Legislature gets AGIA 03/11/2007
First hearing in House OandG March 13; Alaska legislators support concept
The Alaska Legislature is now in possession of Gov. Sarah Palin's Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, with the first hearings scheduled on the bill in the House Special Committee on Oil and Gas March 13. ...

Cash, but no ownership 03/04/2007
Alaska gas pipeline act has state investing up to $500M for certification
Alaska would contribute to upfront costs of an Alaska natural gas pipeline project, but would not be an owner, Gov. Sarah Palin said Feb. 28 from Washington, D.C. The governor, in the nation's capita...

BP, Exxon stress risk, opportunities 02/25/2007
When the Alaska Senate and House Resource committees heard from the North Slope producers on gas pipeline issues in February, the presentations constituted something of a changing of the guard. Joe M...

AOGCC has Prudhoe gas off-take report 02/25/2007
Some data on Prudhoe Bay study will be available later in February; Point Thomson on hold; friendly audits under consideration
The primary technical efforts on the Prudhoe Bay gas off-take study have been completed, Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commissioner Cathy Foerster told Senate Resources Feb. 19. The study is requir...

Marushack: Alaska gas line behind the curve 02/18/2007
ConocoPhillips Alaska exec says markets need to know North Slope gas pipeline is coming because of competition from coal
It's not yet a train wreck, but "in my personal belief, we have gone from being in front of the curve to being in back of the curve right now," says Joe Marushack, ConocoPhillips Alaska vice president...

Oil Patch Insider 02/18/2007
TAPS starts first new electric pumps; Agrium writes off Nikiski; Palin slams Exxon; Petro-Canada not going to operate in NPR-A
The startup of the new electric pump system at pump station 9 of the trans-Alaska pipeline has started to bring to fruition the years of work involved in the strategic reconfiguration of the pipeline...

Irwin back at DNR 02/18/2007
Governor brings back former commissioner; Marty Rutherford to focus on gas
If more proof were needed that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is headed in a different direction on North Slope gas pipeline negotiations than that of the previous administration, Palin's appointment of Tom...

Mac process will help Alaska gas line 02/11/2007
Regulator says Canada's experience with its northern natural gas pipeline will make things go more smoothly for Alaska's pipeline
Scott Streiner says Canada's experience with the Mackenzie gas pipeline review has beenven enlightening for his government, and has paved the way for the Alaska gas line's environmental assessment (EA...

Giard defends RCA Enstar/Marathon decision 02/11/2007
In a statement issued on Feb. 2, Regulatory Commission of Alaska Chair Kate Giard spelled out the reasoning behind the commission's majority decision to reject Enstar Natural Gas Co.'s proposed new Co...

Oil Patch Insider 02/11/2007
Pipeliners Enbridge and TransCanada in all-out race to U.S.; Marushack, Konrad out of Alaska gas negotiations
Call it one-upmanship, or tit-for-tat of the battle of the giants. You won't catch spokesmen for either Enbridge or TransCanada using such terms. But whatever it is they're engaged in, it has all the...

Cook Inlet natural gas in a nutshell 02/04/2007
In mid-January the Institute of Social and Economic Research released a summary of the 2006 Southcentral Energy Forum that took place in Anchorage in September. The summary, sponsored by the Alaska O...

ANGDA goes local 02/04/2007
Alaska Gas Market System looks at 1.25 bcf line to Southcentral, Valdez
Hung out to dry during the Murkowski administration - which focused exclusively on a project by the major Prudhoe Bay owners to take Alaska North Slope gas to the Lower 48 - the Alaska Natural Gas Dev...

Exxon: Alaska gas can meet N.A. demand 01/28/2007
Richard Guerrant tells Meet Alaska that ExxonMobil, other Prudhoe owners, have financial strength, expertise, for gas project
Alaska and Mackenzie gas, increased LNG imports, base domestic production and unconventional gas will all be needed to meet a North American natural gas demand growing at about half a percent a year t...

Competition key to Palin gas line bill; Alaska Legislature waiting for administration's proposal 01/28/2007
As the 25th Alaska Legislature got started in mid-January, the North Slope gas pipeline project was a topic of high interest, one Gov. Sarah Palin discussed at some length in her state-of-the-state ad...

Export extension filed 01/28/2007
Nikiski plant partners Conoco, Marathon apply to extend LNG license 2 years
John Barnes, manager of Alaska production operations for Marathon Oil, broke the news at The Alliance Meet Alaska conference Jan. 19: Nikiski LNG plant co-owners Marathon and ConocoPhillips had filed...

Two gas pipeline entities will work together 01/21/2007
Alaska Gasline Port Authority, Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority, sign MOU; governor pleased with cooperation
The Alaska Gasline Port Authority and the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority have signed a formal agreement to work cooperatively on developing a natural gas pipeline. Officials with the two vot...

Mac backers still believers 01/21/2007
NWT minister: Mackenzie gas line economics strong; Imperial remains committed
Take a break from the relentless stream of doom and gloom. Two of those most closely connected to the Mackenzie Gas Project are not ready to cut and run. Northwest Territories Industry Minister Brenda...

Harbour slams RCA ruling 01/21/2007
Questions impact of abandoning precedent to use Henry Hub pricing for Inlet gas
On Jan. 10 Regulatory Commission of Alaska Commissioner Dave Harbour issued a second dissenting statement lambasting RCA's majority decision to reject the proposed Cook Inlet natural gas supply contr...

Competition the key 01/21/2007
Palin: new gas line bill's inducements will give Alaska 'skin in the game'
Alaska's new governor, Sarah Palin, says the state must ramp up resource development across Alaska, beef up oversight on the North Slope and end warehousing of the state's resources at Point Thomson....

AEDC releases 2006 workforce development report 01/07/2007
The Anchorage Economic Development Corp. has released its 2006 workforce development conference report, which includes action items that were generated during BP and Vision Anchorage's joint conferenc...

Mac explorers weary 01/07/2007
Independent group losing interest; Devon says may be 'simpler' to leave basin
Northwest Territories Industry Minister Brendan Bell has a direct warning for regulators weighing the Mackenzie Gas Project - if the current window to start developing Canada's Arctic natural gas star...

DNR says no to Exxon 12/31/2006
Rutherford: lessees had notice; 'poor policy' to certify nonexistent wells
The State of Alaska is continuing to indicate it will kick start development of the languishing Point Thomson field, with a denial of reconsideration of the commissioner's decision issued Dec. 27 by a...

What role for ANGDA under Palin? 12/24/2006
New governor asks agency to take another look at LNG project in voter initiative, but not pushing that as number one for state
Why hasn't the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority pursued an LNG project out of Valdez? Apparently it was a question Gov. Sarah Palin asked ANGDA CEO Harold Heinze, board Vice Chairman Scott He...

Judges query lawyers in FERC case regarding Alaska gas line regs 12/24/2006
Oral arguments in an appeal of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rules guiding development of the Alaska gas pipeline took twice as long in a federal appeals court Dec. 5 as the 30 minutes judges s...

Exxon, Conoco appeal 12/24/2006
Ask DNR for limited reconsideration of Pt. Thomson; lawsuit to be filed
When former Commissioner of Natural Resources Mike Menge terminated the Point Thomson unit in a Nov. 27 decision, he ruled there were no wells in the unit certified capable of producing in paying quan...