4-30-08.  MSN Money, by Jim Jubak.  Why oil could reach $180Bbl.  *    ADN on President Bush's ANWR remarks (See our link below, too).     *     ADN, by ERIC LIDJI, Petroleum News--Conoco Phillips follows through on early permitting requests, the company will drill more wells in Cook Inlet this year than in any year in 15 years.  (See relevance to our 4-16-08 ENSTAR story).     *     Reuters, by Yereth Rosen - Oil companies ConocoPhillips (COP.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and BP Plc (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Monday they would forge ahead with a plan to build a gas pipeline regardless of Alaskan officials' decision on a competing proposal by TransCanada Corp (TRP.TO: Quote, Profile, Research).

4-29-08.  AP-ADN, by Dan Joling.  A federal judge has ordered the Interior Department to decide within 16 days whether polar bears should be listed as a threatened species because of global warming. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken agreed with conservation groups that the department missed a Jan. 9 deadline for a decision. She rejected a government request for a further delay and ordered it to act by May 15.     *     The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) meets in Calgary next week and will focus--among other energy issues--on the Alaska gas pipeline.  On Monday, Panelists from different sides of the spectrum will offer their unique perspectives on the progress of the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA).  These include Commissioner Patrick Galvin - Alaska Department of Revenue; Drue Pearce – Federal Coordinator, Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects; Tony Palmer – Vice President, Alaska Development; TransCanada Corporation, Sue Kirby – Assistant Deputy Minister, Energy Sector, Natural Resources Canada.  Governor Sarah Palin will also address participants on Monday and Northern Gas Pipelines (NGP) Publisher Dave Harbour will speak on the NARUC (IOGCC supported) study on the costs of maintain oil and gas moratoria on Federal lands.  On Tuesday, Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) Commissioner John Norman, as Chairman of the Legal and Regulatory Affairs Committee, will host a panel including Gaetan Caron, National Energy Board Chairman, followed by Angus Walker of BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., and Ed Hendrickson of ConocoPhillips discussion, "Update on Denali - The Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline".  Governor Palin is the 2007-2008 Chairman of IOGCC while AOGCC Chairman Dan Seamount serves as Vice Chairman of the organization.

4-28-08.  News Miner, by Rebecca George.  The Tanana Chiefs Conference has been contracted to collect environmental data for ConocoPhillips to continue the gas line permit process.     *     PNA by Gary Parks.  Calgary-based consultant Ziff Energy Group has released a trail-blazing study that analyzes the total costs from 20 major North American gas areas (some of them divided into sub-basins), including Alaska and the Mackenzie Delta, whose costs including transportation tolls have been included in the study even though they are years away from production.     *     Universal Politics, Global Warming Update.  Since 1895, the media has alternated between global cooling and warming scares during four separate and sometimes overlapping time periods. From 1895 until the 1930's the media pedaled a coming ice age. From the late 1920's until the 1960's they warned of global warming. From the 1950's until the 1970's they warned us again of a coming ice age. This makes modern global warming the fourth estate's fourth attempt to promote opposing climate change fears during the last 100 years.

4-27-08.  ADN, by Wesley Loy.  Kevin Banks NGP (Photo-r, 2-1-01), the state’s oil and gas director, recently wrote to all the major North Slope leaseholders saying the state is looking at ways to supply gas to Alaskans, many of whom believe, “It’s our gas, why can’t we have it?”     *     ADN  Editorial.  State Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Irwin had two compelling reasons to reject the latest so-called "development" plan for the long- undeveloped oil and gas fields at Point Thomson.     *     ADN, by David Reaume.  With oil prices at all-time highs Alaskans can be forgiven if a certain amount of economic complacency has set in, especially since statewide employment has grown steadily for the past 20 years. Seldom has any place in the United States enjoyed such a period of sustained employment growth and prosperity.

