THE EXPLORERS 2007: ConocoPhillips drops 300,000 acres 11/18/2007
Major and its independent partners focused on appraising previously announced NPR-A discoveries
ConocoPhillips Alaska's exploration program reached into far western NPR-A last winter, 2006-07. In 2007-08 the company plans to drill closer in, with proposed exploration wells - the program had not...

Aging Icebreakers slow U.S. in Arctic 09/30/2007
When Coast Guard Adm. Thad W. Allen imagines a melting Arctic, it's not a pretty sight: Cruise ships collide with icebergs. Oil tankers and ore ships run aground. Foreign fishermen sneak into American...

Mark Myers on USGS, scientific challenges 09/23/2007
U.S. Geological Survey Director Mark Myers, an AAPG member who was nominated by President Bush and confirmed by the Senate in 2006, heads up an entity that has more than 10,000 scientists, technicians...

FTC finds no 2006 gasoline price fixing 09/09/2007
Market forces, not price gouging, caused the cost of gasoline to rise during the spring and summer of 2006, according to a report sent to President Bush Aug. 30 by federal antitrust regulators. The re...

Pulling NPR-A out of limbo? 09/02/2007
BLM shooting for late summer, early fall for Northeast NPR-A lease sale
The situation described in the top, page 1 story of the Aug. 26 issue of Petroleum News has changed. "NPR-A in limbo ... no lease sales planned until after 2008 election" has made way for this story, wh...

Senator wants new icebreakers in Arctic 07/15/2007
Murkowski urges international cooperation, supports involvement in international initiatives, stresses importance of Arctic to Alaska
In a July 10 speech at the National Ice Center and U.S. Arctic Research Commission's "Impact of an Ice-Diminishing Arctic on Naval and Maritime Operations" symposium, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alask...

House acts on BB leasing, OCS royalties 07/08/2007
Federal bill forces more study in Alaska's North Aleutian basin, renegotiation of oil and gas lease royalties; Bush threatens veto
The U.S. House of Representatives passed an Interior Department budget for 2008 June 28 that could negatively effect oil and gas development. The appropriations bill passed 272 to 155. Provisions in...

Good news for Bristol Bay leasing 06/24/2007
Pro-drilling forces see Congressman's call for more studies as move toward responsible oil and gas development in sensitive area
Though a Democratic congressman has succeeded in getting language calling for more study of oil and gas development in Bristol Bay into an energy bill in Congress, leasing proponents are breathing sig...

Bristol Bay leasing may be in jeopardy 06/10/2007
Alliance, CEA join forces to lobby Congress for continued access to OCS energy exploration and development opportunity
Six months ago, the U.S. government lifted a moratorium on oil and gas leasing in Bristol Bay, bringing new hope for exploration and development activity in that largely unexplored region of Alaska. ...

Bisson named adviser for Alaska affairs 06/10/2007
Henri Bisson, former Alaska state director of the Bureau of Land Management, has been named acting senior advisor to the secretary of the Interior for Alaska affairs, replacing Drue Pearce, who was na...

President to tap Caswell as head of BLM 06/03/2007
On May 30 U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne praised President Bush's intention to nominate James Caswell as the next director of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Caswell would fill the...

Yellowbilled loon that breeds in NPR-A up for protection 06/03/2007
A petition seeking Endangered Species Act protection for a rare loon that breeds in Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve has been accepted for review by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Conservatio...