December production down from November 01/10/2010
Alaska North Slope production drops 1.6%, month to month; Endicott, Milne, Alpine, Prudhoe Bay all have reduced volumes
Alaska North Slope crude oil production dropped 1.56 percent in December, averaging 688,765 barrels per day compared to the November average of 699,675 bpd. ANS crude oil production peaked in 1988 at...

Noah tells legislators time to choose 01/03/2010
Says Legislature funding too many options, confusing market; Irwin says information isn't in for standalone or AGIA line to market
Alaska legislators heard two different views in mid-December of what they should do about gas projects in the state: Harry Noah, the outgoing project manager for the state's in-state gas project, said...

Energy Committee lays out draft bills 12/27/2009
Policy bill includes energy efficiency; omnibus bill includes Energy Department to give cabinet-level focus to Alaska energy issues
The Alaska House Special Committee on Energy is preparing two bills for introduction in next year's session of the Legislature: a state energy policy bill and an energy omnibus bill which incorporates...

Exploration credits holding steady 12/20/2009
Proposed FY 2011 budget has $180M for tax credits, funds in-state and out-of-state gas, variety of other resource-related projects
The $10.5 billion budget proposed by Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell on Dec. 14 continues to fund many resource development projects started under the Palin administration, and creates several new projects,...

Obama picks Persily as new coordinator 12/13/2009
Veteran of state government, journalism will replace Pearce, lead small agency designed to streamline work on Alaska gas pipeline
President Obama on Dec. 9 announced he'll nominate Larry Persily of Juneau for the job of federal coordinator for Alaska natural gas transportation projects. If confirmed by the Senate, Persily will r...

Seeking answers 12/13/2009
15 lawmakers ask Parnell if state oil tax policy helps or hurts Alaska investment
A group of leading state legislators on Dec. 4 asked Gov. Sean Parnell for a raft of information they want to use to evaluate whether the 2007 oil tax reform is helping or hurting industry investment...

Conoco won't explore this year in Alaska 11/29/2009
Company focusing on preparing for Chukchi drilling in 2012; development drilling at Kuparuk, Alpine down; focus on maintenance
ConocoPhillips Alaska is changing its exploration focus and looking to the Chukchi Sea, Helene Harding, the company's vice president of North Slope operations and development, said Nov. 18. Harding t...

Purchased credits not subject to audit 11/22/2009
The Tax Division of the Alaska Department of Revenue said in a Nov. 13 advisory that third-party purchasers of oil and gas production tax credits are not subject to future audit adjustments. The divi...

State of Alaska applies for FERC waiver 11/22/2009
Change would permit state to negotiate link between royalty gas and shipping capacity, easing royalty in-value to in-kind switches
State of Alaska oil and gas leases allow the state to take its royalty share - usually 12.5 percent - in-kind or in-value. Which means the producer can sell the oil or gas for the state and pay the st...

ANS production back up from September 11/15/2009
Alaska North Slope production averaged 686,126 barrels per day in October, an increase of 1.4 percent from a September average of 676,664 bpd, according to data from the Alaska Department of Revenue's...

State says line on schedule, on budget 11/15/2009
Alaska commissioners of Natural Resources, Revenue, report to legislators on the state-backed TransCanada gas pipeline project
The AGIA-licensed Alaska Pipeline Project is on schedule and on budget, Alaska's commissioners of Revenue and Natural Resources said in a report to legislators released Oct. 31. The report, the secon...

Credits survive mergers 10/11/2009
State tax credit certificates don't go bad if oil explorer merges with another
State tax credit certificates don't go bad just because an oil and gas explorer merges with or sells to another company. That's the upshot of an "advisory bulletin" the Alaska Department of Revenue's...

Tax tussle rages 10/04/2009
Tens of millions at stake as lawyers argue trans-Alaska pipeline's value
The state, major oil companies and a trio of local governments are locked in an epic battle over how much the trans-Alaska oil pipeline is worth for property tax purposes. The parties recently complet...

Oil Patch Insider: Exxon not named No. 1 green company; Profit must top $340 a barrel before ACES takes 75% 09/13/2009
"Forbes names ExxonMobil green company of the year." That, or something very similar, is a recent headline on thousands of Web sites and blogs. Did we miss one of Forbes magazine's lists, I asked myse...

August production holds level with July 09/06/2009
Alaska North Slope crude oil production averaged 572,967 barrels per day in August, an increase of 4,179 bpd or 0.73 percent from the July average of 568,788 bpd. The largest increase, more than 332...

Risk to reward 08/09/2009
Exploration takes breather, but project development has North Slope buzzing
If you've been to Alaska's North Slope in the last few months you know that beds and trucks are in short supply and Deadhorse, the center of oilfield activity, looks like a boom town. "There are more...

Explorers trade tax credits for cash 07/19/2009
The State of Alaska paid $193 million in cash over the past year to oil and gas explorers in exchange for tax credits they had accrued for making investments in the state, the Alaska Department of Rev...

State revenue stream OK but 'fragile' 07/19/2009
Assuming strong oil prices, state will have plenty of cash for budgeting and can build its savings, revenue commissioner says
Prospects are decent for ample revenue to support state government and preserve savings through the year 2020, but Alaska's finances will remain "fragile" due to heavy dependence on oil production, st...

BP, Conoco, Exxon seek reversal of FERC decision by circuit court 07/05/2009
The three major owners of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline have appealed a federal agency's order to charge shippers lower interstate rates for pumping oil through the 800-mile line in 2007 and 2008 and...

Alyeska completes first summer shutdown 06/28/2009
Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. said June 22 that it safely restarted the trans-Alaska oil pipeline after the first scheduled maintenance shutdown of the summer. The line was restarted at about 4 p.m. J...

In-state gas feasibility study begins 06/21/2009
Legislators get update from Harry Noah, governor's in-state gas coordinator; contract let to engineering firm Michael Baker Engineers
Harry Noah, the governor's in-state gas coordinator, updated legislators June 5 on the work plan his office is doing on in-state natural gas. Noah said the underlying problem is that Alaska has "no c...

Exxon joins line 06/14/2009
Partners with TransCanada in Alaska gas line; state says AGIA not affected
TransCanada has a partner in the Alaska gas pipeline project, announcing June 11 that it has reached an agreement with ExxonMobil to work together on the project. The State of Alaska reviewed the agr...

State seeks contractor to vet tax credits 06/07/2009
The Alaska Department of Revenue is looking to hire a contractor to audit applications for oil and gas exploration tax credits. The contract will run about a year and will be worth up to $300,000, a M...

High Valdez inventory forces slope cuts 06/07/2009
Lack of tanker capacity could be one reason for 20% proration ordered by Alyeska Pipeline in mid-May, dropping production 16%
North Slope oil production unexpectedly tumbled for a couple of days in mid-May after Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. directed producers to prorate their production by 20 percent. Spokespersons for Alyes...

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...