Barrett named to head Alyeska Pipeline 11/21/2010
Vice Admiral Thomas Barrett, USGC (Ret.) has been named president of Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. effective Jan. 1. Alyeska said Barrett is the first president hired as an employee since the company'...

The Explorers 2010: Alaska Peninsula and North Aleutian basin 11/14/2010
The North Aleutian basin, also known as the Bristol Bay basin, extends more than 200 miles along the north side of the Alaska Peninsula and out into the southern Bering Sea shelf. The southeastern por...

Bush DOI chiefs: Major spill not expected 07/25/2010
Two former Interior secretaries told Congress July 20 they did not anticipate an accident as large as the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But Gale Norton and Dirk Kempthorne say no one else did ei...

Moratoria may cost U.S. $2.36 trillion 02/21/2010
New study assesses the impact on U.S. economy of keeping closed federal land off limits for OandG exploration and development
In 2008, faced with energy security issues and soaring oil prices, President Bush and the U.S. Congress eliminated some decades-long moratoria on oil and gas development in huge tracts of federal offs...

The Explorers 2009: Alaska Peninsula and North Aleutian basin 11/15/2009
The North Aleutian basin, also known as the Bristol Bay basin, extends more than 200 miles along the north side of the Alaska Peninsula and out into the southern Bering Sea shelf. The southeastern por...

New report addresses changing Arctic 05/31/2009
Commonwealth North report recommends U.S. actions to reflect increasing international interest and opportunity in the Arctic region
Commonwealth North, a private organization which provides information about Alaska public policy issues, has published a report called "Why the Arctic Matters," in which experts on the Arctic have put...

Elton named to Alaska slot at Interior 03/08/2009
An Alaskan is going to Washington, D.C., in a key role - for the state - in the administration of President Barak Obama. Sen. Kim Elton, D-Juneau, has been named director of Alaska affairs for the De...

Think again on OCS plan 02/15/2009
Salazar extends the public review period for the draft 5-year leasing program
Less than a month ago the outgoing Bush administration threw down an energy gauntlet to the incoming Obama administration by announcing a proposed new outer continental shelf oil and gas leasing progr...

MMS releases draft OCS lease sale plan 01/25/2009
End-of-administration announcement also included final EIS for Cape Wind Energy project and start of PEIS for Atlantic exploration
In a swansong announcement for the Bush administration, the U.S. Minerals Management Service announced a series of energy-related actions on Jan. 16. The package of actions included the publication of...

Bush issues new Arctic policy for U.S. 01/18/2009
On Jan. 9 President Bush signed a directive establishing a new U.S. policy for the Arctic region. The policy is intended to address national security needs; protect the Arctic environment; ensure sust...

Candidates differ on energy issues 10/05/2008
McCain, Obama both vow to end U.S. dependence on foreign oil, but strategies they propose to achieve goal show marked contrast
While economic issues have dominated the presidential campaign in recent weeks, the high cost of energy and the country's reliance on foreign oil also emerged as a subject of debate. Republican candi...

Congress passes ocean mapping measure 10/05/2008
On Sept. 29 the U.S. House of Representatives passed the re-authorization and amendment of the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act, which authorizes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrati...

DOI starts on new OCS leasing program 08/03/2008
The 2010 to 2015 leasing program can apply to the whole U.S. OCS but leasing in some areas would require congressional approval
Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced July 30 that the U.S. Department of the Interior is starting the development of a new five-year oil and gas leasing program for the U.S. outer conti...

Stevens indicted, vows to fight charges 08/03/2008
The indictment of Alaska Republican Sen. Ted Stevens on charges that he lied about accepting gifts from an oilfield service contractor only adds to his party's already bleak electoral prospects in Nov...

Murkowski wants treaty ratified 07/27/2008
U.S. needs to become a party to the international law of the sea treaty to stake Arctic offshore land claims, the senator says
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has weighed in on the debate about U.S. ratification of the international Convention on the Law of the Sea treaty."I believe it is very important for the United...

House Republicans block use-it-or-lose-it bill for leaseholders on federal land 07/06/2008
House Republicans blocked Democrats June 26 from requiring oil and gas companies to drill on the millions of acres of government land and water on which they already own federal leases. Seeking to co...

Wood Mac report says climate bill makes gas uneconomic 06/08/2008
Proposed legislation in the U.S. Congress aimed at reducing greenhouse gases would make more than one third of all domestic natural gas projects uneconomic, according to a new report from the research...

Kempthorne lists polar bear as threatened 05/18/2008
Interior secretary accepts scientific studies on loss of sea ice as threat to polar bears; says Endangered Species Act inflexible
Citing "the best available science" and the inflexibility of the Endangered Species Act, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne said May 14 that he has accepted the recommendation of the U.S. Fish...

Thomson gas cycling gets lots of study 04/06/2008
In affidavit, Craig Haymes, Exxon's Alaska manager, reviews history of working interest owners' work on condensate production
Unit operator ExxonMobil has told the state that the Point Thomson 23rd proposed plan of development is different than previous PODs because it takes the field to production. It also comes out of a lo...

Commerce secretary revives ANWR talk 04/06/2008
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez spoke before business leaders in Fairbanks March 23, saying that drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge could help bring down the record-high price...

Venezuela looks to impose new tax on oil 03/30/2008
Venezuela will soon impose a new tax on oil companies aimed at recouping a larger share of their rising profits, President Hugo Chavez said March 24. The new levy will be a tax on "unexpected earning...

NOAA names Balsiger NMFS acting director 03/02/2008
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has appointed James Balsiger as NOAA acting assistant administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service. Balsiger will direct federal scientis...

Bush budget boosts well remediation 02/24/2008
Additional $11.2 million would fund two future NPR-A sites; BLM working at Teshekpuk Lake legacy well this winter
President Bush's budget proposal for fiscal year 2009 includes an $11.2 million increase to the North Slope well remediation program run by the Bureau of Land Management. The program is responsibl...

CBM producer protests new drilling fee 01/13/2008
A Wyoming coalbed methane producer says a new requirement to pay $4,000 in administrative costs for every oil or gas well drilled on public land will prompt companies like his to focus more on drillin...