5-30&31-09 weekend news.   Alaska Gas Pipeline Blog.  S. 774 would increase the federal loan guarantees for the Alaska Gas Pipeline. The bill is in the Senate Finance Committee. It's worth keeping an eye on. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Byron Dorgan [D-ND] and would increase the Pipeline loan guarantee from $18 billion to $30 billion.       *       Canadian Press by Bill Weber.   The Canadian North needs its own free-trade agreement, says the editor of a new book on Arctic policy released this weekend.  Prominent economist Tom Courchene argues the myriad of boards, agencies and self-government councils created by treaty settlements have to learn to work together and sacrifice some of their individual power for the good of the region if northern development is to reach its potential.  ... The Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline proposal has also been delayed in the regulatory process, due in part to legal tangles over how different aboriginal groups should be represented at public hearings.         *       PNA.  CH2M Hill said May 8 that it had been named employer of the year by the State of Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The award was presented at the annual Building Alaska’s Future Apprenticeship Conference. CH2M Hill won the award in the electrical trade category for its innovative internship program.  “I think this is a tremendous award that recognizes what the people of various communities can achieve if given a chance and to the individuals at CH2M Hill who are committed to help them reach their goals of learning new skill sets in their employment efforts,“ said Charles O’Donnell, president and general manager of CH2M Hill Alaska. (Comment:  see our story on CH2M Hill's earlier accolade.  This company has never been unknown to Alaskans, but when it took over VECO assets and operations--along with a competent employee and loyal client base--it carefully coordinated those assets into what has become one of the most respected companies in Alaska and the country.  -dh)

5-29-09.  ADN.  Nearly one-third of the natural gas yet to be discovered in the world is north of the Arctic Circle and most of it is in Russian territory, according to a new analysis led by researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey. Alaska also is believed to hold a significant storehouse.     *      All Details.  The pipeline proposed by TransCanada would run 1,715 miles (2,760 km) from the North Slope to Calgary in Alberta. It is expected to cost US$26 billion and to be operational by 2018.[2]  The project developed by Denali – The Alaska Gas Pipeline LLC, a joint venture of BP and ConocoPhillips, foresees a pipeline with a capacity of 41 billion cubic meter (bcm) of natural gas per annum down the Alaska Highway across Alaska, through the Yukon and British Columbia into Alberta.[2][17] It also consists of a gas treatment plant on North Slope. 

5-28-09.  CBC.  The U.S. is looking at increasing loan guarantees, from $18 billion to $30 billion, for the proposed Alaska Highway pipeline project. If built, the 2,760-kilometre pipeline would run from Alaska's North Slope to Alberta, and to markets throughout North America. ... If the loan guarantee boost is approved, that could help get the Alaska pipeline launched ahead of the Mackenzie Valley pipeline, N.W.T. Industry Minister Bob McLeod told CBC News.     *     Pique News Magazine.  The B.C. Land Summit conference is an interdisciplinary summit organized by six professional organizations all of which share ties to land use in B.C.  Former Supreme Court Justice Thomas Berger also spoke on issues relating to the protection of the northern environment and its peoples.  "In the excitement about issues of Canada's sovereignty we should not allow ourselves to overlook the important issues related to northern environment and the future of the aboriginal people in the north," said Berger, who led the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry in the 1970s and acted as Conciliator, in 2005-2006 with respect to a series of disputes between the Government of Canada and the Government of Nunavut.

5-27-09.  A new, impressive link: The Alaska Energy Forum is a growing community of concerned citizens committed to two goals – achieving energy security for our country and holding our elected officials more accountable in shaping energy policies.    Also, try Prosperity Alaska for more economic and industry information.      *     FNM by Rena Delbridge (See our related story and commentary, below).  Alaskans have seen the end of cheap energy, said Rich Seifert, an energy specialist with the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Cooperative Extension Services.  ...  Although Gov. Sarah Palin’s administration said the state has an energy policy of developing local resources for efficiency while supporting renewables and conservation, the senate and house have committees tasked with crafting a policy for introduction at the beginning of the next legislative session in January.  ...  “I think all of us would really like to have our energy be reliable — that means 24-7,” said Frank Abegg, who chaired an Interior Issues Council committee charged with evaluating various natural gas pipeline options. “The really big project out there that would achieve the 5 percent renewables, which is an admirable goal, is the Susitna hydro dam.”  ... During the hearing, Sen. Joe Thomas heard a resounding cry from his constituents for renewable, sustainable, reasonably priced energy projects that make sense.  ...  Golden Valley Electric Association Vice President David Gardner asked lawmakers to consider an energy policy that incorporates utility-scale renewable resources, tax credits for renewables investments and programs enabling greater efficiency.  Sen. Lesil McGuire (NGP Photo, 4-14-09), chaired the hearing, which she said easily could have lasted a day with all of the testimony.  ...  “I’m just here to say ‘help,’” Fairbanks North Star Borough assemblywoman Tammie Wilson said. “We cannot keep doing things the way we’re doing. We need your help.”  Mike Craft wants help of another sort. He’s developed some wind turbines, but is hampered in expansion because of an inability to gain acceptable leases on state and federal land with the most likely resource.  For the short term, Sen. Joe Paskvan, D-Fairbanks, asked his colleagues to study a proposal to cap the cost of home heating fuel at $2.50 per gallon for Alaskans, with the state covering the difference directly to retailers if oil prices breech a set price.  ...  Legislators also toured Bernie Karl’s Chena Hot Springs Resort, the Cold Climate Housing Research Center and University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Center for Energy and Power. They explored various prototypes and research projects which could offer starting points for energy solutions in Alaska.      *       Calgary Herald, by Dina O'Meara.  Alberta and Canada need to become recognized world leaders in carbon capture and storage to garner respect from global energy players, and the United States in particular, as our southern neighbour moves rapidly toward stricter environmental legislation, an environmental expert said Tuesday.  The U.S. needs the technology to reduce its own emissions, and Canada can get on its radar screen by showing our expertise, said Robert Page, TransAlta professor of environmental management and sustainability at the University of Calgary.     *      Reuters via National Post.  Enbridge said a non-binding open season for the 486-kilometre line had received enough support from producers to warrant further development.  ... "Based on the strong indications of shipper support during the non-binding open season, we plan to move forward with further development of plans for this important and timely interstate natural gas pipeline," Pat Daniel, pictured, Enbridge's chief executive, said in a statement. Enbridge is also exploring the possibility of extending the pipeline to Florida Gas Transmission's station 10 near Wiggins, Miss. The proposed project is expected to be completed in early 2012 and could interconnect as many as 12 pipelines.    *    Earth Times.  Kern River Gas Transmission Company announced today it is holding a non-binding open season through June 18, 2009, to determine shipper interest in firm year-round transportation service from receipt points in Wyoming and Utah to delivery points into California.

