Japan's Itochu gains foothold in Gulf of Mexico 04/08/2007
Business conglomerate scoops up Range Resources interests for $155M; Range had already sold onshore properties to Itochu
Japanese business conglomerate Itochu Corp., true to a worldwide expansion strategy that includes carving a niche for itself in the lucrative U.S. natural gas market, has agreed to acquire EandP ind...

Husky brings sparkle to Newfoundland 04/08/2007
Husky Energy is providing the one real jolt of hope these days in offshore Newfoundland, piling up drilling success and obtaining regulatory approval for a 40 percent hike in production from its White...

Pioneer notches new gas play in Alberta 04/08/2007
Pioneer Natural Resources has posted success in northern Alberta, reporting the discovery of a new shallow gas field and the start of production from three wells at 18 million cubic feet per day. The...

AGIA moving forward 04/08/2007
Clears first committees; Alaska legislators want approval rights, not just denial
The governor's Alaska Gasline Inducement Act has cleared its first committees in both the House and Senate. Senate Resources passed out a committee substitute for Senate Bill 104 April 1, followed...

Exxon gets cold shoulder 04/08/2007
Point Thomson operator's drilling plan for defunct leases, unit ignored by DNR
On March 23, ExxonMobil filed a "plan of operations" for the eastern North Slope "Point Thomson area" with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources' Division of Oil and Gas. Unlike previous Point...

Exxon gets more time to file appeal 04/01/2007
Alaska DNR Commissioner Irwin gives Point Thomson operator extra 30 days to turn in appeal brief on terminated leases
Tom Irwin, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, has given Point Thomson unit operator Exxon Mobil Corp. an extra 30 days to get its appeal into him on the termination of the Nor...

Oil Patch Insider 04/01/2007
Shell eyes bigger quarters in Anchorage; Cammy Taylor tapped to manage State of Alaska oil and gas units
Shell is said to be scouting commercial office space in Alaska on the lookout for at least 35,000 square feet to house a substantially expanded in-state exploration team. The Houston, Texas-based comp...

Producers pan AGIA 04/01/2007
BP, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil say Alaska resource issues need settling
While they believe a North Slope gas pipeline is essential for Alaska's future - and to meet natural gas needs in the Lower 48 - the North Slope producers don't think AGIA is the way to get that line...

MINING NEWS: Water use bill goes back to drawing board 03/25/2007
Some residents of Bristol Bay area say they desperately need economic development, including Pebble mine; others afraid for fisheries
A bill in the Alaska Legislature that would place severe restrictions on water use in the Bristol Bay area is undergoing revision by its sponsor, Rep. Bryce Edgmon, D-Dillingham. House Bill 134, wa...

MINING NEWS: Industry opposes Alaska mining tax reform 03/25/2007
Pebble controversy is raising public awareness of mining taxes; Rep. Seaton says legislative action could stave off ballot initiative
Should the mining industry's tax rate in Alaska be compared with that of the much larger oil and gas industry, because they both deal with non-renewable resources, or is it fairer to align mining w...

Congress gets climate change warnings 03/25/2007
Two Alaskans from different camps joined others in urging Congress March 20 to take action to address climate change. Deborah Williams, Alaska conservation activist and former special assistant for A...

Legal ace joins state resources team 03/18/2007
Former RCA chairwoman takes helm of units section in Alaska Division of Oil and Gas to guide application of laws, policies
It's likely that G. Nanette Thompson, the newly appointed petroleum manager for the Division of Oil and Gas in the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, has never worked a day in Alaska's oil fields...

State OKs expansion of Oooguruk unit 03/18/2007
Seven leases added to original 12 in Pioneer Natural Resources Alaska-operated unit, acreage increased from 20,394 acres to 50,883
The Alaska Division of Oil and Gas has approved the first expansion of the Oooguruk unit, the Pioneer Natural Resources Alaska development in the shallow waters of Harrison Bay offshore the North Slop...

Canada's new green giants 03/18/2007
Alberta legislation could cost petroleum industry 'hundreds of millions of dollars;' sector on edge as it awaits federal regulations for greenhouse gas emissions
One half of a newly formed political tag team - Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach - flipped the petroleum industry on its back March 8, leaving Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to apply a possible...

ANGDA having trouble getting funding 03/18/2007
Senate refuses to add $5 million request to supplemental; CEO Heinze says grubstake bonds, selling partial interest are options
The Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority is having trouble getting $5 million it needs to move ahead with its Alaska Gas Market System from the Alaska Legislature. The Alaska Senate refused Ma...

Pipeline adds to network 03/11/2007
In grooming itself for a US$22 billion management buyout, Kinder Morgan has opened the way for high-flying Inter Pipeline Fund, IPF, to take a leading role in transporting Alberta oil sands production...

Forest Oil begins sale of Alaska assets 03/11/2007
Depending on whom you ask, Forest Oil and its Alaska subsidiaries have some or all of their Alaska assets for sale. According to Forest's broker and potential buyers who have talked to the Forest Oil...

Gas-Pro plans CNG production at North Fork 03/11/2007
Rising gas prices encourage NorthStar affiliate Gas-Pro to seek novel approach to gas production on southern Kenai Peninsula
In the summer of 2006 it was starting to look as if time had finally run out for Gas-Pro Alaska's North Fork unit, in the southern part of Alaska's Kenai Peninsula. An agreement with Enstar Natural Ga...

Northern premiers crack whip 03/11/2007
NWT, Nunavut call for time limits to develop Arctic gas; want control of land, resources
Northwest Territories Premier Joe Handley is turning up the heat on the Canadian government and playing Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams' "use-it-or-lose-it" card in a bid to get development Cana...

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...

Legislature gets AGIA 03/11/2007
First hearing in House OandG March 13; Alaska legislators support concept
The Alaska Legislature is now in possession of Gov. Sarah Palin's Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, with the first hearings scheduled on the bill in the House Special Committee on Oil and Gas March 13. ...

Canadian oil patch deals surge in '06 03/04/2007
Oil and gas deal-making tallied C$56.9 billion in Canada last year, an increase of 32 percent from 2005, and accounting for one-quarter of all Canadian mergers and acquisitions, said investment banker...

Alaska officially terminates Thomson leases 03/04/2007
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources terminated the Point Thomson unit on the North Slope last year, and although lessees have appealed the decision to the courts, the Division of Oil and Gas ha...

House begins considering PPT change 03/04/2007
Regulations not yet written for this portion of new tax law; BP concerned that changes create further ambiguities in what's deductible
The Alaska Legislature continues to discuss changing allowable deductions in the PPT, the Petroleum Profits Tax passed last year. House Bill 128, the companion to Senate Bill 80 (see story in Feb. 25...

Cash, but no ownership 03/04/2007
Alaska gas pipeline act has state investing up to $500M for certification
Alaska would contribute to upfront costs of an Alaska natural gas pipeline project, but would not be an owner, Gov. Sarah Palin said Feb. 28 from Washington, D.C. The governor, in the nation's capita...