4-26-08.  Alaska Journal of Commerce, by Rob Stapleton.  Wendy King, vice president of ConocoPhillips' external affairs, encouraged trucking companies to be prepared for the onslaught of work. She spoke at the Alaska Trucking Association's convention, held in Anchorage April 17.     *     Canadian Press, CALGARY - The chief executive of TransCanada Corp. (TSX:TRP) faced some questions at the pipeline builder's annual meeting about a dispute with a northern Alberta aboriginal group.  Members of the Lubicon First Nation and their supporters protested outside the meeting in Calgary, demanding the Lubicon be consulted before the company builds a billion-dollar pipeline through their land.  One shareholder told CEO Hal Kvisle he worries about possible delays and regulatory wrangling similar to what has been seen with the Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline project.

4-25-08.  WalletPop, by Bruce Watson.  The natural gas pipeline, which has already been named the "Denali," is a mixed blessing. On the bright side, it will bring a fresh fuel source to U.S. markets, which is a definite boon. Further, the natural gas produced in Alaska doesn't come from the House of Saud, Hugo Chavez, Vladimir Putin, or any of the other despots that America currently funds with its fossil-fuel addiction. Perhaps best of all, it will employ thousands of people and provide a major stimulus to Alaska's economy.     *     NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — ConocoPhillips CEO Jim Mulva said Thursday he hopes Exxon Mobil will join with it and BP on the proposed $30 billion Denali pipeline project to connect natural gas fields in the North Slope of Alaska to the lower 48 states. “Obviously it makes a lot of sense for all of us to be a participant, so we continue to work very closely obviously with BP, but we also work closely in everything that we do with Exxon Mobil, ” Mulva said in response to an analyst question on the company’s conference call. “So hopefully in time I would like to see and would expect and hopefully that all three producers are part of the project.”
 

4-24-08.  Alaska Support Industry Alliance.  The Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority CEO, Harold Heinze, delivered today's morning presentation on planning for in-state use of ANS gas (We hope to add a video .avi link here).  Here are his various slide presentations. 

4-23-08.  Here's the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, under which TransCanada was found to be the sole responsive bidder, along with other related information.     *      And, here's Commissioner Tom Irwin's decision to reject ExxonMobil's Point Thomson development plan.

4-22-08.  ADN by Wesley Loy.   Exxon Mobil Corp. can't be trusted to keep its latest promise to develop a huge North Slope oil and gas field that's lain dormant since its discovery decades ago, a top state official decided Tuesday.    *     The Earth Web.  On March 31, 2008, Husky and BP completed all agreements required to form an integrated oil sands joint venture. The transaction consists of a 50/50 partnership to develop the Sunrise oil sands project in Canada, which Husky will operate, and a 50/50 limited liability company for the existing Toledo refinery in Ohio, USA, which BP will operate.

4-21-08.  Here is an earlier but yet useful FERC presentation on the gas pipeline regulatory process.

4-20-08.  Here's the slide presentation for "Denali-The Alaska Gas Pipeline".

4-19-08.     Last night,  Bjørn Lomborg (Movie-avi Link, here), lectured at the University of Alaska Anchorage's Wendy Williamson Auditorium, winning the minds and respect of the majority of an approving audience and graciously, logically handling a couple of harangues.  -dh  *      The Tundra Drums.  "This project is vital for North American energy consumers and for the future of the Alaska oil and gas industry. It will allow us to keep our North Slope fields in production for another 50 years," said Tony Hayward, BP Group chief executive. "The Alaska gas pipeline will be an historic project, and we are pleased to be working with ConocoPhillips to move it forward."  =  "Our goal of bringing Alaska’s North Slope gas to market is becoming a reality. Denali – The Alaska Gas Pipeline project will deliver natural gas to meet North America’s growing energy needs," said Jim Mulva, ConocoPhillips chairman and chief executive officer.

