009
Agency expects $70-per-barrel average for West Texas Intermediate in fourth quarter; natural gas inventories likely to set record
While it expects crude oil spot prices to continue to be volatile, the Energy Information Administration also expects that the range of those prices will be narrower than earlier this year and last ye...

Fishing port favors North Aleutian sales 09/20/2009
Unalaska council backs offshore leasing provided MMS protects fisheries, but proposed 2011, '14 sales have ample opponents
The Unalaska City Council on Sept. 8 passed a resolution supporting proposed federal offshore oil and gas leasing in the North Aleutian Basin. Unalaska Island is home to Dutch Harbor, the nation's lea...