5-26-09.  CBC.  The chief in Fort Good Hope, N.W.T., says he does not accept the results of a recent vote on an access and benefits agreement being proposed for the Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline, should it be built.  Chief Frank T'Seleie said less than 25 per cent of the band members in the Sahtu community voted in the recent referendum, which seeks approval of an agreement that would give pipeline proponents access to the community's traditional land.  (Commentary:  On August 5, 1975 Frank T'Seleie testified before the Berger Commission.  With a somewhat impassioned, somewhat enraged voice, he praised Justice Thomas Berger and damned 1970-era pipeline proponents (i.e. like AGTL's Bob Blair) for intending to destroy aboriginal lifestyles.  If he has a virtue it is consistency, for though 2009 pipeline proponents have adjusted plans sufficiently to attract a majority vote of his constituents, T'Seleie contests the vote anyway.  It's time T'Seleie accepted the rule of law which provides so many protections and benefits to all Canadians, including those who are privileged to call the NWT home.   One further hopes T'Seleie has not been a recipient of any Territorial or National subsidies over the years; recognizing that such largess can only come from taxpayers, including companies like those proposing the Mackenzie gas transmission system.    -dh)  (See The Muskokan Blog, an insightful book review of "Dockside Reading" by Janet Armstrong.  Gwen with the bruised throat, has driven the 3,000 miles from Toronto, because she “always wanted to see the north.” Hovering in the background, almost like another character, is the Berger inquiry into the potential impact of a gas pipeline through the Mackenzie Valley.)

5-23 to 25-09 Memorial Day Weekend News.  FNM.  The North Pole Community Chamber of Commerce is having its quarterly luncheon from noon to 1:15 p.m. Thursday at Elf’s Den Restaurant.  The guest speaker will be Dave MacDowell (NGP Photo), director of media and public relations for Denali — the Alaska Gas Pipeline, who will present his company’s plans for a large-diameter gas line from Prudhoe Bay and through North Pole. In addition, Chris Harper, Internet coordinator from the Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau, will discuss how the Internet can help business marketing.     *       AP via ADN.  FAIRBANKS -- State senators on energy committees will conduct hearings next week in Interior Alaska, part of a plan to create an Alaska energy policy.  ...  "Ultimately, what we want is a plan that will provide affordable energy for all Alaskans, with an emphasis on renewables and conservation," said Sen. Bill Wielechowski (State Photo) co-chairman of the Senate Resources Committee and a member of the Special Committee on Energy.  Sen. Lesil McGuire, chairwoman of the energy committee, said the urgent need for long-term solutions in many communities is directing a focus on an energy plan. "Frankly, energy policy in the past 50 years has been a patchwork," McGuire said.   (Commentary:  The Governor is running in one direction, searching for solutions to Alaska's in-state energy needs.   Well-intentioned Members of the Legislature are searching in other directions, but utility services for local areas should be determined by local leaders, their utilities and the markets with support--not opposition--from the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (See 5-22-09 story below).  Wielechowski's working for "affordable energy for all Alaskans," means redistributing the State's dwindling wealth to subsidize energy in different regions of the state.  That foolish and unilateral errand could provide legislators with per diem and travel opportunity all year long, except for the few months spent in Session.  McGuire's use of the code words, "urgent need for long-term solutions" likewise calls for more bureaucratic involvement, expenditure of public funds and full employment opportunity for traveling legislators and staff.  Their make-work activity could produce short-term popularity but it is not well coordinated with the Governor's work and can produce no good, lasting result.  Popularity and government interference don't make the markets perform--free market participants investing their own money do.  The Alaska Seafood International-Matanuska Maid creators taught us all that lesson the hard way. The current reality is that people who want to enjoy the benefits of living a Shangri-La like existence in beautiful, wilderness Alaska, should not expect other corporate and private citizens to subsidize them.  I respect the cultural, recreational, geographical and familial desires of citizens to live in remote areas, but my respect turns to disappointment should those individuals attempt through their politicians to expropriate OPM (Other People's Money) to live that lifestyle.  Isn't it good to respect self reliance?  Why should we not be correct to reject subsidy and entitlement absent the most compelling justifications?  The energy challenges of local citizens can be overcome in three ways.  First: Citizens and their utilities and local leaders should assume adult responsibility for their own destinies.  Second: The Regulatory Commission of Alaska should reasonably approve gas supply and power supply agreements as negotiated, consistent with their pre-2006 precedent.  Third: Ratepayers should replace their utility board members and CEOs who do not produce for them long term certainty of supply at the most reasonable possible cost.  Here's the thing: When legislators get on their horses, sally forth on traveling junkets and give us expectations that they will provide "long term solutions" of "affordable energy for all Alaskans", where is the incentive for utilities and and local governments to be responsible for their own challenges?  Importantly, when local utilities and leaders fail to take responsibility, where will their ratepayers be when their legislative knights on white horses lose interest, die or fail to win re-election?  Lastly, if the Legislature thinks it has all kinds of extra money laying around to create an artificial, political energy apparatus, maybe it ought instead to think about using that money to forward fund education, or, pay off the billions of dollars of our Personnel Retirement System's unfunded liability -dh  See newer story above.)

