Front Page News
Up

Northern Gas Pipelines, (Alaska Gas Pipeline, Denali - The Alaska Gas Pipeline, Mackenzie Valley Gas Pipeline, Alaska Highway Gas Pipeline, Northern Route Gas Pipeline, Arctic Gas, LNG, GTL) is your public service, objective, unbiased 1-stop-shop for Arctic gas pipeline projects and people, informal and rich with new information, updated 30 times weekly and best Northern Oil & Gas Industry Links on the Internet.  Find AAGPC, AAGSC, ANGTL, ANNGTC,  ANGDA, ANS, APG, APWG, ANGTA, ANGTS, AGPPT, ANWR, ARC, CARC, CAGPL, CAGSL, FPC, FERC, GTL, IAEE, LNG, NEB, NPA, TAGS, TAPS, NARUC, IOGCC, CONSUMER ENERGY ALLIANCE, AOGA,AOGCC, RCA and more...

2009 LINKS: FERC Reports to Congress, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7....; USGS Arctic Gas Estimates; MMS hearings: RDC, Our NGP, AJOC, DH, ADN, KTUU; Enstar Bullet Line: Map and News Links; ANGDA; Alaska Energy Forum; Prosperity Alaska

2008 LINKS: Shell Alaska OCS Study; Mackenzie Gas Project EIS; Join the Alaska Gas Pipeline Blog Discussion; Governor Sarah Palin's AGIA Links; 2007 ACES tax bill links; Department of Revenue 2007 ACES tax documents;  2007 ACES tax Presentations; 2007 ACES tax news; Alaska Gas Pipeline Training and Jobs; Gas Pipeline and Economic Development; Andrew Halcro; Bjørn Lomborg; FERC's Natural Gas Website Links

WASHINGTON: Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline Act; History of H.R. 4; DOE Energy Bill Position, 6-02; Daschle-Bingaman Energy Bill (Alaska, Sec. 1236 & tax credit, Sec. 2503 & H.R. 4 Conferees), Tax Credit; See amendments, "Energy Policy Act of 2002";  "Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline Act of 2001 (Draft)" & Background Paper, 8-9-01;Alaska Legislature Joint Committee position; Governor's position; Governor's 10-Point Plan; Anadarko Analysis; U.S. Senate Energy Committee Testimony, 10-2-01 - text version;  U.S. Senate Energy Committee Testimony, 9-14-00; Report on the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Act of 1971, prepared by staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 1-18-01

ALASKA: 1-23-03, Governor Frank Murkowski's State of the State Speech; 2002 DRAFT Recommendations to 2003 Legislature; '02 Alaska Legislation; Alaska Highway Natural Gas Pipeline Policy Council; Joint Legislative Gas Pipeline Committee; 9-01 Alaska Models: Canadian Routes, LNG, GTL; HR 4 Story; Cook Inlet Supply-Demand Report: AEDC; Commonwealth North Investigation & Our Article; Report: Backbone; Legislature Contacts; State Gas Pipeline Financing Study; 5-02 Alaska Producer Update; Kenai: "Oil & Gas Industry Issues and Activities Report, 11-02"; Alaska Oil & Gas Tax Structure; 2-27-02 Royalty Sale Background; Alaska Gas Pipeline Office opens, 7-01, and closes, 5-02; Betty Galbraith's 1997-1998 Chronology Our copy.

CANADA: 1-10-03, "Arctic Gas Pipeline Construction Impacts On Northern Transp."-Transport Canada-PROLOG Canada Inc.-The Van Horne Institute;Hill Times Reports, 8-30-02; 9-30-02, Cons. Info. Requirements; CBC Archives, Berger Commission; GNWT Economic Impact Study, 5-13-02; GNWT-Purvin & Gertz Study, 5-8-02; Alberta-Alaska MOU 6-02; Draft Pan- Northern Protocol for Oil and Gas Development; Yukon Government Economic Effects: 4-02 & PPT; Gas Pipeline Cooperation Plan Draft & Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board Mackenzie Valley Pipeline MOU Draft, 6-01; FirstEnergy Analysis: 10-19-01; Integrated Delta Studies; National Post on Mackenzie Pipeline, 1-02;Northern Pipeline Act;  Haida Nation v. British Columbia; Indian Claims Commission; Skeena Cellulose decision -- aboriginal consultations required, 12-02; Misc. Pipeline Studies '02

