ACMP moves to new DNRand#8200;division 12/30/2007
Commissioner Tom Irwin said Dec. 21 that the Alaska Department of Natural Resources has recognized the need to create two offices because of the magnitude of workloads and complexities of the Alaska C...

Escopeta's North Alexander well in ACMP review 11/04/2007
Escopeta Oil Co. LLC's North Alexander prospect gas exploration well is under review for consistency with the Alaska Coastal Management Program. Escopeta is proposing to drill the North Alexander No....

No Thomson drilling 09/23/2007
State denies Exxon's request to drill at Point Thomson; oral arguments Oct. 5
ExxonMobil will not be drilling at Point Thomson anytime soon. The state has denied the company's application for a 2008-09 drilling program at acreage which was part of the former unit. ExxonMobil,...

ACMP process begins for Point Thomson drilling 08/19/2007
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources has started the clock for a 50-day coastal consistency review of ExxonMobil's proposal to drill as many as seven wells in the former Point Thomson unit on Al...

Court nixes drilling 08/19/2007
9th Circuit order kills Beaufort drilling this year, Shell reviewing options
Shell has crossed several major hurdles in its attempt to start an exploration drilling program in the Beaufort Sea during the 2007 open water season. But the latest obstacle, an Aug. 15 court order f...

9th Circuit suspends Shell Beaufort Sea drilling program 07/29/2007
On July 19 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit placed a temporary hold on Shell's 2007 Beaufort Sea drilling program while the court considers a motion to stay the program until the court ru...

Still more hurdles 07/22/2007
NSB, Earth Justice appeal EPA permit; Shell remains firm on Beaufort plans
Anyone who's placed bets on whether or not Shell will drill any exploration wells in the Beaufort Sea this summer must be having some sleepless nights. In the latest twist in the "will they, won't the...

NSB issues challenge 07/01/2007
Commissioner to make final consistency decision for Shell's Beaufort drilling
The clock continues to tick toward Shell's planned start for its summer 2007 drilling program at its Beaufort Sea Sivulliq prospect, which is on the western side of Camden Bay off Alaska's North Slope...

Shell Beaufort Sea ACMP review period extended 03/25/2007
Alaska's Office of Project Management and Permitting has extended the Alaska Coastal Management Plan consistency review period for Shell's Beaufort Sea 2007 to 2009 drilling program. OPMP has not ye...

OCS impact assistance program moves ahead 03/11/2007
Implementation of the federal coastal impact assistance program for outer continental shelf oil and gas producing states is moving forward. The program, established as part of the 2005 Energy Policy A...

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...

New coordinator's office holds first meeting 12/10/2006
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources' Lease Monitoring and Engineering Integrity Coordinator's Office held its first organizational meeting Nov. 29. The office, part of the Division of Oil and...

THE EXPLORERS 2006 - Talisman's FEX shooting for five wells 11/12/2006
Company continues to build NPR-A onshore, offshore acreage position; execs looking for 'big prize' in Alaska
Six companies will drill at least 13 oil exploration wells across northern Alaska in the winter drilling season of 2006-07 and FEX L.P. is one of them. FEX, which first entered Alaska in 2003 as Fort...

North Slope exploration plans shaping up 10/22/2006
Six companies will drill at least 13 wells across northern Alaska; NPR-A programs impacted by court decision, 1998 stipulations
Companies gearing up to drill oil exploration wells on Alaska's North Slope during the upcoming winter drilling season are still filing permits, leaving the exact number of wells unknown. But it's saf...

MINING NEWS: Rock Creek, Big Hurrah get key permits 08/27/2006
Alaska officials tout authorizations for NovaGold gold mining project near Nome as victory for state regulators, residents
NovaGold Resources Inc. has cleared several important permitting hurdles in its quest to develop the Rock Creek and Big Hurrah gold mines near Nome. The Alaska departments of Natural Resources and En...

Spur line gets ACMP okay from DNR 05/21/2006
Final consistency determination issued; Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority still waiting for conditional right of way
Alaska's Office of Project Management and Permitting has found the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority's Glennallen to Palmer gas spur line project to be consistent with the Alaska Coastal Manage...

Comments for ANS pipelines extended 04/30/2006
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources said April 24 that Commissioner Mike Menge has extended the comment period deadline on the Eastern North Slope oil and gas pipeline applications, including t...

Thirty days and counting for Kitchen 04/09/2006
Corps of Engineers 30 day public notice period begins for Escopeta's proposed Cook Inlet exploration with Tellus jack-up rig
On April 5, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers posted a notice on its Web site for a 30-day public comment period on Escopeta Oil and Gas' proposed exploration of the Kitchen unit, which is about 13 mil...

Forest applies for pipeline at Middle Lake 11/27/2005
Forest Oil Corp. has applied to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a permit to upgrade an existing gravel road and construct a six-inch diameter natural gas pipeline for the company's planned re-ent...

New DNR commissioner names acting replacements; Van Dyke as oil chief 11/06/2005
Natural Resources Commissioner Mike Menge has named an acting deputy commissioner and three acting division directors to fill vacancies in the department created when six officials resigned Oct. 28 af...

Gas explosion 10/30/2005
Top DNR official dismissed, others quit over gas contract dispute with governor
When the dust finally settled a week after Commissioner of Natural Resources Tom Irwin put gas pipeline negotiation concerns in a memo, he was out and Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski had in hand resignati...

State applies for rights of way for eastern North Slope pipelines 09/25/2005
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources has applied for two pipeline rights of way that would link future oil and gas developments on the eastern North Slope with the Prudhoe Bay complex to the wes...

Kensington mine gets final permit 07/03/2005
Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski said June 29 that he had received a phone call from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, telling him that EPA was issuing the final permit needed for Coeur Alaska's Ke...

Seismic to be shot in Forest's Susitna basin license area 11/14/2004
Veritas DGC has applied to the state of Alaska to shoot 2-D and 3-D seismic this winter in the Susitna basin west of the Susitna River. The Alaska Office of Project Management and Permitting said Nov...

Aurora Gas plans numerous Cook Inlet exploration projects 04/27/2003
Aurora Gas has eight exploration projects and one production project planned for the west side of Alaska's Cook Inlet this summer. Last year, after two years of work developing natural gas at the Nic...