4-18-08.  ADN by Dan Joling (AP)--The Department of the Interior wants 10 more weeks to decide whether polar bears should be listed as threatened or endangered     *   Voice of the Times Editorial.  Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell is saying in speeches that the two companies were not motivated by changes in the cost of steel and labor — since those went up — or by the retail price of natural gas, since that didn't. He claims it was the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act.  Industry insiders say AGIA impacted public awareness and anticipation that a gas pipeline could be near, but the BP/ConocoPhillips decision to proceed on their own line was based on economics. AGIA had virtually nothing to do with it.  Parnell's numbers are deceptive and irrelevant. He says he was talking about the 10-year long-range forecast for gas prices, though he doesn't tell audiences that. That forecast makes for an interesting graph, and is helpful in trying to determine whether a pipeline will hold its value, but it doesn't reflect what is actually happening in the marketplace.  The wellhead price of natural gas in the Lower 48 has more than doubled in the last six years. In 2002 it was about $3 per thousand cubic feet, which was above where it had been for the previous 30 years or so. That's when industry put up $125 million to study whether a pipeline was worth building and which route it should take.  Energy prices went shooting up shortly afterward, which proved to be the clincher. Two years ago, gas was flirting with the $8 per mcf level and by the beginning of this month it had dropped back to $6.50. Given what's happening in the world and demand for all forms of energy, few expect it to drift much lower.  Confirmed gas reserves on the North Slope right now are estimated at 35 trillion cubic feet, and experts say there could be another 35 trillion cubic feet yet to be discovered, not including the offshore area. That means the gross value of the gas in the Lower 48 today would be somewhere between $227 billion and $450 billion.   From that you would have to subtract the cost of getting the gas to the marketplace, including a $30 billion pipeline, plus high drilling and operations costs and a huge tax gouge, but that's still motivation far beyond Palin's pet legislation.    *     Petroleum News Alaska.  The longer talks drag on the more a gap seems to open between the Canadian government and the Deh Cho First Nations as they struggle to achieve a land claim settlement in a region that occupies 40 percent of the proposed Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline route.    *   Accessing the Regulatory Commission of Alaska Website.  Having until recently been a Commissioner I was lucky enough to have all filings (sometimes, two feet per day), notices and issued orders delivered into my mail box.  I also received this--and more--via my State of Alaska email account.   Retired commissioners receive no greater distribution benefits than fellow citizens so having struggled for an hour or so to figure out how to receive email notices of events at the RCA I called two wonderful staff members, Hilda Gayton and Brian Beard.  Brian sent me instructions for obtaining email information feeds which I now, happily, pass on to you who might have been as needy of help as I.  Here are the instructions, straight from Brian's email: 

To keep current with Notices and Filings I recommend the following:

Open our home page (Click here for link) and look in the upper right hand side of the screen.  There you will see “Public Information”.  Below that find “View Public Notices & Submit Comments”.  When you do this, the next screen will show all of our notices.  On the upper right hand side of this screen you’ll see an icon with “RSS”.  Click on this and follow the wizard.  With this RSS news aggregator, you may simply click on this in your favorites and open right into this page, circumventing the home page process.  Do the same with the “Top Searches”, “Recent Documents (30 days)” link, and you’ll stay updated on the RCA comings and goings.  Then, depending on your computer set up (Outlook, Netscape, etc.), you may set it up so that whenever there is a change in these topics you will be notified via e-mail.

4-17-08.  Petroleum News Alaska.  In the course of answering questions from reporters during an April 8 teleconference, John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil Co., linked high fuel costs in Alaska and elsewhere to the withdrawal of federal lands from oil and gas exploration. Lack of new oil and gas supplies in the United States is....

4-16-08.  "ENSTAR Seeks RCA Approval for New Gas Supplies in 2009", by Dave Harbour.  

                Last Friday, ENSTAR filed a “Tariff Advice” Letter # 167-4 with the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA), seeking approval for acquiring new gas supplies in 2009 from ConocoPhillips and Marathon that are guaranteed through 2013. 

                Signing the letter, ENSTAR’s new Regional Vice-President, Colleen Starring, said that the contracts are, “…structured to fit together with each other and with ENSTAR’s other supply contracts…” and, “…to accommodate and encourage the acquisition by ENSTAR of its own storage capability to better manage seasonal demands in the future.

