1-24-12 - The Alaska Oil & Keystone Debates Are Alive & Well - N.D. Commissioner Headed to FERC

1-24-12 – The Alaska Oil & Keystone Debates Are Alive & Well – N.D. Commissioner Headed to FERC

Politico. North Dakota Public Service Commissioner Tony Clark (NGP Photo-r) is being nominated for an opening on FERC. Sen. John Hoeven tells

Jack Dalrymple, Tony Clark, FERC, North Dakota

The Associated Press that President Barack Obama will nominate Clark later Monday. Clark would have to be confirmed by the Senate to take the job. FERC has five members; the commission now has one opening that’s reserved for a Republican. The agency regulates interstate oil and gas pipelines, electric transmission lines and sales of natural gas and wholesale electric power. Clark’s term on the North Dakota commission ends this year, and he’s not running for reelection. If he resigns before his North Dakota term ends, Gov. Jack Dalrymple (NGP Photo) will appoint his successor. * See Bismarck Tribune Story by Dale Wetzel. President Barack Obama on Monday nominated North Dakota Public Service Commissioner Tony Clark for an opening on a federal regulatory board that oversees natural gas pipelines, electric transmission lines and the reliability of the nation’s power grid. (Comment: Your author has had the pleasure of knowing Commissioner Tony Clark for a number of years. He is highly respected by his colleagues and currently serves as President of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). He represents a state with varied natural resources, including oil and gas production, expected to surpass Alaska’s declining output within a few years, and is sensitive to Canadian-American energy relationships. -dh)

ADN/PNA by Westly Loy. The topic for the day is Point Thomson, a heavyweight legal struggle between the state and the oil giant for control of a lucrative oil and gas field on Alaska’s North Slope. The Alaska Supreme Court is ready to hear oral arguments from the two sides, with West High School in Anchorage as the venue. The justices occasionally take their proceedings out of the courtroom and into the community under an initiative called "Supreme Court Live."

Brad Keithley Op-Ed (NGP Photo-L). In an interview

Bill Wielechowski, Alaska Senate, tax debate, tea party, ACES

published in this week’s Petroleum News (“Wielechowski remains critical of HB 110 “), Senator Bill Wielechowski (NGP Photo) argues that, under their state oil & gas leases, producers are required to undertake additional drilling when they can make a “reasonable profit.” This repeats an argument I first heard the Senator make repeatedly at a debate earlier this month

Cathy Giessel, Tea Party Debate, oil taxes, ACES, Alaska State Senate

with Senator Cathy Giessel (NGP Photo) and which he then repeated in a subsequent, extended exchange on Facebook following that debate. (“The leases … say they must produce, drill, develop when they can make a reasonable profit.”). The problem? The leases which cover the vast majority of the existing North Slope fields don’t say what Senator Wielechowski says they do.

The Hill: Ben Geman CRS Report: Congress can require Keystone pipeline approval

The Jan. 20 CRS legal analysis notes that while the executive branch has historically handled the approval of border-crossing facilities, it doesn’t have to be that way. “

[I]f Congress chose to assert its authority in the area of border crossing facilities, this would likely be considered within its Constitutionally enumerated authority to regulate foreign commerce,” the analysis states.

Calgary Herald: Rebecca Penty TransCanada considers new plans: Keystone pipeline may be built in stages in U.S. first

TransCanada Corp. is considering building U.S. portions of its Keystone XL pipeline and later seeking approval of an Alberta link to circumvent the Obama administration’s rejection of the $7-billion project.

Bloomberg Businessweek: Jim Efstathiou Keystone XL pipeline seen moving ahead on alternative route

TransCanada Corp.’s $7 billion Keystone XL oil pipeline still will move ahead with an alternate route after President Barack Obama’s decision to deny a permit, investors, public officials and analysts say.

Toronto Sun: Simon Kent Harper will clear the decks on oil

Harper’s government recognizes venture capital follows opportunity and unless Canada can ensure the development and sale of product from the oil sands, it will be left behind.

Startribune.com: Canada’s oil: What goes around

Soon after President Obama chose to delay a U.S. decision last year on a proposed Alberta-to-Texas oil pipeline called Keystone XL, Stephen Harper, Canada’s prime minister, warned that his country would not be left at the altar.

By wpnorthern|2016-12-22T22:32:54-09:00January 24th, 2012|Alaska Taxes|0 Comments

About the Author: wpnorthern

Dave Harbour, publisher of Northern Gas Pipelines, is a former Chairman of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, a Commissioner Emeritus of NARUC, NARUC's Official Representative to IOGCC and Vice Chairman of NARUC's Gas Committee. He served as Gas Committee Chairman of the Western Conference of Public Service Commissioners. He also served as commissioner of the Anchorage Bicentennial Commission and the Anchorage Heritage Land Bank Commission. He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree: English, at Colorado State University, a Master of Science Degree: Communications-Journalism at Murray State University and graduated from Utility Regulatory School for Commissioners at Michigan State University. He served as a Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs at Alaska Pacific University, taught bank marketing classes at the University of Alaska and was an English teacher at Los Alamos High School. Harbour served in ranks of Private - Captain during a 4-year assignment with the Army in Korea, Idaho, Georgia and Fort Meade and received the Meritorious Service Medal among other commendations. Harbour is also a past Chairman of the Alaska Council on Economic Education, the Alaska Oil & Gas Association Government Affairs Committee, the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, the Export Council of Alaska and the Department of Commerce's District Export Council. He is a past President of the Alaska Press Club, American Bald Eagle Foundation, Consumer Energy Alliance-Alaska and Common Sense for Alaska. Harbour was instrumental in founding the American Bald Eagle Research Institute (UAS), the Alaska Support Industry Alliance, the Downtown Anchorage Business Partnership, and Arctic Power. He also served as CEO of several small Alaska organizations, including the Anchorage Parking Authority and Action Security, Inc. Harbour is also Chairman Emeritus of the Alaska Oil & Gas Congress. Harbour's wife, Nancy, is a professional, performing arts administrator and his three boys, Todd, Benjamin and William work in the fields of environmental management, energy marketing and medicine.