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Oil patch insider: AIX loses 2 of 3 Kenai leases;
Wyo. aims to stop EV, protect O&G
Kay Cashman Petroleum News
On Jan. 18 Alaska’s Division of Oil and Gas issued an automatic termination notice to AIX Energy for failure to pay rental rates on two non-producing leases.
The two leases, ADL 93033and 393035, are part of the three-lease onshore Cook Inlet Kenai Loop field.
AIX’s payment on the two leases were due on or before Jan. 1, 2023.
The notice, which was signed by Division Director Dennis Nottingham, said the following: “Any lease on which there is no well capable of producing oil or gas in paying quantities terminates by operation of law if any rental due is not timely paid on or before each anniversary date of the lease, except where provisions of 11 AAC 83.620 are applicable.”
The notice also said the two leases automatically terminated in whole effective Jan. 1, 2023.
The commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources may reinstate a lease automatically terminated if the failure to pay rental was justifiable and not due to lack of reasonable diligence by the lessee, Nottingham said in the notice, adding: “Should you wish to request reinstatement of the lease, you must submit a statement and supporting evidence of the reasons for the failure to pay in accordance with 11 AAC 83.175(a). The Director of the Division of Oil and Gas must receive your request for reinstatement and the rental payment amount within 15 days of the receipt of this notice.”
The small independent acquired the onshore gas field on the Kenai Peninsula in late 2014, as part of the bankruptcy proceedings of Buccaneer Energy Ltd.
Through the end of March 2022, the Kenai Loop field produced 26 billion cubic feet of natural gas, 10,178 barrels of water, and 2,836 barrels of condensate, according to AIX.
Natural gas production peaked in early 2016 around 11.5 million cubic feet per day and declined sharply in late 2017. It currently produces some 3.6 mcf per day.
- KAY CASHMAN
Wyo. aims to stop EV sales, protect O&G Lawmakers in the state of Wyoming are crafting new legislation that would phase out the sale of new electric vehicles by 2035, which they say would help ensure the stability of the Cowboy State’s oil and gas industry, as well as help preserve the country’s limited critical minerals used in EV batteries.
The latest version of a joint Wyoming Senate and House resolution reads in part:
WHEREAS, oil and gas production has long been one of Wyoming’s proud and valued industries; and
WHEREAS, the oil and gas industry in Wyoming has created countless jobs and has contributed revenues to the state of Wyoming throughout the state’s history; and
WHEREAS, since its invention, the gas-powered vehicle has enabled the state’s industries and businesses to engage in commerce and transport goods and resources more efficiently throughout the country; and
WHEREAS, Wyoming’s vast stretches of highway, coupled with a lack of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, make the widespread use of electric vehicles impracticable for the state; and
WHEREAS, the batteries used in electric vehicles contain critical minerals whose domestic supply is limited and at risk for disruption; and
WHEREAS, the critical minerals used in electric batteries are not easily recyclable or disposable, meaning that municipal landfills in Wyoming and elsewhere will be required to develop practices to dispose of these minerals in a safe and responsible manner; and
WHEREAS, the expansion of electric vehicle charging stations in Wyoming and throughout the country necessary to support more electric vehicles will require massive amounts of new power generation in order to sustain the misadventure of electric vehicles; and
WHEREAS, the United States has consistently invested in the oil and gas industry to sustain gas-powered vehicles, and that investment has resulted in the continued employment of thousands of people in the oil and gas industry in Wyoming and throughout the country; and
WHEREAS, fossil fuels … will continue to be vital for transporting goods and people across Wyoming and the United States for years to come; and ….
WHEREAS, phasing out the sale of new electric vehicles in Wyoming by 2035 will ensure the stability of Wyoming’s oil and gas industry and will help preserve the country’s critical minerals for vital purposes.
Among other things, the members of the Wyoming Legislature asked that the secretary of the state of Wyoming “transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, each member of Wyoming’s congressional delegation, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the governor of Wyoming and the governor of California.”
- KAY CASHMAN
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