5-22-09.  PNA by Alan Bailey.  In the latest twist in this particular regulatory saga the Regulatory Commission of Alaska decided at its May 8 public meeting to open a regulations docket that will address a number of questions relating to the commission’s role in protecting the interests of gas and electricity consumers, who depend on ever-tightening gas supplies from the Cook Inlet basin, delivered by gas producers to gas and electricity utilities.  “We started with a scoping document that dealt with primarily pricing interests of public utility gas sales contracts and trying to establish some certainty about the pricing terms of those contracts,” said Commissioner Janis Wilson. “But … the comments were much broader. … I believe that my initial approach was probably not broad enough and that there are questions we need to look at either before or along with the narrow question that we asked.”  ...  Commissioner Kate Giard (NGP Photo-l, 6-07) concurred with Wilson’s approach.  ... “There is reason to believe that the commission has shifted its standards upon which it decides whether and how to approve contracts,” Assistant Attorney General Robert Stoller  said. And there’s reason to believe that the process has been dysfunctional, he said. ... “We could … use much of our two-year timeframe for our docket, flushing out and getting comments … on our jurisdiction … without benefit of actually crafting or trying to craft regulations,” Commissioner Tony Price said. ... “We don’t have two years of time for the commission to make sure that adequate gas-supply agreements are in place for utilities,” Chairman Bob Pickett said. “… I do believe there are very serious questions concerning the commission’s standard of review....    *      PNA.  RCA backs off storage regulation.     *     Blue Oregon, by Jonathan Poisner.  Since Washingtonians and Californians have rejected efforts to site LNG terminals and pipelines in their states, dealers of fossil fuels have focused on Oregon, hoping to take advantage of us as a weak link.  (Comment:  Actually, Jonathan, I would think of you more as a STRONG LINK if you supported energy projects like this.  It takes real strength to confront the politically correct but improper attitude that energy users should oppose free enterprise, unsubsidized energy projects even before their sponsors complete the gauntlet of our rigorous permitting processes, otherwise known as the 'rule of law'.  Yes, it defies reality and logic for Oregonians to use fossil energy while refusing to explore for or produce it or allow its entry.  That attitude will get you a crippled government, eventually, unable to pay its bills, maintain its currency, educate its children or defend itself against the country's enemies.  The energy companies are the very bedrock of American wealth and for over a hundred years our country has moved smartly ahead of its less enlightened competition by 1) cultivating freedom as we protected our Constitution and 2) by producing our own reasonably priced and abundant energy.  Now, your allies are assaulting both of these traditional principles.  You are misguided and I urge you and your readers to carefully consider the unhappy yet unavoidable malaise and then demise to which your attitude and actions would lead us.   -dh)

5-21-09.   Calgary Herald by Shaun Polczer.  Federal Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt (Calgary Herald Photo) on Wednesday called for wholesale changes to speed the approvals process for new pipelines to carry oil and natural gas.  Speaking to the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association in Calgary, Raitt said merely tinkering with the regulatory framework is not enough to ensure that pipelines are built fast enough to meet surging demand for Canadian energy, both at home and in export markets such as the United States.      *       Google News - Canadian Press.  TransCanada Corp. (TSX:TRP) has agreed to sell its North Baja pipeline in the U.S. southwestern states to partner TC PipeLines LP (NASDAQ: TCLP) for US$395 million in cash and stock, increasing its stake in the partnership to 42.6 per cent.    *     Calgary Herald.  Canada's largest pipeline company, said it will assess shipper interest in a possible line to transport natural gas from the Haynesville shale region in Texas to Louisiana.    *     Energy Daily.  US Energy Secretary Steven Chu pledged Tuesday the administration would pursue "clean coal" technology, even as it focuses research on alternatives such as wind and solar.     Energy Daily.  Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg met Tuesday for talks on the Arctic, amid growing international interest in the region's vast energy resources.     *     Terra Daily.  US lawmakers on Monday kicked off formal debate on legislation creating a "cap and trade" system for curbing pollution blamed for global warming amid stiff Republican opposition.  US President Barack Obama's Democratic allies, who control the Senate and House of Representatives, have said they want to have a bill ready to lend momentum to December global climate change talks in Copenhagen.  The House Energy and Commerce Committee opened what could be a tough week of debate on the Democratic proposal, with Republicans expected to offer as many as 450 amendments that could throw a wrench in the legislative gears.

