As the Alaska LNG project discussion continues, please note our new ‘media’ link in the right hand column: Jim Jenson (LNG), a valuable research source on this subjects.  -dh


Yakutia Airlines announces that its 2013 Yakutia Airsummer Alaska-Russian Far East service will operate from Anchorage to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Khabarovsk.


Oil & Gas Journal (i.e. full. article) by Alaska Economist Roger Marks Roger Marks, Alaska economist, ACES, AGIA, Oil & Gas Journal, Photo by Dave Harbour(NGPPhoto).  

Steve Forbes, Alaska Speech, taxes, North Korea, Photo by Dave HarbourComment: When Steve Forbes visited Alaska recently, he said, "…the State has the worst energy tax structure in the world — except for North Korea.  "With a sustainable tax structure," he said, "you attract investment and get the hay while the haying is good".   While the statement was intended to be somewhat exaggerated, it does draw attention to Marks’ emphasis on Alaska’s uncompetitive positioning in the world investment market.    -dh

"… The author has suggested in the aforementioned referenced material that comparable jurisdictions are other North America jurisdictions, Arctic jurisdictions, other tax and royalty regimes, and places with similar production and reserves. Compared to its peers Alaska’s taxes are very high. (In that analysis Alaska was fourth highest out of 24 regimes. For 17 of those regimes Alaska’s effective tax rate ranged from 12 to 37 percentage points higher. At a $118/bbl market price, and a $91/bbl net value, each percentage point difference is worth 91 cents/bbl after-tax.)  Because of taxes, given a pre-tax net value, producers can demonstrably make considerably more money nearly anywhere else in the other comparable jurisdictions than in Alaska."

Calgary Herald by Deborah Yedlin (Photo).  The way things stand, withDeborah Yedlin, calgary herald, northerngaspipelines.com the heated rhetoric and a potential change in government in British Columbia, it could be argued that a better use of Enbridge’s time would be to find a logical break in the National Energy Board hearings and blow the whistle on the project for a while.  As Gerry Protti, former Encana executive and current Canadian and international corporate director and adviser, pointed out recently – Encana did exactly that with its Deep Panuke project off Nova Scotia in 2003.

Commissioner Dan Sullivan, Department of Natural Resources, AG, Alaska, gas pipeline, oil and gas, taxes, AGIA, ACES, Photo by Dave HarbourNotice for Anchorage Readers: Meeting TODAY, Friday, October 12 from 12-1 at CIRI located at 2525 C Street in the 1st floor conference room with Commissioner Dan Sullivan, Department of Natural Resource, who will speak to the recent announcement and letter from the producers and TransCanada that have made progress on an Alaska LNG export project. Additional information is attached above.  Here is a link to a presentation he made a month ago (NGP Photo.  Other event photos.) to the Resource Development Council for Alaska re: Alaska’s Natural Resource strategies, and here is a new, 144-page DNR report that compiles all of the available information on fossil fuel and geothermal resources that potentially could be used to provide energy to communities throughout Alaska.  The goal of the Commonwealth North group is

to continue discussion on our most recent energy reports Energy for a Sustainable Alaska: The Railbelt Predicament & The Rural Conundrum and highlight and identify challenges and opportunities in Alaska’s energy environment in order to bring informed Alaskans to the table and come to solutions that will benefit all Alaskans and ensure these complex energy issues are understood.

Upcoming Meeting Schedule and Speakers
Friday, November 2 – Colleen Starring, President, ENSTAR
Friday, November 9 – Larry Persily, Federal Coordinator, Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects
Friday, December 7 – John Barnes, SVP, Exploration & Production, Hilcorp Alaska, LLC
Friday, December 14 – John Hendrix, General Manager, Apache Alaska Corporation
 
Other participants, 9-6-12 RDC Meeting:
 
 
 
Dale Pittman, Exxon, Alaska, Iditarod, ACES, AGIA, Point Thomson, Alaska Gas Pipeline, Photo by Dave Harbour, RDCDale Pittman
 
Todd Harbour, Steel Buildings, Environmental Scientist, Air Quality, Texas, Alaska, Photo by Dave Harbour, RDC, Ben Harbour, Billy Harbour, Laura Harbour, Nancy Harbour, Doug Harbour
Todd Harbour