Alaska's Kuparuk field remains formidable 09/05/2010
Operator ConocoPhillips has extensive plans for the North Slope giant, ranked as the third largest producing U.S. oil field
Kuparuk is Prudhoe Bay's big little brother. Since its December 1981 startup, the Kuparuk River field on Alaska's central North Slope has produced 2.19 billion barrels of oil. That's an enormous volum...

Groups challenge EPA air quality permits for Shell Arctic drilling 05/09/2010
On May 3, perhaps to no one's surprise given the sometimes acrimonious debate around Shell's planned exploration drilling in Alaska's Beaufort and Chukchi seas, an appeal against the U.S. Environmenta...

Oil Patch Insider 04/25/2010
Sulfur recycling at Nikiski; Kvisle says North Slope, Mac gas needed; Cameron's 'Convenient Untruth'; gas, at last (for Homer)?
It might have happened two and a half years ago, but since it's a once-in-a-decade occurrence at the Nikiski, Alaska, facility, it's still news ... relatively. The first refinery in Alaska to invest in...

Petro Star Valdez plans ULSD upgrades 05/03/2009
Upgrades will allow the plant to produce ultra-low sulfur diesel and ultra-low sulfur kerosene in time for 2010 federal deadline
Petro Star Inc. will upgrade its Valdez refinery this year to produce low sulfur fuels. The upgrades involve constructing a new system for producing and storing ultra-low sulfur diesel and ultra-low s...

AK-WA Connection 2008: Foss Maritime earns environmental honors 11/30/2008
Coast Guard, EPA, others recognize Seattle-based company's outstanding efforts; unique northwest Alaska operation nears 20th year
Foss Maritime is earning an impressive collection of accolades for its outstanding corporate commitment to protecting the environment. The Seattle-based transportation company, which touts its longtim...

Bowles: Can't lose sight of prices 11/30/2008
Although ConocoPhillips does not release its annual budget until mid-December, ConocoPhillips Alaska President Jim Bowles reiterated plans for the company to drill two exploration wells in the Nationa...

BP breaks a billion 11/30/2008
Amid new taxes and sinking prices, BP plans $1.2 capex program for 2009
BP is budgeting $1.2 billion in capital expenditures for Alaska in 2009, a 33 percent increase from current year spending, according to the outgoing president of the local subsidiary. But the company...

Montana refinery expansion stalled 10/12/2008
Turmoil in financial markets has produced another casualty in the oil sands-related upgrading/refinery sector, with Connacher Oil and Gas shelving a $500 million plan to boost capacity at its Montana...

Conoco budgets $1B capex for 2008 03/02/2008
Maintains figure still doesn't account for ACES increases; capital and exploration spending in Alaska in 2007 was $622 million
After flirting with the figure late in 2007, ConocoPhillips once again signaled plans to spend more than $1 billion on capital projects and exploration in Alaska this year, but insisted the recent pro...

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...

Investment at risk 11/18/2007
Oil company execs says consequences dire if Alaska hikes taxes again
Investment in Alaska is in jeopardy if the state's oil production tax is overhauled in such a way that it significantly increases the State of Alaska's take, oil company executives told attendees of t...

Regulators to revise TAPS Quality Bank 07/22/2007
State commissioners, federal judges hear testimony in concurrent hearings on proposed cost adjustment to value of ANS crude
The Regulatory Commission of Alaska and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission wrapped up more than a week of concurrent hearings July 18 on how best to revise the processing cost adjustment to the heav...

Low sulfur diesel plant up to the task 07/15/2007
New $64M distillate desulfurization unit at Tesoro's Nikiski refinery can be expanded in event of increased demand in Alaska
With the startup at the end of May of the new $64 million distillate desulfurization unit at Tesoro's Nikiski refinery on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska now has an in-state source of low sulfur diesel. T...

'Gorilla' project unveiled 06/24/2007
U.S. oil refinery would be first in three decades; cost ranges from $8-to $10B
After months of speculating among farmers and community leaders near Elk Point, S.D., the so-called "Gorilla" project has finally been unmasked: a huge 400,000 barrel per day "green" oil refinery and...

LNG plant owners cry foul 06/10/2007
Conoco, Marathon: SC Alaska has lots of gas, utilities must fix winter deliverability
When Marathon and ConocoPhillips asked the U.S. Department of Energy in January to extend their export license for the Alaska LNG plant from its current 2009 expiration date to 2011, most people seeme...