COMPANIES: Alaska Gas Producers Pipeline Team Newsletter, 7-27-01; APG Newsletter: 5-02, 7-02 & 9-02; ArctiGas NEB PIP Filing Background; NRGPC Newsletter: Fall-02;  4-02 ArctiGas Reduces Field Work; BP's Natural Gas Page; Enbridge Perspective; Foothills Perspective; Williams Perspective; YPC Perspective, 7-02

 MEDIA REFERENCE: Alaska Journal of Commerce; Alaska Inc. Magazine; Anchorage Daily News; Canadian Broadcasting Corporation; Fairbanks Daily News Miner, Juneau Empire; Northern News Services; Oil & Gas Reporter; Petroleum News Alaska; Whitehorse Star, etc.

EXTENDED CONFERENCE NEWS: Alaska Support Industry Alliance, Anchorage Chamber of Commerce Canadian Institute, Insight Information, Inuvik Petroleum Shows, International Association of Energy Economists, Resource Development Council for Alaska, Ziff Energy Group

 

LEST WE FORGET!

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

Northern Gas Pipelines: Please scroll down for October 2008 news

10-28-08.  Oilweek, by Paul Stastny.    The story of MGM Energy Corp., Oilweek´s 2008 Producer of the Year, has the makings of everything the Canadian oil patch is built on: determination, risk taking, and proving the skeptics wrong.  As for the current situation, MGM president Henry Sykes is quick to point out MGM´s opportunity was conceived by the Mackenzie pipeline´s regulatory delays.  "We need to be clear about one thing," he says. "While we´re very, very frustrated with the progress of the regulatory regime, if there hadn´t been the delays and there hadn´t been the feeling in the oil patch that this thing is going slow, the opportunity that we now have to start this business and grow this business probably wouldn´t have been there."    *  Even in a best-case scenario, if the environmental and social impacts report-still not forthcoming-is completed and if regulatory approvals are promptly issued and if the project´s proponents decide in favour of construction, ground would still not be broken until sometime after 2014.  "I wouldn´t want to estimate how long after 2014," says Pius Rolheiser, a spokesman for Imperial Oil, which is part of the consortium behind the pipeline proposal and its de facto operator.

10-27-08.   Order of the Last Cattle Prod.  China will build a total of 150,000 kilometers of oil and gas pipelines in the coming 12 years.  This information comes from the fifth China International Pipeline Exhibition which was just concluded in Langfang, Hebei Province. More than 240 domestic and foreign enterprises from 20 countries participated in the exhibition.    *     Not Now Chairman Lau Blog.  Summary: Palin's big accomplishment as Governor of Alaska is to award a license to TransCanada Corp to get going on a pipeline that can transfer gas, be it liquefied or not, from Alaska to the Lower 48 States.

10-26-08.  AP, by JUSTIN PRITCHARD and GARANCE BURKE.  Contrary to Gov. Sarah Palin's campaign promises to "build a pipeline quickly," the massive project to send natural gas south is still no sure thing.  (Huffington Post)      *     Alaska Gas Pipeline Blog.  As oil and gas prices plummet keep a sharp eye out for the first cracks in the plans of Alaska Gas Pipeline producers and potential builders. Last week we heard that financially stronBlog Talk Radio.  g ExxonMobil is holding steady with it's capital investment plans. This week we're see some signs of potential weakness in Denali Pipeline partner ConocoPhillips.     *     Blog Talk Radio from Wasilla Alaska.  PALIN’S "SIGNATURE ACCOMPLISHMENT" FLAWED, UNFAIR, MAY NOT BE BUILT     *     Alaska Pride.  How Alaska Governor Sarah Palin Deliberately Channeled $500 Million and A Natural Gas Pipeline State License to TransCanada.

