BP seeks approval for new cost method 01/17/2010
Trans-Alaska oil pipeline carriers want FERC's help with rates; settlement efforts fail in long-running interstate tariffs dispute
Fed up with losing money, the company with the largest ownership stake in the trans-Alaska oil pipeline has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve a new method for allocating the co...

Point Thomson EIS public meetings set 01/17/2010
Five public meetings have been set on the Point Thomson project environmental impact statement. The proposed project is an oil and natural gas condensate extraction operation at Point Thomson on the N...

West Alpine on hold 01/17/2010
Without corps permit, ConocoPhillips can't start work in 2010-11 winter season
Work on ConocoPhillips Alaska's Alpine West or CD-5 satellite - the first satellite planned for development in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska - has been delayed by at least a year. The company...

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...

Greening of Oil: Technology that lessens impact makes good business sense 01/17/2010
North Slope Borough chooses to work with Shell versus joining latest lawsuit
The use of advanced technologies that reduce environmental impact and improve business efficiency distinguishes Shell in the oil and gas industry, Michael Macrander, Shell's Alaska lead scientist, tol...

Alaska approves spill plan for BP tankers 01/10/2010
Prevention and response outline covers backup tankers chartered to haul North Slope crude; state officials can't promise it'll work
Alaska officials have approved an oil spill prevention and response plan for extra tankers BP might charter to help haul North Slope crude out of the port of Valdez. The approval from the Department o...

Olgoonik, UIC to support Shell operations 01/10/2010
Shell is partnering with Olgoonik Corp., the Native village corporation for the Chukchi Sea coast village of Wainwright, and Ukpeaegvik Inupiat Corp., the Native village corporation for Barrow, to ope...

Savant completes ice road to Badami 01/10/2010
Savant Alaska has completed its 27.5-mile ice road from the eastern end of the North Slope road system to the Badami field, in preparation for the company's winter drilling program at Badami, Savant e...

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...

Oil Patch Insider: Gazprom CEO: U.S. firms lack knowledge for Arctic projects 01/10/2010
Alaskans need help from Russians with projects in the Arctic, the CEO of Russian energy giant Gazprom, Alexei Miller, has told Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, Gazprom said in a release Dec. 25. Mil...

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...

Mackenzie has liftoff; panel gives support to project 01/03/2010
The Mackenzie Gas Project has surfaced from its prolonged regulatory bog to receive strong backing from a Joint Review Panel which gave approval, along with caveats, based on its examination of the im...

State Beaufort Sea sale set for Feb. 24 12/27/2009
The Alaska Division of Oil and Gas said Dec. 20 that it will hold a Beaufort Sea areawide oil and gas lease sale Feb. 24. Bid opening will begin at 9 a.m. in Suite 240 at the Atwood Building, 550 W. 7...

Cook Inlet recovery act 12/27/2009
Alaska state Reps. Mike Hawker, R-Anchorage, and Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski, said Dec. 22 that they will introduce legislation promoting Cook Inlet natural gas exploration, production, storage and deliv...

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...

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...

Eastern slope opens for tundra travel 12/27/2009
The eastern coastal area of the North Slope opened for tundra travel at 8 a.m. Dec. 22. This is the second of the four North Slope areas to open; the western coastal area opened Dec. 17. The upper an...

Watchdog wants to zap tanker stowaways 12/27/2009
Prince William Sound group suggests treatment plant at Valdez to rid ballast water of potentially harmful nonindigenous organisms
An oil industry watchdog group is pushing for construction of a special treatment plant to kill invasive species in ballast water carried aboard oil tankers calling on Valdez to load Alaska North Slop...

State, feds investigate spill at North Slope's Lisburne field 12/27/2009
Ruptured pipe in BP-operated field releases estimated 45,828 gallons of oil and water; criminal and civil probes under way by Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, US EPA
State and federal authorities confirm they're conducting criminal and civil investigations into a pipeline rupture discovered in the BP-operated Lisburne oil field on Nov. 29. Weld Royal, spokeswoman...

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...

Lawyers debate BP motion 12/27/2009
Company fights Alaska's billion-dollar suit over '06 Prudhoe Bay pipeline leaks
A lawyer for BP on Dec. 21 urged a judge to dismiss much of the State of Alaska's lawsuit against the company seeking $1 billion or more in damages for the 2006 pipeline spills in the Prudhoe Bay oil...