5-20-09.  See updated 5-19 story below: "Marathon Message to Anchorage Chamber!"     *    Associated Press, by  ALI AKBAR DAREINI.  President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran test-fired a new advanced missile Wednesday with a range of about 1,200 miles, far enough to strike Israel and southeastern Europe.   Commentary.  "Get Ready."  -dh    *     Calgary Herald Pipeline Blog, by Lisa Schmidt.  With the release of a new landmark study about Alberta's oilsands, energy consultancy IHS CERA outlines a trio of scenarios to 2035.  Chairman Daniel Yergin, Pulitzer-winning author of The Prize, a global oil history, said scenarios are a useful way to look at the future and see possible turning points. And sometimes what seems to be the most unlikely forecast becomes the most accurate, he adds.  He noted in 2006 the group outlined three scenarios for the energy sector:   "There was Asian Phoenix, which was high growth," he said in an interview with the Herald last week. "One was Break Point -- oil reaching $150 a barrel, which seemed absurd, and we did Global Fissures which was about a deep recession."  "At that point people said recessions have been abolished, we’re never going to have one again," said Yergin.  "What I would bet is you won’t have to see 2035 to see these scenarios working out," he added.  In the new study released this week, Growth in the Canadian Oil Sands, the group puts forward the following scenarios and respective production forecasts. Current production is around 1.3 million barrels a day.  New Social Order imagines a world in which governments fully embrace clean energy, after the 2008 recession leads to oil supply disruptions and spiking oil prices. Strong policies to limit greenhouse gas emissions and encourage the development of alternative energy. Oilsands production grows initially in response to prices, but then stagnates as costs rise, demand falls and environmental rules tighten. Technology is key to development of alternative energy, but also reducing emissions in oilsands. (3 million barrels/day).  Under the Barreling Ahead Scenario, Canada becomes one of the biggest petroleum producers by 2035, after a "great recovery" sparks strong oil demand and prices. This scenario results in the greatest environmental challenges from the rapid rate of growth. (6.3 million barrels /day).  In the Deep Freeze, oilsands development stalls amid a "great stagnation" that follows the current recession, leading to sluggish oil demand growth and weak oil prices. New oilsands projects are mothballed, and production eventually grows through the expansion of existing facilities. (2.3 million barrels/day)

5-19-09.   Marathon Oil Corporation has been exploring for and developing natural gas in Alaska for more than 55 years. Last year, the gas company drilled nine new production wells in the Cook Inlet region in the Beaver Creek, Ninilchik and Kenai Gas fields.  Commentary: At Monday's Anchorage Chamber of Commerce meeting, Carrie Lockhart, Marathon's Alaska production manager (NGP Photo), discussed the overall reliability of natural gas in Cook Inlet and what is being done to meet Alaska’s demand.  She concluded a candid and detailed presentation with a call for cooperation: "Decades of abundant supply has driven behaviors, created expectations, and perhaps even influenced the ability to adapt. Maintaining status quo will result in unintended and undesirable consequences in the not too distant future. Peak deliverability is declining and market demand continues to be destroyed.  Stabilizing and maintaining supply and reliability will not be possible without vision, commitment, cooperation, collaboration, process efficiencies, and appropriate action by all. It is not an obligation by one party nor can any one party solve the problem. It is a shared supply and demand responsibility."  Consumers, Utility leaders and Members of the Legislature and Administration should heed these words.  While coming from an important stakeholder in the Cook Inlet natural gas discussions, Lockhart's message addresses the 'special interests' of all Alaskans, not just those who work for her company.  -dh  (Click for slide presentation, script)       *        DOE.  A comprehensive publication detailing the oil-rich fields of Utah and nearby states, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, can now provide petroleum companies and related service providers with the geologic, geographic, and engineering data needed to tap into these resources.     *       Scandinavian Oil and Gas.   Gazprom Chairman Alexey Miller and Eni CEO Paolo Scaroni signed, in the presence of Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a new understanding on the South Stream project. Eni and Enel also signed an agreement to assign Gazprom 51% of SeverEnergia and the development of the Siberian fields.  The understanding on South Stream will allow to increase the transport capacity from 31 to 47 billion cubic meters per year.  Furthermore, Eni and Gazprom confirmed their full commitment to develop the project, given its strategic relevance to provide, through a new route, significant contribution to secure direct gas supplies to Europe.

5-18-09.  ADN OpEd by Governor Sarah Palin (NGP Photo-r, 5-11-09).  Ensuring that Alaskans have affordable energy for decades to come is one of the most important jobs on my desk right now. To succeed, the state needs to look at every possible option and make sure Alaskans have all the information to make the right decisions.         *        Alaska Standard by Rebecca Logan.  7,900, 70 and $4-11: each of these numbers paints a picture that has led the six Railbelt Utilities (ML&P, Chugach Electric, Golden Valley Electric, Matanuska Electric, Seward and Homer Electric) to form a joint task force that will work together over the legislative interim to address the recommended change in organizational structure for the utilities.     *     Guardian, by Simon Webb, SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates, May 17 (Reuters) - A new bloc of European and Arab energy firms unveiled an $8 billion plan on Sunday to pump enough gas from Iraq's Kurdistan to kick start the Nabucco pipeline project and reduce Europe's reliance on Russia.     *     Bloomberg, by Doug Alexander.  A second explosion has targeted an EnCana Corp. natural-gas pipeline in British Columbia, CBC News reported.     *      Calgary Herald, Shell Job.  Shell Trading Services Company is currently seeking an Pipeline Operations Analyst - Trading, for their Calgary, AB location.  Please note this position is 40 hours per week, 4 days per week – 10 hours per day. The schedule is Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