10-25-08.  Reuters by Scott Haggett.  CALGARY, Alberta, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Enbridge Inc (ENB.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is considering offering aboriginal groups an equity stake in its planned 525,000 barrel a day Northern Gateway oil sands export pipeline in order to secure support for the project, a company official said on Friday.     *      Calgary Herald via 'Take Your Cross'.   It’s not enough that oil prices are subject to the vague inner workings of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting countries, but if things go according to plan, a natural gas-focused organization is in the process of being established.  Key energy officials from Qatar, Russia and Iran met Tuesday to discuss this very subject. This is significant because these countries are the three largest in the world in terms of natural gas reserves.  The obvious question from this news is what impact could it have on natural gas markets, especially in North America.    One key figure at the negotiations in Tehran, Gazprom head Aleksei Miller, spoke of a possible agreement on a “large gas troika” rather than a cartel. “Taking into consideration the common strategic interests of the three countries in the gas sector, the potential of the three countries in the gas industry, and the fact that Russia, Iran, and Qatar have three-fifths of the world’s total gas reserves, the parties agreed to hold trilateral meetings on a regular basis,” Miller said.     *     Alaska Gas Pipeline Blog As oil and gas prices plummet keep a sharp eye out for the first cracks in the plans of Alaska Gas Pipeline producers and potential builders. Last week we heard that financially strong ExxonMobil is holding steady with it's capital investment plans. This week we're see some signs of potential weakness in Denali Pipeline partner ConocoPhillips.  According to Brett Clanton of the Houston Chronicle

10-24-08.  Russell Stigall Site, AFTER OIL.  Someday in the next few decades, the Trans-Alaska pipeline will deposit into the hold of a tanker ship in Valdez the final barrel of North Slope Crude.  The oil will complete its 800-mile journey in 9 days and its sale will deposit in Alaska’s coffers the last few of the billions of dollars the state has made from its oil during the pipeline’s decades of operation. Oil extracted from massive hydrocarbon deposits below the ice and permafrost of the North Slope and frozen Bearing and Arctic Seas have slipped down the long straw for 30 years.  *   Alaska has offered half a billion dollars to help the oil industry complete a 3,600-mile natural gas pipeline from North Slope, through Canada to the U.S. The international project could cost $20 billion. But with hundreds of trillions of cubic feet of natural gas and natural gas liquids trapped under North Slope permafrost, oil companies may take the risk.  (Note: Mr. Stigall has produced an excellent analysis but one would observe that with proper care, Alaska could provide incentives that would keep TAPS operating longer than is now anticipated.  One also notes that a $20 billion gas pipeline estimate varies based on delays, changing commodity prices, a final determination as to where the pipeline will terminate and other factors.  -dh)

10-23-08.  Fairbanks News Miner, by Rena Delbridge.  Main lines, bullet lines, instate lines, — Alaskans are hearing a lot aboutScott Jepson - NGP Photo by Dave HarbourTony Palmer - 9-23-08 NGP Photo by Dave Harbour natural gas and how to get it to markets.  At least five gas line proposals have been announced, but none are actually under construction, despite advertisements touting field work, like surveying and aerial photography.     *     DC Writer Blogger, from Pipeline & Gas Journal.  FERC officials say they aren’t pressuring the competing Denali and TransCanada Alaskan pipeline projects to merge. But the two projects—one already in the pre-filing process—are heading toward submitting construction applications to FERC at roughly the same time in 2011 or 2012, depending on whom one talks to, in what would be a regulatory clash and crash that the agency hopes to avoid. In an interview, Tony Palmer (NGP Photo-r), vice president, Alaska Development, TransCanada, says his company continues to talk with BP and ConocoPhillips, the Denali partners—about taking an equity interest in the TC pipeline, whose proposed route is essentially the same as Denali’s. “No one has slammed the door,” he states, noting that TransCanada will not make hard and fast offers to the two companies, plus ExxonMobil and other potential shippers, until the start of the open season in spring, 2010.  Palmer says FERC has publicly encouraged the two Alaskan pipeline bidders to get together. “That would be positive if it occurs,” adds Palmer. “We favor shippers joining our project.”  Scott Jepsen (NGP Photo-l), spokesman for Denali, is a bit more restrained. “The owners of Denali have stated that they will consider participation by other parties that add value and reduce risk,” Jepsen states.

