9-30-08.  Alaska Skeptics Blog, by Bradley C. Roberson re: AGIA decision.

9-29-08.  ADN, by Tim Bradner: "Alaska Must Plan For Harder Times".  It's time to make sure our own affairs are in order. Most important, our oil industry, the wellspring of Alaska's wealth, might not be in as good a shape as we think. Oil production is declining, the industry's costs have risen sharply and there are signs that the state's new production taxes, which have been tripled in the last two years, are discouraging investment in new projects in the large North Slope fields.

9-28-08.  All Headline News.  Competition between two natural pipeline projects in America's largest and northernmost state is expected to heat up as the proponents of the projects rush the installation of their respective transport line facilities.     *     AJC, By Tim Bradner.  The great pipeline race is on. TransCanada Corp. will begin an open season for an Alaska natural gas pipeline in early 2010, beating a rival pipeline group led by North Slope producers by several months, a senior TransCanada manager told an oil and gas conference in Anchorage Sept. 23.

9-27-08.  ADN by Petroleum News Alaska.  The federal government received $30.9 million in high bids at an oil and gas lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska this week. The state is to get half of the receipts.

9-25-08.    Alaska Journal of Commerce Publisher, Jeff Jones, introduced Andrew Halcro who discussed Alaska gas pipeline and other political issues this morning (Photo-L, Jeff Jones and Photo-R, Andrew Halcro - NGP Photos, 9-08).     *    More later....

The Alaska Oil & Gas Symposium a Success; More to Follow!

See This Gas Pipeline Treatise!

"We're in federal election mode - set for Nov 29 - Stephen Harper's Conservative Party (now a minority in Parliament) is trying for a majority so it can implement its (barely right of center) agenda: more free trade - closer US relations - eliminating regulatory efficiencies (they might get it according to recent polls).  So here's the Prime Minister in the North on the weekend (only 3 ridings Canada-wide) saying that he wants to revamp the northern regulatory approval system - tacit acknowledgement that the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline project has probably tanked and that the northern regulatory overburden was a major factor.  On a related note - not mentioned - just last week Canadian First Nations won their 100th regulatory win (almost in a row) shutting down a uranium exploration play - you probably can guess where - in the NWT!  That's 100 wins by my count - it appears that I'm the only one tracking this remarkable winning streak - but there are major implications for pipeline projects hoping to cross Canada given the remarkable rise in First Nations' empowerment over resources in the Canadian resources sector."  Related CBC web-posting: In a release on the party's website, Harper said the Conservatives will:

• Set up a stand-alone regional development agency for Northern Canada like those that exist in the western provinces, northern Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada.
• Set up a northern satellite office of the federal Major Projects Management Office, which deals with federal regulations governing major resource projects.
• Improve the regulation of Northern natural resource projects by simplifying processes and reducing administrative costs."

9-22-08.  Canada.com, Canwest News Service, by Trish Audette.  A government town of 3,500 at the mouth of the Mackenzie River (Inuvik Photo - Dave Harbour 2002), stands to benefit greatly if the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline ever goes through to bring natural gas south. Stewart wants a new name for the old building just off Inuvik's main street, a trailerlike rectangle standing half a metre off the ground. The new name, she hopes, will say more than "homeless shelter." It will be something to take pride in.     *     Interested in Dave Harbour's latest campaign bloggings?     *    

9-21-08.  ADN, by Erika Bolstad.  Offshore in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, oil companies, chiefly the Dutch oil giant Shell, have paid billions of dollars to explore reserves that could rival the oil and gas discoveries of the Gulf of Mexico. Whoever wins the Oct. 7 election as mayor of the North Slope Borough will help shape the future of offshore drilling in the nation's Arctic waters -- as well as that of a community where ancient whaling traditions still dominate daily life.   "The oil industry, if I don't win this election, I think they'll be jumping up and down for joy," said Edward Itta, 63, the current mayor and opponent of offshore drilling. He faces a challenge from his former boss and the borough's previous five-term mayor, George Ahmaogak (NGP Photo, 10-25-01). Both men are whaling captains. "The oil industry has been the lifeblood of the economy up here. The North Slope Borough is pro-development," Itta said. "But offshore ... now that is totally different."

9-19-08.  Alliance Meeting yesterday featured updates by the BLM and ExxonMobil; details will follow today.

9-17-08.  Palin Plans to Visit UN And Join Protest of Iran, New York Times - United States... she understands energy issues, had led negotiations for a new gas pipeline, and, as governor of Alaska, was the commander of the Alaska National Guard. ...

9-16-08.  Larry Persily (NGP Photo-r) is an old friend of mine who addressed the Anchorage Chamber yesterday about Alaska and national issues, including the Gas Pipeline and the 'vice president issue'.  Soon we will upload  audio  and video links (left) to yesterday's presentation, and a copy of his script.  As when he was an editorial page editor, Larry was unflinchingly candid and while some may challenge his conclusions and rationale, none can challenge his integrity.   (It seems like only weeks ago, instead of 5 years ago, that we teamed up to address the Seattle Chamber's Alaska Committee on Gas Pipeline and other issues!) -dh   *       Roy T. Robinette Real Estate Blog.  In her first 20 months as governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin completed a deal for a natural gas pipeline that had been a top economic goal for the state for nearly two decades.  *   Two new additions to our links page are: Alaska Gas Pipeline BlogSpot by Alaska Engineer, and    Permafrost Environmental Consulting, Dr. Les White.  See Dr. White's Permafrost Postcard.

9-14-08.  New York Times, by Serge Kovaleski and Mike McIntire.  ANCHORAGE — When Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska took center stage at the Republican convention last week, she sought to burnish her executive credentials by telling how she had engineered the deal that jump-started a long-delayed gas pipeline project.

9-13-08.  Sarah Palin's Pipeline, Globe and Mail, by Madelaine Drohan.  Anyone listening to Alaska Governor Sarah Palin at the recent U.S. Republican convention would believe that TransCanada workers are poised, shovels at the ready, to start construction of a 2,760-kilometre pipeline bringing natural gas from Alaska through Canada to the lower 48 states. They would be wrong.     *     Guardian America.  Palin has perhaps the cleverest name of all: Denali, the name of Alaska's lovely national park but also of the natural-gas pipeline that major oil companies are building in her home state in a bid to undercut her authority. One wonders what she makes of the symbolism there.  Speaking of symbolism, Todd Palin's code name is Driller. Yes, he works on oil rigs, but it's still a little bit funny.

9-4-08.  Wall Street Journal, by JIM CARLTON, MICHAEL M. PHILLIPS, ELIZABETH WILLIAMSON and LAURA MECKLER.  In the five days since Sen. John McCain announced Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate, she has been embraced by the right and pilloried by the left as a staunch conservative on social and economic issues.  But a look at her record as mayor of the small town of Wasilla and as governor of Alaska shows a politician more flexible in her ideology as she has juggled the needs of governing.

Please visit this website to see correspondence to the Minerals Management Service (MMS) regarding an updated leasing program that could have huge impact on the Country's economic prosperity. See NARUC and IOGCC resolutions on the subject of drilling moratoria, with NGSA and White House support.

9-1-08,  The DNR, DMLW, Northern Region Lands Section has received a Land Use Permit application from Denali - The Alaska Gas Pipeline LLC for a land use permit to conduct hydrology studies on the North Slope.