5-16 & 17-09.   Alliance Newsletter by Paul Laird (NGP Photo-r), features reports on the Secretary Ken Salazar's visit, status of Point Thomson, an AGIA accounting program, Parker Drilling's 'new' office, along with other member and job news.    *       CH2M Hill Job:  The Lead Cost Engineer will be assigned to the Denali-The Alaska Gas Pipeline.    *     Alaska Gas Pipeline Blog: Denali Project Update (LINK).     *      Williwaw, by Larry Wood: Alaska has just been relegated to the back burner where any natural gas pipeline to the Lower 48 is concerned.     *       Commentary:  From International Trade Expert, Chuck Becker (NGP Photo-l), we have this Stratfor Intelligence item that surely impacts financial planning for northern gas pipeline projects and emphasizes the need for producing jurisdictions to be as competitive as possible.  Translation: elected leaders should tax and regulate production reasonably--only to the degree absolutely required to satisfy basic budgetary and public interest requirements.  If exuberant taxation and regulation replaces reasonable and wise policy administration, elected leaders can, in very few annual investment cycles, cede their prosperity to their wiser and more reasonable competitor jurisdictions.  -dh:      ... But in 2006 the picture changed. A combination of high prices and cheap credit provided ample incentive to increase production. U.S. natural gas wellhead prices rose by 274 percent from 2002 to 2008. At the same time, a freewheeling finance sector made it possible to upgrade equipment and facilities and undertake new exploration and drilling projects. Natural gas production expanded by 4 percent in 2007 compared to 2006 and by 6 percent again in 2008, reaching a new record of 736.7 billion cubic meters. As a result, imports in 2008 fell to their lowest level since 1997, and imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) fell by 54 percent from the previous year. New field discoveries ticked up in 2005 and 2007, and reserves were upgraded by 12.6 percent to 6.73 trillion cubic meters.     *     Petroleum News Alaska, by Eric Lidji (Photo-r).  Chugach Electric Association filed a supply contract with state regulators on May 12 to buy some 66 billion cubic feet of gas from ConocoPhillips over the next seven years.     *     AJOC by Larry Wood.  Alaska has just been relegated to the back burner where any natural gas pipeline to the Lower 48 is concerned.  The Palin administration and its predecessors bet the bank on a 4 billion to 4.5 billion cubic foot per day pipeline that will never be built. AGIA (the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act) is now a dead end.  What happened? Some 200 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in shale deposits is now being developed in northern Louisiana.          *     Calgary Herald.  Canadian National Railways thinks tanker cars hauling bitumen could replace some proposed pipelines in Alberta, saving oil firms billions of dollars while helping smaller in-situ oilsands projects south of Fort McMurray get their product to market.     *     KCI Investing.  Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov subsequently backed off the document and Mr. Patrushev’s commentary. Following the close of the Arctic Council meeting in late April, Mr. Lavrov explained that Russian had no intention of boosting its military presence in the Arctic, and that the moves his government was taking were based on strengthening the potential of the coast guard. These moves are necessary because the melting ice cap is leading to more human activity in the region. He also noted that existing laws could resolve disputes over access to resources.    *   CBC.  Dana Bush, a spokeswoman for the Alberta Native Plant Council, applauds what Tannas has done to restore rough fescue, but worries that companies will request to drill in the five per cent of wild fescue remaining in the province, offering to replant his product.

5-15-09.  Commentary:  Early yesterday morning, Alaska Support Industry Alliance Members completed their last bi-weekly meeting of the 'winter season'; next Thursday will be the last seasonal meeting of the Resource Development Council for Alaska.  Both groups meet at Anchorage's Petroleum Club--every other week on alternate Thursdays--for programs filled with useful information and supplemented with friendly, industry networking.  Alaska Miners Association members meet weekly, Fridays, at Denny's on Northern Lights in Anchorage.  All supporters of Alaska's economy should enthusiastically support all  three of these important organizations, in addition to the support we should all provide to our local chambers of commerce and community non-profit organizations.  I'll be headed off to the Miners meeting at about 6:30 a.m.!

Yesterday morning, Alliance President Jeanine Saint John (NGP Photo, 4-14-09), asked famed Alaskan author, Tom Brennan (NGP Photo-below), to take the podium.   A great raconteur and former co-worker of mine at Atlantic Richfield Company, Brennan briefed the jovial audience on his newest of four books, titled, "Snowflake Rebellion".  He revealed the origin of the book.  It all began in 1993 while attending an Alliance breakfast when Senator Ted Stevens was the speaker.   Stevens was conveying to Alliance members the challenges he faced with Congress and the Federal Administration in the eternal search for approval of ANWR exploration and development.  The fellow across the table from Brennan (He said he didn't remember who but it could have been any one of us....), said, "Why don't we just tell the bastards to go to hell!"   Brennan said from that moment on he didn't hear another word the good Senator said.  His mind became fixed on the question, "What if we really did tell the FEDS to go to....?".  The result of his fixation that day at the Alliance became, "Snowflake Rebellion," a secession scenario novel true to the genre of, "The Mouse that Roared".  I bought a copy and my old friend autographed it for me.  I'm sure he'd do the same for you.

As we parted, I said, "Tom, today Shell briefed us on the Northern Economics-ISER report projecting economic effects on Alaska if the OCS is developed.  How about a book that looks at Alaska (and America as a whole) with and without OCS, with and without ANWR, with and without the Alaska Gas Pipeline?"   We both smiled at such rhetorical nonsense and, as I returned to my computer here, Tom headed his car down the Seward Highway toward a rendezvous with King Salmon.

Pete Slaiby (NGP Photo-r) is the articulate Alaska manager for Shell Oil and has given a number of community presentations, as has his colleague and Shell's asset manager, Rick Fox.  Yesterday, Slaiby was accompanied by Patrick Burden and Dr. Scott Goldsmith (NGP Photo, 4-20-09, Burden-r)  Audio Coming.   Slaiby briefed Alliance members on Shell's latest plans for its work in the State, emphasizing the importance Alaskans should place on obtaining state revenue sharing from Federal leases as several OCS-adjacent states in the Gulf of Mexico region have done.  Burden and Goldsmith described results of their independent study, funded by Shell, to illustrate the social and economic benefits projected to affect Alaska over a 50 year period if the Federal government opens three major Alaska OCS areas to oil and gas leasing.  The three areas are the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas and North Aleutian Shelf.  The study 'assumed' for Beaufort, development of seven fields using seven platforms to produce 6.3 Bbo and 7Tcf of gas; for Chukchi, four fields, four platforms producing 6.2 Bbo and 7.8 Tcf of gas; and for the North Aleutian Shelf, two fields, with two platforms producing 1.3 Bbo and 5.1 Tcf of gas.  The total direct and indirect peak employment occurring in the 2040 timeframe would be in the range of 50,000.   An executive summary of the study, "Economic Analysis of Future Offshore Oil and Gas Development," may be downloaded here, or seen here.