10-22-08.  AP via ADN, by Steve Quinn.   Exxon Mobil Corp. and state officials are trying to settle a complex lawsuit over a North Slope natural gas field deemed essential to a successful 1,170-mile, multibillion-dollar pipeline project.    *       Calgary Herald, by Deborah Yedlin.  It's not enough that oil prices are subject to the vague inner workings of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting countries, but if things go according to plan, a natural gas-focused organization is in the process of being established.  Key energy officials from Qatar, Russia and Iran met Tuesday to discuss this very subject. This is significant because these countries are the three largest in the world in terms of natural gas reserves.      *     PNA.  The Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority has a request for proposals out for an environmental impact statement contractor for its proposed Beluga to Fairbanks natural gas pipeline.     *     Alaska Gas Pipeline BlogSpot.  ConocoPhillips and Chevron will announce capital spending plans later this year.  This is good news for the Point Thompson project which will eventually produce gas for the Alaska Gas Pipeline. Point Thomson holds nearly one-fourth of the North Slope's 35 trillion cubic feet of known reserves (Link to Point Thompson Lawsuit story).  We look forward to some positive indication from ConocoPhillips and BP - builders of the Denali gas pipeline.

10-21-08.  ADN by Don Hunter.   A baker's dozen of state House and Senate candidates answered questions Monday at an Anchorage Chamber of Commerce forum, trying to draw distinctions among themselves without straying too far from the needs for safe streets, better schools, a thriving economy and doing something with that North Slope natural gas.

10-20-08.  Globe & Mail, by Dana Stabenow.  Try this visual exercise. Put a map of Alaska over a map of the South 48, sameGovernor Walter J. Hickel - NGP Photo by Dave Harbour scale. The map of Alaska overlaps both the Canadian and Mexican borders and the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. You could drop the state of Texas (268,601 square miles) down inside the state of Alaska (656,425 square miles) and never find it.  We've only been a state since 1959. I was born in the Territory. My parents eloped to Palmer (next door to Sarah Palin's Wasilla) to be married by the Territorial representative.  We have opinions, oh my, yes. I once wrote that if you put four Alaskans in a room, you'd have five marriages, six divorces and seven political parties. My first political act at 18 was to sign Alaskan Independence Party founder Joe Vogler's petition for secession from the union. I admit I was laughing a lot at the time, but my father seriously believed that Alaska ought to hook up with the Yukon Territory, British Columbia and Siberia to form a nation. Gov. Walter Hickel (Photo-above, 11-06-06 by Dave Harbour) wanted to run a garden hose from Alaska to California to sell them glacier water. Everything to excess! No idea too big or too ridiculous, that's Alaska.  What book, for example, would encapsulate the Alaska native experience for you? In his autobiography, Many Battles (Liveright, 1973), the late governor of the Alaska Territory and, subsequently, Senator Ernest Gruening discusses his pivotal role in Alaska's quest for statehood. He also gives an eyewitness account of Elizabeth Peratrovich's speech to the Territorial Legislature in 1956 in support of native rights.  That history begins with Captain James Cook. Start with the log from his third voyage. There followed more explorers, and Russian fur hunters and traders (see Hector Chevigny's biography of Alexander Baranov), but the first big influx of white settlers came with the Klondike Gold Rush, which we commemorate on our licence plates, even though the Klondike is in - gulp - Canada. The best account of the gold rush is, appropriately, by a Canadian: Klondike: The Last Great Gold Rush, 1896-1899, by Pierre Berton Brian Garfield's The Thousand Mile War: World War II in Alaska and the Aleutians is a page-turning account of the war in the Aleutians, a book Alaskans like to hand out whenever an outsider says, "But the United States has never been invaded by an enemy army." Tell that to Castner's Cutthroats. Next big rush: Oil. Yeah. Much on everyone's mind at present, and I wish there was a single definitive volume to which I could point you, but no. John Strohmeyer's Extreme Conditions: Big Oil and the Transformation of Alaska (Simon & Schuster, 1993) angered a lot of Alaskans with its focus on greed and corruption, but he's looking a little prescient now. Art Davidson's In the Wake of the Exxon Valdez suffers some from being rushed into print six months after the spill, but it's still an invaluable you-are-there account.

