Legislators told GTL a no-go for ANS gas 03/11/2007
Gas-to-liquids plant on North Slope could cost $40 billion, would be several times size of any currently operating commercial plant
Alaska legislators, interested in seeing natural gas move off the North Slope, are looking for an alternative in the event a natural gas pipeline isn't built. Gas to liquids is a technology that h...

Umiat appraisal wells in the works 03/11/2007
New independent formed by Renaissance, Rutter and Wilbanks, Arctic Falcon to appraise Alaska oil field, will drill in 2007-08
Renaissance Alaska, Rutter and Wilbanks and Arctic Falcon have formed a limited liability company to evaluate and, if all goes well, develop the Umiat oil field on the northern edge of the Brooks R...

Oil Patch Insider 03/11/2007
Nabors builds exploration rig for Chevron; Brooks Range group acquires Bachner acreage; Hints of success from Talisman/FEX's NPR-A drilling
Nabors Alaska Drilling is building a lightweight, high-tech AC drilling rig at the request of Chevron, which plans a multi-year drilling program on the North Slope starting next winter. Nabors Rig 10...

Conoco cancels Chukchi, Beaufort seismic 03/04/2007
Company pulls MMS permit applications for 2007 open water program, will likely buy 3-D seismic data from Shell
ConocoPhillips Alaska has abandoned plans to shoot three-dimensional seismic offshore northern Alaska, the company told federal officials in mid-February when it asked them to discontinue work on seis...

Alaska crude used in oil spill test 03/04/2007
Chilled saltwater used to simulate Arctic conditions for dispersant test in MMS's high-tech 2.5 million-gallon tank
Gallons of inky Alaska crude oil poured into the shimmering green water, forming a dark cloud on the surface. Seconds later, a chemical was sprayed on the slick. As 3-foot waves churned the chemical d...

Natives sue to halt MMS sale 03/04/2007
North Slope Borough, whalers ask court to stop April 18 Beaufort Sea lease sale
The North Slope Borough and the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission filed a lawsuit Feb. 26 to halt a federal Beaufort Sea oil and gas lease sale scheduled for April 18. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. Distri...

MINING NEWS: Unique operator cleans up old messes 02/25/2007
Alexco Resource tackles potentially lucrative exploration, environmental remediation at abandoned mine sites in Yukon Territory
Ever since prospectors rushed to the Yukon seeking gold more than a century ago, miners have been guilty of extracting the mineral riches in the North and doing a vanishing act when the veins petered...

Exxon, Qatar scrap GTL project 02/25/2007
Exxon Mobil Corp. and Qatar Petroleum said Feb. 20 they would scrap a gas-to-liquids project in favor of developing another project to provide natural gas to the domestic Qatari market. The domestic...

Oil Patch Insider 02/18/2007
TAPS starts first new electric pumps; Agrium writes off Nikiski; Palin slams Exxon; Petro-Canada not going to operate in NPR-A
The startup of the new electric pump system at pump station 9 of the trans-Alaska pipeline has started to bring to fruition the years of work involved in the strategic reconfiguration of the pipeline...

Coastal district extension bill moving 02/04/2007
Timing important since 2005 extension of original deadlines gave Alaska districts until March 1 to have revised plans in place
Senate Resources passed out a bill extending by six months the deadline for coastal districts to file revised plans necessary under changes the Legislature made to the Alaska Coastal Management Progra...

MINING NEWS: Don't disrupt permitting, commission says 01/28/2007
Defending mining projects from critics has become a priority for Alaska, and more funding and education are needed to do the job
The Alaska Minerals Commission has made a long list of recommendations in its report for 2007, from funding for the Department of Natural Resources and education programs to ensuring that the Pebble p...

FEX pushes forward in NPR-A 01/28/2007
But warns that oil and gas industry needs improved Alaska business environment; PPT shaves 25% off NPV of exploration projects
On Jan. 19 at the Alaska Support Industry Alliance's annual Meet Alaska conference Timothy England, senior manager of exploration for Talisman Energy, painted a good news/bad news picture of his compa...

KUPARUK ANNIVERSARY: Two rigs drilling West Sak at 1J pad 01/21/2007
In 2004 ConocoPhillips and the other Kuparuk owners committed to expanding West Sak heavy oil production. Because of that commitment, Kuparuk River drill site 1J is the busiest in Alaska. ConocoPhilli...

MEET ALASKA 2007: Alaska roll call lookin' good 01/21/2007
Today 31 oil and gas companies have significant investments in Alaska; in 1996 that number was down to 7
Ten years ago Petroleum News published a "roll call" of oil and gas companies doing business in Alaska. In the five preceding years the number had dropped by more than one-half, from 19 active compani...

MEET ALASKA 2007: Envisioning Alaska's oil and gas future 01/21/2007
Kevin Banks says division will pursue petroleum development in state, while keeping close tabs on industry's obligations
Petroleum News: What is the direction in which you see the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas heading? Kevin Banks: If I had to come up with a slogan, it would be, "oil and gas development on our terms."...

MEET ALASKA 2007: Our silver linings come with clouds 01/21/2007
For every cloud, there's a silver lining ... but for every silver lining, there's also a cloud." That reminder from one of my professors in college seems particularly apropos for Alaska's oil and gas in...

Free Venezuelan oil finally reaching Alaska villages, 11,000 homes eligible 01/21/2007
Alaska villages are finally receiving a much-criticized donation of heating fuel from Venezuelan oil company Citgo. More than 11,000 homes in rural Alaska are eligible for 100 gallons each as part of...

Mac backers still believers 01/21/2007
NWT minister: Mackenzie gas line economics strong; Imperial remains committed
Take a break from the relentless stream of doom and gloom. Two of those most closely connected to the Mackenzie Gas Project are not ready to cut and run. Northwest Territories Industry Minister Brenda...

Petro-Canada, FEX link up to explore NPR-A 01/07/2007
Canadian companies form exploration partnership on jointly held leases in National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska
It looks like Alaska will have one less operator than expected next winter. Two Calgary-based companies, Petro-Canada and Talisman Energy's Alaska subsidiary FEX, have teamed up to explore their joint...

Shifting boundary line for Gulf sales 01/07/2007
Minerals Management Service to include former some or all of 2 million acres of Eastern Gulf of Mexico tracts in fall lease sale
The U.S. Minerals Management Service has carved out the first 2 million acres of 8.3 million acres that Congress set aside for future oil and gas lease sales in the Eastern and Central Gulf of Mexico....

NSSI: Coordinating North Slope science 12/31/2006
New Alaska North Slope project database nearing completion; GIS coordination depends on funding from Congress
It's been little more than a year since the U.S. Energy Policy Act formalized the existence of the North Slope Science Initiative, an inter-agency effort to provide a consistent approach to high-calib...

Tundra travel opens in NE NPR-A 12/31/2006
Following on the heels of the opening of tundra travel in the coastal areas of state North Slope lands, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management opened tundra travel in the NPR-A northeast planning area on...

MINING NEWS: Corps suspends Rock Creek permit 12/24/2006
Lawsuit by Nome residents gives NovaGold a headache when company was on verge of bringing its first mine into production
NovaGold Resources took on Barrick, the world's largest gold producer, and won, but equally tenacious opposition from some residents of Nome has cast a shadow over the Vancouver-based junior's first m...