Yesterday's presentation occurred in wake of court decisions which have delayed or stopped large wealth producing domestic exploration and development projects in Alaska and elsewhere.  The court decisions flow largely from complaints of environmental and Alaska North Slope Native special interest groups.  Meanwhile, in our deepening economic crisis, America continues to send more and more of our national treasure to foreign regimes that happily produce their oil and gas for us under less restrictive environmental regulations while gaining for themselves hundreds of thousands of jobs at America's expense. 

As Slaiby, Burden and Goldsmith spoke yesterday morning, I remembered Governor Sheffield's words a week ago.  Such words of prophesy hang in the air to be acted on by our leaders now or lamented by our successors in years to come.   How sad and suicidal is it that the wealth producers, who enable American prosperity and defense of country, are being blind sighted, attacked, demonized and decimated--little-by-little--by jackal-like extremists who owe their temporal freedom and lifestyles to those whose destruction they seek!  

Is the fictional Snowflake Rebellion so far fetched a concept, after all?     -dh

5-14-09.   AOGA MEETING AUDIO (coming).   Yesterday, the Alaska Oil and Gas Association sponsored its annual community luncheon briefing at the Sheraton Anchorage Hotel.  More reports, photos coming.....  (NGP Photo: Alaska Senate President Gary Stevens and Representative Bob Lynn enjoying pre-luncheon conversations.)     *       CNN VIDEO.  "If the State of Alaska were a national oil company it would be in the top ten even when counting only the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) resource potential", said David Holt, President of Consumer Energy Alliance  (Disclosure: your author serves on the CEA advisory board).  CNN interviewed Holt in conjunction with 'Energy Day', an event sponsored in the Capitol Building by CEA to better educate Members of Congress and their staffs on consumer perspectives that all of America's energy potential should be mobilized in support of economic rejuvenation, jobs creation, reasonable energy prices and national security.  (See the Ron Barks photos and video as a reminder for what wealth and job creation means to citizens) -dh  *     Next Anchorage Chamber of Commerce Monday Forum.  Marathon Oil Corporation has been exploring for and developing natural gas in Alaska for more than 55 years. Last year, the gas company drilled nine new production wells in the Cook Inlet region in the Beaver Creek, Ninilchik and Kenai Gas fields.  Carrie Lockhart, Marathon's Alaska production manager (NGP Photo), will be discussing the overall reliability of natural gas in Cook Inlet and what is being done to meet Alaska’s demand. RSVP today.     *      CBC.   Organizers of an annual petroleum show in Inuvik, N.W.T., are trying to stay upbeat despite gloomy news from the industry, including MGM Energy's postponement of drilling plans as plans for the Mackenzie Valley pipeline remain uncertain.  Attendance at the ninth annual Inuvik Petroleum Show, slated for June 17-18, is expected to be down by 35 per cent this year, organizers say.  "Whereas companies normally may send 10 delegates from one organization, we're seeing maybe five or three," Jackie Challis, tourism coordinator with the Town of Inuvik, told CBC News on Tuesday.

5-13-09.     IOGCC.  Yesterday, Governor Sarah Palin (NGP Photo) addressed the visiting Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, the professional regulatory association to which she belonged when she served as a commissioner on the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.  Last year, she served as Chairman of the IOGCC and invited members to Alaska this week for their annual spring meeting.  Palin spent an hour after the noon luncheon she addressed, signing autographs and posing for photos with IOGCC colleagues and friends (Photo, with Mike Smith, IOGCC Executive Director).  Prior to the luncheon meeting, Members heard from ...more reports/photos/audio/video coming later this week....     CBC.  A recent decision by MGM Energy to stop exploring for natural gas in the Mackenzie Delta is already taking its toll on some businesses in the Northwest Territories that relied on the company's work.  Calgary-based MGM announced May 6 that it has halted drilling in the area, as there is too much uncertainty right now about whether the Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline will actually be built.  MGM originally had an agreement with Chevron and BP to drill three wells each winter until spring 2010. Now, the drilling of those last three wells has been put on hold for at least one year while key decisions are made on whether the pipeline will proceed.  MGM had been the last company still exploring for natural gas in the Mackenzie Delta. The work was worth tens of millions of dollars to area businesses like Rob Adams' trucking company in Inuvik, N.W.T.     *     FNM, by Rena Delbridge.  State legislators secured a commitment for regular progress reports from two projects proposing large-diameter natural gas pipelines between the North Slope and Lower 48 markets.  The first of those reports from TransCanada (link) and Denali (link) — The Alaska Gas Pipeline have been submitted to the Legislature and can be viewed on the News-Miner’s Web site at www.newsminer.com.  Rep. Jay Ramras, R-Fairbanks, said the reports will provide the hard data lawmakers need to support his call to back the state out of its deal with TransCanada under the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act.  Ramras and Rep. Craig Johnson,  R-Anchorage, filed legislation this year calling for a re-evaluation of Alaska’s  $500 million commitment....    *     9:40 A.M. EST.  SPECIAL FROM ROBERT DILLON, SENATOR MURKOWSKI'S OFFICE:  Good morning. Hope everyone has had their coffee and is ready for an interesting day in the Senate. We have a lot on our plate this morning. The Majority Leader has scheduled a cloture vote on David Hayes to be deputy secretary of the Interior at 10:40 this morning. We are waiting to see whether Reid is determined to go forward with the vote. The Obama administration has asked him to postpone so that they can have more time to work out an agreement with Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Bob Bennett, R-Utah, who have a hold on Hayes' confirmation. Sen. Murkowski would like to see the vote put off as well. There's no reason to have a showdown here on the Senate floor - especially since Democrats don't seem to have the magic 60 votes. What Sens. Murkowski and Bennett want are honest answers to their questions about the Department of the Interior's management of federal land in the West, especially in relation to oil and gas development. Reid's spokesman may have called their concerns "petty" but at issue here is the minority's right to have legitimate questions answered by the administration.  If the cloture vote goes ahead, the planned Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee markup on transmission will begin at 11 a.m. There are about 15 amendments on transmission left to be cleared. It is highly unlikely that we will deal with anything besides the nominations and transmission at the markup today. That means probably no nuclear or cybersecurity.  PS: Looks like we're going to a vote. Sens. Bennett and Murkowski are on their way to the floor to speak. Then last count I had says Reid doesn't have 60. He's speaking on the floor now.