10-19-08.   Leader Post, by Bruce Johnstone.  The head of Evraz Inc. North America officially opened the company's $90-million large-diameter pipe mill expansion project in Regina Thursday and expressed confidence in the energy sector, despite the recent downturn in oil prices.  "We're absolutely committed to the energy business,'' Jim Declusin, president and CEO of Evraz Inc. NA, told invited guests and Evraz employees at the official opening.  "That's why we made the acquisition,'' Declusin said, referring to Evraz's purchase of the Ipsco Inc. from Stockholm-based SSAB for $4 billion US this spring.  The Russian steelmaker then sold off Ipsco's U.S. tubular assets to another company and retained Ipsco's Canadian assets, including the Regina steel mill and pipe facilities, for $2.4 billion US.  Shaw Pipe Protection Ltd., which applies a protective coating on the pipe, also invested $15 million to expand its facilities to handle the increased pipe production.  Jim Clarke, vice-president of tubular operations for Evraz Inc. NA, said the expansion will solidify Evraz's leadership role in large-diameter pipe, with twice as much production capacity as its nearest competitor.  Greg Maindonald, vice-president and general manager of Evraz Regina Steel, who is responsible for the Regina steelmaking operations, said expansion projects will help ensure the legacy of the founders of Ipsco will live on for another 50 years.       *            Moscow Times.  Gazprom said Tuesday that it offered to help Alaska increase gas supplies to the U.S. mainland, even after Governor Sarah Palin warned against Russia's resurgence while campaigning to become vice president.  The company sent eight senior executives to Anchorage for talks Monday with Alaska's Department of Natural Resources and ConocoPhillips chief executive Jim Mulva, state and company officials said.  The courtship of Alaska comes less than a month after Palin criticized Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for "rearing his head" over Russia's maritime border with her home state.  CEO Alexei Miller was accompanied by deputies Valery Golubev and Alexander Medvedev, who oversees the country's gas exports.

10-18-08.   NNS.  Western Arctic - The NDP's Dennis Bevington will be heading back to Ottawa for a second term as MP for the Western Arctic.  Despite a resurgent Conservative Party represented by Brendan Bell, Bevington won the Western Arctic seat on Tuesday night, taking 5,669 votes.       *     AJOC, by Tim Bradner.  Doyon Universal Services LLC was awarded an extension of its contract with Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. to provide facility management, security and catering services. The company is also providing support this year for the Denali pipeline group, the natural gas pipeline initiative by BP and ConocoPhillips.  ... “We expect to be working with TransCanada next year too,” Phillips said. Despite that fact that Denali and TransCanada are competitors in pursuing gas pipeline projects, “there would not be a conflict, but we would obviously build a 'fire-wall' between the groups working on the projects.”

The British Explain America's Part in the World's Financial Crisis

Fannie Mae CEO is Humbled to Be With Friends - In the Words of Our Own Congressional Leaders - Expose

"The national budget must be balanced. The public debt must be reduced; the arrogance of the authorities must be moderated and controlled. Payments to foreign governments must be reduced, if the nation doesn't want to go bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance."  Cicero, 55 BC.

10-17-08.  Turnagin Times.  Point, by  Representative Mike Hawker: Alaska’s economic future depends upon utilizing our vast undeveloped natural gas resources. In addition to the long-term revenue stream gas will provide, Alaskans must be guaranteed gas for in-state consumption and the development of value-added industry. Exploring for gas will also result in the additional oil needed to extend the operating life of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline.  I have come to believe that the actions of Alaska’s government raise barriers rather than remove barriers to making progress towards developing our gas resources. The approach taken by government has been to “pick a winner” from among the possible stakeholders in a gas export project and then backing that “winner” to the exclusion of all others. This approach is destined to fail by erecting barriers to all the other stakeholders, especially those who want to develop gas to meet our in-state needs. Alaska will get a pipeline project started when government stops trying to pick a winner. Government should focus on creating an economic and regulatory environment that protects our interests, but assures every stakeholder has equal footing and opportunity to succeed. Getting Alaska’s gas to market is a huge undertaking with a place for everyone who wants to be a part of the great venture. Government must bring all those stakeholders together and tear down the barriers to willing cooperation that we have been erecting.  Industrialist Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” This is the lesson Alaska needs to remember as we work to develop our natural gas resources.    Counterpoint, by Mike Kenny.   As described above, I support the All Alaska Gas Line to Valdez being built first for many reasons but primarily because it is my belief that if our resources are used to create wealth, that wealth should be created in Alaska when at all possible.  It is likely that a number of issues in Canada whirling around the Tar Sands development will delay pipeline construction for many years. It is also likely that improved drilling techniques and recent large discoveries of natural gas in the lower 48, will make Alaska’s gas non-competitive.  No, I do not support the state’s direction. Nor do I support the Denali (Conoco Phillips/BP) direction. Alaska’s future must come first.   *      ADN via Petroleum News Alaska, by Eric Lidji Anadarko's exploration program in the foothills, the first explicit attempt to find natural gas in northern Alaska, comes as several companies and a state agency have crews conducting fieldwork related to possible natural gas pipeline projects.  TransCanada and the BP-Conoco Phillips joint venture Denali both are doing preliminary work before deciding to pursue a multibillion-dollar project for a gas pipeline routed into Canada.  Meanwhile, both Enstar Natural Gas Co. and the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority are conducting fieldwork related to in-state pipelines or spur line projects.

