RCA, FERC agree to split tariff hearings between Anchorage, DC 11/07/2010
State and federal regulators have agreed to a schedule for a series of joint hearings next year that will dissect the rates charged for shipping oil on the trans-Alaska oil pipeline. The two months of...

State settles runaway oil tanker affair 07/11/2010
Tesoro, shipping firm to pay $429,870 to resolve claims from 2006 incident in which surging ice ripped vessel from Cook Inlet dock
Early on a frigid February morning in 2006, Alaskans awoke to startling media reports of a 600-foot oil tanker aground on a Cook Inlet beach near Nikiski. Although no one was injured, the ship was sav...

Adjudicatory hearings set on C-plans 06/13/2010
DEC commissioner grants hearing request by Lakosh on specific issues in tanker oil discharge prevention and contingency plans
Oil discharge prevention and contingency plans for Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet have been challenged and Larry Hartig, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, has granted...

Alliance hears pluses, minuses on Alaska 02/14/2010
State has good geology but small market; limited support services, infrastructure; high costs and mixed messages from government
The question asked at this year's Alaska Support Industry Alliance annual meet Alaska conference - are "Happy Days ... Here Again" for the Alaska oil and gas industry or are they "Gone with the Wind"...

FERC: Lifespan no longer an issue 09/20/2009
Federal regulator rejects request from shippers, state to reconsider ruling that Alaska oil pipeline's usefulness ends in 2034
The federal agency that oversees interstate shipments of crude through the trans-Alaska oil pipeline has rebuffed efforts by some shippers and the State of Alaska to keep alive the question of the rem...

Did FERC underestimate life span? 06/07/2009
Shippers, state seek rehearing of federal regulator's conclusion that the trans-Alaska oil pipeline's usefulness will end in 2034
Shippers on the trans-Alaska oil pipeline and the State of Alaska have asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reconsider recent rulings in which it concluded that the useful life of the 800...

Refinery shuts unit on declines; Senate considers gouging bill 03/22/2009
The Flint Hills refinery shut down one of its three processing units because of declining demand for jet fuel, a company spokesman told a state Senate committee on March 13. Crude Unit No. 3 produces...

State, carriers settle tariff dispute 03/15/2009
Alaska reserves right to pursue recovery of strategic reconfiguration costs if FERC ruling is overturned, from 2007 and 2008 rates
The State of Alaska told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission March 11 that it was close to settling its differences with owners of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline regarding claims that the carriers...

Report: regulating gas prices not wise 02/08/2009
Report on Alaska gasoline prices finds global jet fuel market a factor; says regulation could force refineries out of business
A state legislative investigation has failed to answer definitively why Alaskans pay such high gas prices at the pump, but the report released Feb. 2 suggests the key lies in Alaska's in-state refiner...

Watching out for the ice in Cook Inlet 01/11/2009
The U.S. Coast Guard and industry are working together to improve safety for Cook Inlet marine traffic by increasing the observation of ice conditions in the inlet, USCG announced Jan. 6. The USCG Mar...

RCA opens docket on intrastate tariffs 11/09/2008
Pipeline owners have filed rates every year since 2002 without success; regulators phase proceedings on Strategic Reconfiguration
State regulators have opened a docket to consider whether to increase rates for shipping oil to in-state markets along the trans-Alaska oil pipeline. The Regulatory Commission of Alaska will look int...

Conoco files tariffs 11/02/2008
ConocoPhillips asks for higher intrastate rates on TAPS; Tesoro protests
Another debate over pipeline tariffs could be on the horizon. In filings with state regulators in early October, ConocoPhillips proposed increasing the rate shippers pay to move oil along the trans-Al...

Petroleum Directory: Crowley delivers new assist tug to Cook Inlet for Tesoro 07/20/2008
Tesoro Alaska took a major step to improve oil spill prevention in Cook Inlet recently when it contracted with Crowley Maritime Corp. for the construction of a new tractor tug, the first permanent ves...

Oil Patch Insider 07/06/2008
Sheffield to lead AOGA for 2008-09; Craig Bieber novel 'Saylor's Triangle' makes Anchorage debut
The Alaska Oil and Gas Association named Ken Sheffield, president of Pioneer Natural Resources Alaska Inc., as its new president, effective July 1. The association's other officers are first vice pre...

FERC lowers tariff 06/22/2008
Commission upholds '07 TAPS ruling; outlines basis for reasonable rates
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission June 19 affirmed a May 2007 administrative law judge ruling that interstate rates charged on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System in 2005 and 2006 were not just an...

Oil Patch Bits 03/30/2008
Crowley delivers new assist tug to Cook Inlet for Tesoro
Cook Inlet RCAC said March 26 that Tesoro Alaska took a "major step" to improve oil spill prevention in Cook Inlet when it ordered a new tractor tug from Crowley Maritime Corp. The new assist tug, whi...

Court upholds TAPS rate 03/30/2008
Upholds RCA's tariff decision for 1986-96, says shippers' protest was untimely
In 2003, following a successful protest of 1997 intrastate rates for shipping crude oil on the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, two shippers, Tesoro Alaska and Williams Alaska Petroleum, protested the 1986-...

Simplified pipeline tariff regulations issued 03/16/2008
After several years of work with industry, the Regulatory Commission of Alaska has adopted simplified tariff procedures in an attempt to reduce regulatory burdens for small, producer-owned pipelines....

Supremes rule on tariff 02/24/2008
Conclude Superior Court was right to support RCA's decision to lower TAPS shipping rates for 1997-2000
The Alaska Supreme Court has affirmed a lower court ruling upholding a state regulatory agency's order directing owners of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline to cut in-state shipping rates and refund ex...

Conoco: ULSD facility won't be built 12/02/2007
State of Alaska's tax changes blamed; Revenue Commissioner Pat Galvin says facility wouldn't have qualified under 2006 PPT
A proposed upgrade to a North Slope topping plant to produce the ultra-low-sulfur diesel required to meet federal government standards of no more than 15 parts per million of sulfur has been canceled...

THE EXPLORERS 2007: Anadarko to drill first ANS gas well 11/18/2007
Has two rigs under contract, drilling 2 Brooks Range gas prospects, going back to finish Jacob's Ladder
Anadarko Petroleum and its partners in the Brooks Range Foothills, BG Alaska and Petro-Canada, plan to drill the first two natural gas exploration wells in northern Alaska this winter. Gas discoveries...

LNG plant key to stable Cook Inlet market 09/16/2007
Supporters say renewing Nikiski facility's federal export license for two years would be good for economy, industry and state
With what many believe is a natural gas shortage unfolding in Cook Inlet, renewing a license for a plant in Nikiski to ship liquefied natural gas to Asia seems at first glance a frivolous, if not fool...