5-12-09.  Over 150 Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) Members and Delegates Gather in Anchorage Yesterday.  Today, Governor Sarah Palin is Expected to Address Members as the 2009 Host Governor.  (Photos: Marathon's Alaska Production Manager, Carri Lockhart; Questar's Government Affairs Manager, Shane Schulz; and, Alan Pretzet, Oil and Gas Journal, lower-r.)     *     Little Chicago - Northwest Territories.  The Company is the operator and largest working interest owner of the 201,160 acre Exploration License 413 ("EL 413") in the Mackenzie River Valley centered along the planned Mackenzie Valley Pipeline.    *      ADN by Erika Boldtad, OCS NEWS!.  The Interior Department is expected to ask a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., to clarify what it meant when it determined the agency failed to adequately consider the effect of an offshore oil and gas leasing program in Alaska.  ...  A spokeswoman for Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, said that the Interior Department is expected to ask for clarification on whether leases that have already been sold must be reconsidered -- or whether it applies simply to unsold but planned-for lease sales.  ...  Last week, Begich, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., sent a letter asking the Interior Department to request the clarification of the court.  "The court's overly broad decision put too many leases in jeopardy," Begich said in a statement. "We need to get the leasing program back on track to ensure Alaska projects move forward, give clear expectations to our oil and gas industry and continue meeting America's energy needs."  Shell, Conoco Phillips and other oil companies last year paid more than $2 billion for leases in the Chukchi Sea off the northwest coast.

5-11-09.  PNA.  The big question is price when it comes to utility natural gas from Alaska’s Cook Inlet: High prices hit the pocketbooks of Southcentral Alaska consumers, while low prices deter gas producers from finding and developing new gas reserves.  And sitting in the middle of the tug-of-war between these opposing gas supply perspectives, while faced with mounting concern over the ability of current gas production from the Cook Inlet to flow utility gas fast enough to meet consumer demand during the depths of the winter, the Regulatory Commission of Alaska has reached something of a gas price impasse, having rejected the pricing in all utility gas supply contracts presented for approval since 2005.   (Comment:  This writer dissented twice, in late 2006 and early 2007, when the majority of commissioners broke with its well-established practice of not unreasonably disapproving gas supply contracts.  The majority substituted its judgment for that of the negotiating parties in an Enstar-Marathon gas supply contract known as APL-5, and again late last year.  My dissents generally predicted the very bad effects the rejection would have on exploration incentives, the sanctity of contracts, on the security of gas supply for Southcentral Alaska ratepayers, and even on the price ratepayers could be paying in this timeframe.  Now  the utilities are seeking legislative support for establishing a gas supply entity to provide them with natural gas for home heating and electric power.  This presents another consequence of the Commission's unwise disapproval of utility gas supply agreements: running into a regulatory brick wall, utilities are now left with but one option for supplying their customers, the option of obtaining support from Alaska's government.  Students of the current, unnecessary energy crisis can find further links and references here.  -dh)     *     Oil Daily--500 new oil field jobs but not in the U.S. or Canada.  The Norwegian government said on Friday it had given the go-ahead for the first offshore oil field in the Barents Sea, the Arctic water lying just off the Scandinavian country's northern tip.   The project, known as Goliat, is estimated to cost about 28 billion kroner (3.2 billion euros, 4.2 billion dollars).      *     PR-Net.  MGM Energy will not be required to drill the final three wells or complete the additional seismic data acquisition required under the Farmout Agreement until after the decision to construct ("DTC") is made in connection with the Mackenzie Gas Project.

5-9&10-09, weekend.  Alaska Journal of Commerce, via Alaska Standard, by Tim Bradner.  Relations are strained between Gov. Sarah Palin and the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority, an independent state corporation formed under a voter initiative in 2002 to bring new gas supplies to Alaska communities.  The state administration froze the authority's money earlier this year, only recently relenting to approve purchase authorizations, and a senior administration official acknowledged during a legislative hearing that a "transition" at the authority was discussed in the governor's office with its chairman, Scott Heyworth, and that executive director Harold Heinze (NGP Photo, 9-8-8) figured into the conversation.        *     Alliance, Next Thursday in Anchorage: Economic Analysis of Future Offshore Oil and Gas Development in Alaska.  Patrick Burden (NGP Photo-r), President of Northern Economics; Dr. Scott Goldsmith (NGP Photo-l), Director of the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), and Pete Slaiby, General Manager, Shell Alaska.

5-8-09.  Guardian, by Jeffery Jones.  The energy industry's decades-long dream of tapping vast Alaskan and northern Canadian gas reserves faces perhaps its biggest threat yet -- a flood of new unconventional supply located closer to markets.   Multibillion-dollar Arctic pipeline proposals, first envisioned in the 1970s and rekindled in the past decade as gas supplies tightened, have been buffeted by regulatory delays, government wrangling and rising costs.  Now, industry experts wonder if rapid development of gas trapped in shale formations throughout the United States and Canada could render Alaska and Northwest Territories pipelines obsolete even before any steel is put into the ground.       *       Sympatico-MSN.  TransCanada Corp. has won a 25-year contract to build and operate a $320 million US natural gas pipeline in Mexico from Manzanillo on the Pacific coast to Guadalajara.