10-16-08.  Today, RDC's Vice President, Phil Cochrane, introduced Chris Fluhr, the U.S. House of Representatives Republican Chief of Staff who addressed current Congressional energy challenges.  Then, The Heritage Foundation's Rob Gordon (Senior Advisor for Strategic Outreach), discussed 'Polar Bears and Other Things With Bib Teeth: EPA's Proposed Co2 Rules'.  SEE THIS WEBSITE!  (Story and photos to come....)     *        Alliance next Thursday: Erec Isaacson of ConocoPhillips Alaska speaking on Energy Security.

10-15-08.  BNET   The Canadian government wants to work with the U.S., native tribes and the private sector to bring much-needed gas supplies from Canada's Far North to gas-starved markets in the Lower 48. But it favors a market-based approach, said Robert Nault, Canada's minister of Indian affairs and northern development.

10-14-08.  Bloomberg, By Tony Hopfinger and Stephen Bierman Alexei Miller, chief executive officer of OAOTony Hopfinger - Dave Harbour 2-02 Gazprom, Russia's natural-gas exporter, met with Alaskan and ConocoPhillips officials to discuss business opportunities in the most northerly U.S. state. (Photo: Tony Hopfinger with Dave Harbour, 2-2002) ... Miller and other Gazprom executives expressed ``general interest'' in working in Alaska, Marty Rutherford, deputy commissioner of the state's Department of Natural Resources, said by phone in Anchorage today.   ... The Gazprom executives also met with ConocoPhillips CEO Jim Mulva, ConocoPhillips spokesman Charlie Rowton said by e-mail. ``The focus of today's conversation was not Denali, the Alaska Gas Pipeline, but other broad-based business opportunities,'' Rowton said.

10-13-08.  ADN.  Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has let her energy platform be dumbed down to "drill, baby, drill," but her actual record on energy is much more responsible, balanced and substantial. 

10-12-08.  PNA via ADN, by Eric Lidji Three Democratic state lawmakers have revived a measure to tax Alaska natural gasRepresentative Harry Crawford reserves.  Reps. Harry Crawford of Anchorage, David Guttenberg of Fairbanks and Beth Kerttula of Juneau recently filed paperwork for a proposed ballot initiative to levy a 3-cent tax on every thousand cubic feet of known gas reserves in large fields in Alaska.  The measure, called the Alaska Gasline Now! Act, could appear on ballots in 2010.  The measure is nearly identical to one filed several years ago by Crawford, Guttenberg and then-Rep. Eric Croft, D-Anchorage.  (Comment:  I know Reps. Crawford, Guttenberg and Kerttula to be individuals of good intent.  However, this sort of negative incentive is a gross misinterpretation of Section VIII, Alaska Constitution {Note below}.  This second reserves tax ballot measure effort of the decade will have a continuing, dampening effect on Alaska's investment climate.  The earlier one went down to defeat two years ago.  This initiative follows several years of other negative actions by Alaska's elected officials that will surely produce less oil and gas activity in the state than would have occurred had the investment climate been reasonably inviting.  On a happier note, a number of environmental extremist organizations will be popping champagne corks in their board rooms and gladly support Alaska's Section VIII Constitutional provision that can be so cleverly interpreted to discourage economic benefit for Alaska's people.  -dh)