                Anticipating that the Commission would not approve the tariff change without an investigation, the letter requests that the commission expedite its public notice and procedures in order to begin acquiring over 2 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of new gas supplies its customers will need by January 1, 2009.

                In November of 2005, ENSTAR filed a similar gas supply agreement with the RCA, this one with Marathon only, but the commission disapproved the agreement leaving ENSTAR to seek a gas supply agreement the RCA might approve before failing to meet customer demand for natural gas.  The RCA rejected that agreement late in 2006 with two commissioners of the five dissenting.

                ENSTAR’s letter advises the RCA Commissioners that, “Without the two new supply contracts with ConocoPhillips and Marathon, ENSTAR would face a gas shortage beginning on January 1, 2009."

                Here is the RCA link.    (-dh)

4-15-08.  The Canadian Press, CALGARY — Anyone who thinks an Alaskan natural gas pipeline will see fewer hurdles than the long-stagnant Mackenzie Gas Project is sadly mistaken, says the man who used to run the Northwest Territories' natural resources department.     *     Scandinavian Oil and Gas Magazine.  Norwegian energy champion StatoilHydro has discovered a natural gas field in the Norwegian Sea about five kilometres from the producing Åsgard field.     *     Scandinavian Oil and Gas Magazine.  Bow Valley Energy Ltd. declares the Tofkat No. 1 well (Bow Valley 20%) on the North Slope of Alaska discovered oil bearing sandstone reservoir in the primary target, the Kuparak formation.

4-14-08.  Voice of the Times, Bill Tobin.  THE NEXT TIME SOME Democratic senator starts raising Cain about the price of gasoline let's politely remind them that oil from ANWR should now be in production.

4-13-08.  Andrew Halcro, ADN.  In 1986 at a company convention I attended, the keynote speaker was the editor of Time magazine. During questions and answers he was asked for his thoughts on the American auto industry.     *     Dan Fagan, ADN.  If Sarah Palin ends up serving two terms, she will not likely have a more consequential day as governor than she did this past Tuesday. Her fate and that of the state's economy was in the balance and there was little time to act. At 10 a.m. BP and Conoco Phillips announce they would begin immediately spending $600 million to kick-start an Alaska natural gas pipeline. They call their project the Denali pipeline.      *     Tim Bradner, ADN.  BP and Conoco Phillips' announcement Tuesday that they will move forward to prepare for an open season for a gas pipeline should send a jolt of new confidence through the state's business community, which we badly need, what with worries of a national recession.     *     Ann Sutton, AP.  JUNEAU -- The Alaska Legislature on Saturday passed a record $11.2 billion operating budget that is 23 percent larger than the current budget, according to lawmakers.     *    

4-12-08.  CBC.  Backers of the proposed Mackenzie Valley natural gas project say a British-American plan to build a pipeline in Alaska will not change their plans to run a pipeline through the Northwest Territories.  ADN, From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage -- Anchorage Rep. Mike Doogan writes in his e-newsletter he's not ready to start turning handsprings of joy over the BP/ Conoco gasline announcement.

4-11-08.  Dow Jones Newswires.  With an estimated price tag well into the tens of billions of dollars, the proposed Denali natural gas pipeline for Alaska's energy-rich North Slope promises to be a Herculean undertaking.    *     anwr.org Report.  Anchorage – Oil industry giants Conoco/Philips and BP Exploration have joined forces to propose a new approach to the Alaska Gas Pipeline project.  The two Alaska North Slope oil producers called their proposal “Denali” and stated a new company would be started to see the project through. 

4-06-08. ADN, by ERIC LIDJI, PNA -- On and off again for more than 50 years, business leaders in Alaska have wondered whether markets along the Railbelt could justify developing the Gubik gas field.   *   ADN by Gregg Erickson.  An untold story of this Legislature is how a weird coalition of lawmakers derailed the proposed $500 special oil windfall dividend.  ADN by Dan Fagan.  But this is 2008 and high prices at the pump and budget-busting home heating bills provide the perfect opportunity for vote-seeking politicians to demonize the industry.