5-7-09.  This morning, Governor Bill Sheffield, Anchorage's longtime Port Director, briefed RDC members on the huge Port of Anchorage Expansion Project.  Afterward (NGP Photo-r), he also commented on the importance of soon securing a stable supply of natural gas for Southcentral Alaska, and obtaining one of three large projects in the near future to rejuvenate and sustain Alaska's economy: ANWR, the Alaska Gas Pipeline, OCS.     *        ADN, by Elizabeth Bluemink: Faced with opposition from North Slope village leaders and a federal lawsuit, Shell withdraws Beaufort exploration plan,    *    Also, PNA Story.  “Over the last three years, Shell’s Beaufort Sea drilling objectives have become more focused with the acquisition and analysis of additional seismic data,” said Pete Slaiby (NGP Photo), Shell’s Alaska general manager, in announcing the plan withdrawal. “As a result, the 2007-2009 plan no longer represents Shell’s current drilling approach. …We have listened closely to stakeholders and particularly the concerns around the size and pace of exploration plans, and we have adjusted our plans accordingly.”  Hear Radio Interview: Dan Fagan and Pete Slaiby (Fast forward on your audio player to the 29 Min. 30 Sec. place in this one hour segment.)     *     On May 13 The Consumers Energy Alliance Will Bring Energy Day to Washington; Alaska's Congressional Delegation Members are sponsors!

5-6-09.  Platts - Offshore Technology Conference.  The energy minister for Canada's Northwest Territories said in Houston Tuesday that the proposed Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline must be built before a competing project to construct a pipeline from the North Slope of Alaska in order for the Canadian project to be economical.  Bob McLeod (Photo), NWT minister of industry, tourism and investment, speaking at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, said that although both proposed Arctic gas pipelines eventually will need to be built, "we definitely feel that the Mackenzie gas pipeline has to go ahead first for a number of reasons.  One is the volume of gas in Alaska is significantly greater and if that goes ahead first, we don't see a need for the gas from the Mackenzie pipeline to be there for a number of years," he said.  McLeod said the gas-rich Beaufort Sea and Mackenzie Delta regions that would be served by the Mackenzie Valley pipeline have a resource base of 92 Tcf, compared with the 135 Tcf of gas estimated to lie beneath Alaska's North Slope.      *     (Full disclosure: your author is a member of the CEA board of advisors.  -dh)  At the OTC Consumer Energy Alliance president David Holt convened an opening panel at Reliant Park, as part of a wide-ranging panel on America’s energy future and improving communications between energy providers and consumers. The Panel featured U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska-NGP Photo, 4-14-09), U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas), American Petroleum Institute (API) president Jack N. Gerard, Shell president Marvin Odum, Air Transport Association president Jim May, and many others:  “It may disappoint some folks that our country remains without a comprehensive strategy for ensuring affordable energy now and into the future. But it shouldn’t surprise anyone. Thirty years after our long and difficult search for an energy policy began, consumers today seem to have less information on how, where and why our energy is produced than ever before. That’s the problem. The solution, in part, will be found in discussions and dialogues just like this – as major producers of energy sit down, talk with and engage major consumers of that energy.”  Other participants on the panel include Bill Graves, head of the American Trucking Associations; Jason Grumet, executive director for the National Council on Energy Policy; and Roger S.  Ballentine, president of Green Strategies Inc. The Panel was moderated by Paul Bledsoe of the National  Council on Energy Policy and Devon Energy’s Sandeep Khurana.  In addition to addressing the existing  communications gaps among the many and varied stakeholders on issues related to energy and the  environment, the panel focused on new ways to build general awareness for the indispensable role that oil and gas will play in heating, cooling, powering and fueling our future economy, along with steps that government agencies can take to both broaden that understanding and help contribute to it in a meaningful, factual way.  “For this campaign to be successful,” added Holt, “the forum we held here today in Houston has to be considered a starting point, not the finishing line. And all of us – engineers, small business, manufacturers, shop owners – must play a role in shaping our energy future. Consistent with that, and building on this momentum, we intend to bring this show on the road to Washington, D.C. later this month, where CEA will host its annual Energy Day May 13 on Capitol Hill.  “There’s never been a bad time to look for new ways to think about old, intractable energy challenges,” added Holt. “But I don’t know that there’s been a more important time to do it than right now. Today’s event is a step in the right direction – one we need to take if we expect to create new jobs for Americans, generate new revenues for taxpayers, and strengthen the security of our nation. Energy Day will be another. Where we go after that, though, is the most important consideration of all.”  CEA is a non-profit, non-partisan energy consumer group that has long advocated a national energy policy that focuses on creating a diverse portfolio of energy supplies, from wind to solar to biofuels to petroleum and clean-burning natural gas.  With more than 110 affiliated organizations and thousands of consumer-advocates, CEA’s mission is to expand the dialogue between the consuming and energy sectors to improve overall understanding of energy security and the thoughtful development and utilization of energy resources to help create sound energy policy and maintain stable energy prices for consumers.      *     Canada-dot-Com.  Canadian exporters fear that Buy American procurement provisions, which prevent them from selling goods in the U.S., will be expanded beyond President Barack Obama's stimulus plan, an industry association said.  Canadian officials should discuss with Obama's administration the policy that lets states exclude Canadian companies from projects paid for by the $787- billion US stimulus package and threaten to impose similar restrictions, said Jay Myers, president of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters association, the country's largest industry group.

More May Photos

5-13-09 AOGA LUNCHEON

PORTIA BABCOCK AND MATT GILL - 5-13-09 AOGA LUNCHEON BY DAVE HARBOUR 030.jpg