(Note: Section VIII of Alaska's constitution is often misinterpreted by advocates of higher taxes who claim that such action is justified in the course of providing natural resource benefit to Alaska's 'people'.  However, if one defined 'people' as not restricted to the current greedy generation, but including the children and grandchildren of future generations of Alaska's 'people' as well, one would seek a sustainable investment climate.  Alaska currently imposes one of the highest economic rents on the oil industry in the world today.  It imposes this high cost in an area that--unlike other lower cost oil and gas provinces--is a super remote, high cost exploration and production area.  Most of our competitors are in easily accessed, tidewater areas and many of those are in tropical, low cost development climates.  Unfortunately, with shortsighted political initiatives like the reawakened reserves tax specter, we will not know what investment decisions were deflected.  And those responsible for the missed opportunities will never pay for their error. -dh)

MEET ME TODAY.  IF YOU HAVE A GAS PIPELINE INTEREST, MEET ME TODAY IN ANCHORAGE, 10 a.m.-Noon, Radio Espresso, Corner of N. Lights and Boniface where I'll be appearing for another purpose.  But come on in, and let's talk.

10-11-08.  OKLAHOMA CITY --(Business Wire)-- -- Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) today disclosed that its Chief Executive Officer, Aubrey K. McClendon, involuntarily sold substantially all of his shares of Chesapeake common stock over the past three days in order to meet margin loan calls.    *       PNA by Eric Lidji.  Anadarko will expand its search for natural gas in the Brooks Range foothills this winter, using two rigs to complete up to three wells on state and federal lands in northern Alaska.     *     Downstream TodayConocoPhillips and BP in April 2008 announced that they are joining forces to construct the Denali pipeline from the North Slope of Alaska to Alberta, Canada. Set to deliver 4 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day, Denali will stretch 2,000 miles.

10-9-08.  Calgary Herald, by Shaun Polczey Governments need to streamline more than $40-billion worth of pipeline approvals to increase investor certainty and provide Canadians with access to timely and affordable energy supplies, the head of the country's pipeline industry group said in Calgary on Wednesday.  Speaking at an international pipeline conference, Canadian Energy Pipeline Association president Brenda Kenny said regulatory processes are the biggest barrier to building big new pipes to quench consumers' thirst for oil and gas.       *       Britannica Blog Governor Sarah Palin: “I’m keenly aware of sharply declining production from North Slope fields. The amount of oil currently flowing through the Pipeline is less than half of what it was at its peak. We must look to responsible development throughout the state–from the Slope all the way down to Southeast–every region participating! From further oil and gas development, to fishing, mining, timber, and tourism, these developments remain the core of our state. We provide stability in regulations for our developers.”

10-8-08.  Fairbanks News Miner, by Rena Delbridge Six of eight Chamber of Commerce legislative priorities address the high cost of energy and support for advance work on a natural gas pipeline.       *       Peak Energy.  Alan Kohler had an interesting column in The Business Spectator recently, in which he speculated that oil and gas producers could emerge from the credit crunch as the new financial "masters of the universe".      *     NNS by Paul Bickford: INUVIK - A major piece of the puzzle that is the Mackenzie Gas Project has fallen into place. Access and benefits agreements have been reached between the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and project proponents.

10-7-08.  Commentary:  Alaska Broadcaster  of the Year (1998), Herb Shaindlin, died this weekend at 78.  Herb was a friend I first met in the early 1970s after my arrival here.  In those years as an advertising executive or, later, an oil and gas industry spokesman, there was constant reason to be with Herb. Believe me, he wasn't friendly when we first met; he was downright aggressive, and delighted in interrogating advocates of every persuasion.  (Since that interrogation often led to embarrassment for interviewees, it wasn't obvious to everyone that Herb had a heart of gold.)  Of course, I was in my late 20/s then and he had achieved his infamous curmudgeon role as a predator of all who had the temerity to be interviewed by him.  I decided to approach my interviews with him with an attitude of good humor and respect and a philosophy that, "Well, he can't kill me and if he beats me up too much on air and I've done my homework it will hurt him more than it will hurt me."  I can't explain it, but through a number of encounters over the years he always maintained himself as the ultimate cynic and I always showed respect for him and humored his rough ways.  It was really an intellectual dance.  I would see him and then greet him warmly and boldly.  When I'd say something like, "Hi, Herb, good to see you," he would always have a challenge of some kind, like, "I wish I could say the same," or "yes, it is, isn't it?"   Then, we'd talk seriously about some political or economic matter and I would always leave feeling enriched and challenged by the experience.  Anyhow, I know Herb will smile down on the many of us who will be reminiscing, joking as he did with each other, knowing that he was appreciated and that memories of him are both numerous and warm.  Thanks for the memories, Herb!  So, I now take the liberty of saying these things on this web page, and share them with those who would partake of this humble, wake of words.  Thank you for bearing with me if you've lasted this long.  You'll see some photos here.  He posed when I ran into him at the Pac Rim Conference, February, 2002.  I said, "Herb, why don't you give me four poses that radiate your radio personality."   I wish he had given me the heart of gold look, but that might have spoiled the image.  -Dave Harbour.

