Chevron permitting Birch Hill pads, road 11/29/2009
North Swanson project includes evaluation of existing Birch Hill well, possible second pad between Birch Hill and Swanson River
Chevron Corp. subsidiary Union Oil Company of California is permitting development of natural gas resources at the Birch Hill unit. Birch Hill, also referred to as the North Swanson River satellite, i...

The Explorers 2009: Marathon Oil 11/15/2009
Marathon's history in Alaska is intertwined with the history of the Cook Inlet basin. The Houston-based company arrived in Alaska in 1954 as the Ohio Oil Co., helped discover the Kenai gas field and b...

Kenai gas field turns 50 years old 10/18/2009
Discovered by Unocal and Ohio Oil a half century ago, Kenai created the Cook Inlet natural gas industry and still fuels Southcentral
The Kenai gas field started out as an oddball no one quite knew what to do with, but became an essential component of daily life and industry in Southcentral Alaska. And now, at 50, the field is like...

Asian dragon stirring to life on resources 09/27/2009
China takes more subtle approach in efforts to secure minerals, oil and natural gas; Canadian government rolls out welcome mat
Since 2006, Chinese investors have acquired almost 11,000 square miles of African farmland. In August, China's state-controlled Jilin Jien Nickel Industry Co. made a surprise C$148.5 million unsolicit...

Companies sue over Spurr 09/20/2009
Dispute turns on who pays what to retire a CI platform no longer producing
The bankruptcy case of small Cook Inlet oil and gas producer Pacific Energy Resources Ltd. has spun off a court fight pitting two of the region's largest players. Marathon Oil and Chevron are tussling...

Too soon to dismantle CI platforms 09/13/2009
Two more offshore structures head for the mothballs but it will likely be a long time before the demolition crews arrive on the scene
As production slowly declines from the offshore oil and gas platforms in Alaska's Cook Inlet, inevitable questions arise regarding when the platforms will reach the end of their useful lives, and how...

No decisions yet on LNG 09/13/2009
The future of the Nikiski LNG plant hinges on the supply situation for Cook Inlet natural gas
The owners of the LNG plant at Nikiski on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula are still evaluating whether to apply for renewal of the federal LNG export license that expires in March 2011, Dan Clark, manager of...

Carbon capture: Silver bullet or blank? 08/23/2009
Alberta government report estimates up to C$3 billion in public money might be needed each year to develop CSS technology
The debate is just warming up in Canada over the use of carbon capture and storage, widely touted as a climate-change strategy and the answer to Canada's reputation as a source of "dirty oil" from the...

Pacific Energy sale 07/26/2009
Caribbean firms bid $8.1 million for Cook Inlet assets; hearing on July 27
Financially strapped oil and gas producer Pacific Energy Resources Ltd. is proposing to sell part of its Alaska holdings for $8.1 million to a pair of companies registered in the British Virgin Island...

Swanson River gas satellites a go; Chevron, Marathon moving ahead 07/19/2009
Both Chevron and Marathon are moving ahead on work at Swanson River satellites where they hope to find commercial quantities of natural gas. This is an area where gas has been known since the 1960s,...

Canada to match US climate-change rules 07/05/2009
Canada will play ball with the United States on climate-change regulations to avoid crippling tariffs on its oil exports, but will continue to press its case in Washington for other clean-energy alter...

Refiners move into alternative fuels 06/28/2009
Oil companies shop for discounted ethanol plants forced into bankruptcy by economy, frozen credit, wildly swinging corn prices; of some 200 U.S. plants, about two dozen in bankruptcy
When Sunoco closed in mid-June on the acquisition of a bankrupt ethanol plant in Fulton, N.Y., for pennies on the dollar, it became just the latest oil refiner to step into the alternative fuels marke...

More questions than answers on CI gas 06/14/2009
Senate Resources Committee hears industry and agency perspectives on concerns about natural gas supplies from the Cook Inlet basin
Most people seem to agree on the scope of the problem, but finding solutions to the vexing question of ensuring adequate future energy supplies for the residents of Southcentral Alaska, given dwindl...

FERC clarifies Kenai LNG plant order 05/31/2009
In response to request from owners, commission acknowledges site, design, construction grandfathered; requires semiannual reports
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has revised in part and confirmed in part its requirements for Kenai LNG facility reporting. In a January order FERC said the liquefied natural gas terminal a...

No easy route to Asia for oil sands 05/17/2009
Enbridge Northern Gateway project from northern Alberta to Kitimat, B.C., draws opposition from First Nations, conservationists
The closer Enbridge moves to placing an application for an Alberta-to-Asia link for oil sands production before Canadian regulators, the more resistance to the project seems to build. Its Northern Gat...

Differing views on clarity for RCA 05/10/2009
Utilities, producers and the state weigh in on RCA proposal to develop a standard contract for Cook Inlet utility gas supplies
The big question is price when it comes to utility natural gas from Alaska's Cook Inlet: High prices hit the pocketbooks of Southcentral Alaska consumers, while low prices deter gas producers from fin...

Half Marathon 04/05/2009
Marathon anticipates 50 percent decline in Cook Inlet drilling this year
Marathon Oil plans to drill around half as many producing wells in Alaska this year as it did last year, a top official with the company told oil industry representatives March 26. "The current market...

A call for peace in CI 03/08/2009
Giard wants to clarify utility gas pricing to end the 'Cook Inlet Gas War'
In December Petroleum News referred to the Regulatory Commission of Alaska's December decision to allow Enstar Natural Gas Company to obtain gas for a year under new contracts with two Cook Inlet gas...

Chevron, Anadarko post GOM successes 02/15/2009
Buckskin, Shenandoah discoveries further validate U.S. Gulf's huge Lower Tertiary play; 2006 Jack test encouraged explorers
Recently announced Lower Tertiary discoveries at the Buckskin and Shenandoah prospects appear to further validate the enormous reach and prolific nature of this hottest of emerging oil plays in the de...

Alaska producers reject new SEC rule 01/18/2009
Some of the world's largest oil companies, including Alaska Big Three producers ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and BP, are unlikely to participate in a new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule tha...

Nearing edge of the cliff 01/18/2009
How close is Southcentral Alaska to the limits of Cook Inlet gas deliverability?
At a Regulatory Commission of Alaska public meeting on Jan. 10 officials from Alaska Railbelt gas and electricity utilities described how peak demand for natural gas during a recent cold snap had test...

Don't get accustomed to cheap oil 01/11/2009
Cutbacks in exploration now will help fuel price increase when demand heats up again; some see oil topping $150 per barrel
All that money you're saving these days at the gas pump? You might want to put it in the bank. The same cheap oil that's providing relief to drivers and businesses in an awful economy is setting the s...

New Enstar gas record 01/11/2009
Cold snap in Southcentral AK causes highest ever delivery of gas to customers
Temperatures dipping to minus 16 on Jan. 3 in Anchorage may have put something of a nip in the air, but things heated up for Enstar Natural Gas Co., the main gas utility for Southcentral Alaska, as cu...

Marathon still 'evaluating' company split 12/14/2008
Marathon Oil plans to continue "evaluating" a split of its assets and operations into two independent companies, according to a statement released Dec. 11. "Our review thus far indicates that a separa...

Marathon price below Enstar gas average 12/14/2008
Enstar Natural Gas Co. has notified the Regulatory Commission of Alaska that Marathon Oil Co. has agreed to a gas price below Enstar's weighted average cost of gas for a new gas supply contract that s...