Responses split on RCA storage authority 01/17/2010
CINGS request for declaratory ruling draws response: CEA, MLandP say storage should be regulated utility; Aurora, Marathon say not
There is unanimity on one thing: Third-party natural gas storage is needed in Cook Inlet. That was a theme running through responses received by the Regulatory Commission of Alaska when it asked for...

Denali sets open season date 01/17/2010
Will submit package to FERC in April, conduct 90-day OS beginning in July
Both Alaska natural gas pipeline projects have now set dates for their open seasons, the quest for customers to commit to filling a proposed line with natural gas. Denali, a joint venture of BP and C...

Exxon wins a round 01/17/2010
For second time, judge disallows breakup of Alaska's Point Thomson unit
An Alaska judge on Jan. 11 dealt the state government a blow in its quest to wrest control of the rich Point Thomson oil and gas field from ExxonMobil and other leaseholders. Superior Court Judge Shar...

FERC sets Alaska open season workshop 01/10/2010
Staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will hold an open season pre-filing workshop at the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage Jan. 12 from 1-5 p.m. FERC said the workshop wi...

Ho-ho-hold the holidays 01/10/2010
Proponents of Mackenzie gas have tight deadline to respond to 679-page report
It landed Dec. 30 with a thud on desks in the high-rise petroleum towers of downtown Calgary, spoiling whatever hopes employees working on the Mackenzie Gas Project might have had to put their feet up...

Exxon's legal extra 01/10/2010
Just ahead of Point Thomson ruling, firm touts drilling progress; state objects
With a judge on the brink of issuing a key ruling in the battle for control of the rich Point Thomson oil and gas field, ExxonMobil has filed a last-minute statement from its Alaska chief in hopes of...

Corps working on EIS for standalone line 01/03/2010
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working on a draft environmental impact statement for the State of Alaska's proposed standalone in-state gas pipeline project. The corps is the lead federal agency;...

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...

Swenson named in-state gas line manager 01/03/2010
Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell has named Bob Swenson of Fairbanks to replace Harry Noah as the state's in-state gas line project manager. Noah announced his resignation earlier this year, citing the demands...

ANGDA resolves EIS project description 12/27/2009
Authority's board approves moving ahead with Beluga to Fairbanks gas line permitting work, exclusive agreement on propane project
The Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Land Management appear to have come to an agreement on a project description of ANGDA's Beluga-to-Fairb...

Our Arctic Neighbors: Gazprom's Yamal gas project revving up 12/27/2009
Production at the Bovanenkovskoe gas field on Russia's Yamal Peninsula might begin ahead of schedule, Gazprom executive Alexander Ananenkov said on a visit to the region. Construction of key productio...

Energy policy: a neglected stepchild? 12/27/2009
The Congressional focus on greenhouse gases and climate change is pushing U.S. energy policy into the background, lawyer says
While debate in the U.S. Congress centers on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, energy policy and U.S. energy security have become somewhat neglected, Tom Roberts, a member of Washington, D....

FERC OKs Oregon LNG port; state to appeal 12/27/2009
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved construction of a liquefied natural gas terminal at Coos Bay on the Oregon Coast. Appeals are planned by both the state administration and environ...

Enbridge warns of possible pipeline over-capacity 12/27/2009
Between TransCanada and Enbridge - Canada's two biggest energy pipeline companies - there's seldom a meeting of the minds. From the time they got caught up squabbling over rights to ship Alaska North...

Noah: standalone line work on schedule 12/20/2009
Parks Highway route selected because it is shorter, could cost less; gas conditioning in Cook Inlet, at PBU facilities, considered
Harry Noah, special manager of the in-state gas pipeline project, told Alaska legislators Dec. 16 that the standalone or bullet line - a project which would deliver gas just within Alaska, not to outs...

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,...

Speakers highlight oil's importance 12/13/2009
Goldsmith, Langland, Samuels urge more attention for oil industry if Alaska is to have vibrant economy, avoid state budget crisis as production declines in next few years
An economist, a banker and a politician sounded a familiar alarm Dec. 8 at a special luncheon of the Resource Development Council for Alaska: The state's vital oil production is running out, the indus...

ExxonMobil expects rising energy demand 12/13/2009
Asia's amazing growth over the last decade or so is likely to continue after a brief speed bump for the 2009 recession. That's the conclusion of ExxonMobil's newly released "Outlook for Energy: A View...

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...

LNG bulls running again 12/13/2009
Huge Asian contracts suggest confidence region's long-term expansion won't slow
Gloom and doom about Asia's long-term demand for liquefied natural gas are evaporating about as fast as the fuel itself does at room temperature. Big money deals are being signed between utilities and...

Unintended consequences? 12/13/2009
Balash: Without exemption cap-and-trade scheme could sink NS gas line
Without some form of exemption for the planned gas treatment plant at the Prudhoe Bay end of a future gas pipeline from Alaska's North Slope, current climate change legislation working its way through...

ANGDA, agencies, at odds on EIS process 12/06/2009
Corps of Engineers has issues with description of Beluga-to-Fairbanks gas line; BLM doesn't think ANGDA has authority to go north
Federal agencies are butting heads with the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority over its project description for the proposed Beluga-to-Fairbanks or B2F gas line and over its authority to permit...

Climate change legal impacts heat up 12/06/2009
U.S. legislation, regulation and litigation will all have far-reaching impacts on the Alaska oil and gas industry in coming years
In one sense it makes no difference who is right and who is wrong in the debate over the effect of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases on the Earth's climate: The legal fallout from a broad view...

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...

ANGDA advancing propane, gas co-op 11/22/2009
Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority asks for discussion of synergy with FNG, Alaska Gasline Port Authority LNG project
The board of directors of the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority got one meeting it's been asking for - a closed-door session with Gov. Sean Parnell - and asked for another, this one with the Co...