 Fairbanks News Miner, By Christopher Eshleman and Rebecca George.  Here’s an understatement: The energy sector drives the bulk of Alaska’s economy.  Oil producers are some of the biggest employers in the state. And oil taxes pay for most of the state’s government expenses, which in turn constitutes another major employer.     *       Alaska Journal of Commerce by Patricia Liles.  TOK - Suntanned folks wearing burnt-orange vests and driving white crew cab pickup trucks emblazoned with Denali-The Alaska Gas Pipeline logo still remain in this eastern Interior Alaska community, although fewer in number than the peak of this summer.

10-6-08.  Personal Note Much happening on the personal front, so forgive spotty reporting.  Here is a Monday Morning review of last few days' gas pipeline related updates:   1) Tradingmarkets.com.   The two oil producers joined forces earlier this year, announcing plans to form a new company called Denali-The Alaska Gas Pipeline, a project to construct and operate a gas line capable of transporting North Slope natural gas to Canadian and Lower 48 markets.  2)  Peninsula Clarion by Mike Nesper Mike Chenault (Photo-r) and Tim Evans had differing views on an in-state gas line fully funded with state money.  Evans said he would support a gas line solely funded by the state. He said the benefits reaped would outweigh the cost.  Chenault, on the other hand, said a fully-funded, in-state project is feasible, though he doesn't want state agencies to be involved.  3)  The Alaska Gas Pipeline Blog.  By Tim Bradner (LINK) Alaska Journal of Commerce.  Denali Pipeline President Bud Fackrell (NGP Photo-l) gave additional details on the company's gas pipeline planning effort at the Alaska Oil and Gas Symposium in Anchorage Sept. 23.  4)  Here's a neat Denali - The Alaska Gas Pipeline ad appearing in the Juneau Empire.

10-1-08.  Mackenzie Valley Pipeline update: Bill Gallagher, Strategist (905)498-8471(NGP Photo 2-8-02, Calgary).  This project doesn't make the radar-screen in the upcoming federal election (now just two weeks away - Oct 14) and the reasons why underlie today's CBC coverage: 1) ongoing regulatory delay 2) minimal exploration activity underway 3) no project momentum - all factors pointing to a missed window of opportunity.  Here's the CBC's take today:  "... Further delays to the proposed pipeline — which is currently awaiting regulatory approvals — could make companies reluctant to invest more in the Delta, said Gary Bunio, vice-president of MGM Energy in Calgary."     *     Canada.com, by Trish Audette If Alberta's booming oil economy draws out-of-province and out-of-country workers, the Northwest Territories relies on "southerners" - anyone who has to cross the 60th parallel - to keep up its workforce.  The diamond mines near Yellowknife (Photo, NGP's Dave Harbour, 6-11-02)  and oil and natural gas drilling in the far North make for a territorial boom-time. The boom creates a need for miners, as well as contractors to build more homes and infrastructure.

 

 

Natural Gas & Oil Prices

Upcoming Conferences: IOGCC, 5/11 -13;

Newspaper Front Pages--WORLDWIDE

Our view of South Central Alaska's imminent Energy Crisis

 Linking to Us!

Founding Publisher's  2002 Editorials and 2001; magazine & newspaper articles; Seattle Chamber of Commerce Speech, 5-8-02, CBC Interview

 

 

 

Yours is visit # Hit Counter to this website.

Contact the Webmaster

Site planning: September 2000 - Site construction initiated: January 1, 2001 - Site uploaded to Internet: March 31, 2001 - Founding publisher, 09-00/1-03 and 3-08/present

 

© 2001-2002-2003-2004-2005-2006-2007-2008-2009 Northern Gas Pipelines 

Web pages herein are protected by the Copyright laws of the United States of America and the Internet Copyright Act.

This Website is provided as a public service.