2-1-12

Link to NGP Reader Bill Gallagher's (NGP Photo) new book: Resource Rulers: Fortune and Folly on Canada's Road to Resources.

ADN by Becky Bohrer.  A proposal intended to advance an in-state natural gas pipeline project goes too far in giving too much authority to the Alaska Gasline Development Corp., the leadingHouse Democrat said Tuesday.  ...,  Rep. Mike Hawker (NGP Photo), a co-sponsor of the proposal, said the provisions contained in the measure are the kind needed to get a mega-project under way. He said he was terribly concerned to hear that the minority caucus "is challenging the development of Alaska's in-state gas line.  "This is an issue that is critical to the entire Railbelt," Hawker, R-Anchorage, said, referring to Alaska's most populated area. He said the project is being developed using best practices.  Consumers would still be protected by the regulatory commission, he said.  AGDC recommended it receive ratemaking authority over its projects in its pipeline plan, saying it needs "sole right" to determine ratemaking methodology and to settle tariff disputes for intrastate gas shipments.  Joe Dubler (NGP Photo), a vice president and chief financial officer for AGDC, said bondholders would get repaid from tariffs. If the regulatory commission were able to reduce the tariff, that could hurt efforts to repay the bond holders, Dubler said. That's why he said an exemption -- like the one included in the draft -- was sought. Twenty years of financing is anticipated, he said.  The Legislature and governor would still have oversight of the project, Dubler said.

GOVERNING Magazine by Steven Fehr.  Beyond showing how energy-rich states are leading the nation’s economic recovery, Alaska’s good fortune spotlights how a state so dependent on a single, volatile revenue source skillfully manages its finances. But even the best budget practices cannot disguise another truth confronting the state: Oil production is falling. Unless the trend is reversed, any significant drop in oil prices would spoil the gains Alaska has made since 2005 and halt economic growth.  “Alaska does face a significant fiscal challenge looking forward,” says Scott Goldsmith (NGP Photo), an economics professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage. He notes that $9 of every $10 in revenue comes from oil and that production is declining about 6 percent a year.

 Officials answer proposed gas pipeline questions - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.  Bob Sattler, senior archeologist and environmental quality analyst at Tanana Chiefs Conference, was one of two people who responded to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s invitation to make comments and share concerns and issues for a preliminary environmental review of the Alaska Pipeline Project.  Fewer than 50 people turned out Monday evening for the public scoping meeting conducted by the federal agency about environmental concerns of the proposed natural gas pipeline from the North Slope’s Prudhoe Bay to Canada.  ...  Although his written testimony was worked up with Jerry Isaac (NGP Photo(, TCC chairman, Sattler said they are based on seven years of his personal observations consulting with state, federal and tribal officials over the environmental review in the project area, and “are not formal positions endorsed by TCC board of directors or any member of tribal government among TCC members.” *    The project also includes a Point Thomson Gas Transmission Line that would run approximately 58 miles from Point Thomson delivering gas to the gas treatment plant at Prudhoe Bay.  Written or electronic filings of any comments or interventions or protests will be accepted by the federal commission through Feb. 27.  Comments on Alaska Pipeline Project (Docket No. PF0-11-000) can be sent to Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426, or by filing electronically at www.ferc.gov under the “e-Filing” link and the link to the User’s Guide.

Landowners fight eminent domain in Pa. gas field - Wall Street Journal.  Federal regulators who approved a 39-mile natural gas pipeline in northern Pennsylvania say they relied on the pipeline company's assurances that it would minimize the use of eminent domain. Yet a few days after winning approval for its MARC 1 pipeline ...

The Australian: Johnathan Leake Submarines and undersea rigs may tap into Arctic oil riches - The creation of giant underwater oil and gas plants with all the machinery used to extract fossil fuels beneath the waves would protect them from the extreme weather, including ice and storms, that affect the Arctic.

Peninsula Clarion: Tim Bradner Bill would allow state to partner on large gas pipeline - Alaska’s Speaker of the House and other legislative leaders announced Jan. 24 they will introduce expanding powers of a state corporation now working on a 24-inch in-state gas pipeline to become an investor and partner in a larger gas pipeline built by North Slope producers.

Alaska Dispatch: Alex DeMarban A Southcentral Alaska natural gas shortage unlikely, but still possible - But the cruxes of the problem remain. For one thing, Southcentral Alaska can be hellishly cold. And second, Anchorage's gas comes from just one place: Cook Inlet. If a portion of that system fails, Alaska's biggest city could go dark.

gCaptain: Al Meida Norway has SERIOUS gas…Like 60 Billion Cubic Meters Of It. - Statoil, together with joint venture partners ExxonMobil and ConocoPhilips, have selected a Spar platform to develop the Luva Fieid, a deep-water gas field 300 kilometers offshore Norway that promises to hold between 40 and 60 BILLION cubic meters of natural gas.