Anchorage Daily Planet by
Tom Brennan (NGP Photo). I know it’s too early to consider the fight lost, but it’s difficult to be optimistic about chances the Legislature will make an intelligent business decision on oil taxes this year – if ever.
ADN by Lisa Demer.
House Speaker Mike Chenault’s bill to create a natural gas pipeline from Alaska’s North Slope to Southcentral is moving through the Legislature even as oil producers talk about moving ahead on a $40 billion project that would make the small line all but irrelevant.
Alaska Dispatch by Ben Anderson. Air Force One made a brief stop in Alaska in the early morning hours of Saturday, according to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. President Obama is on his way to South Korea to discuss the threat of nuclear terrorism with a number of other countries, with continued uncertainty over nuclear programs in North Korea and Iran hanging overhead. The News-Miner reports that Air Force One touched down at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson at about 3 a.m. Saturday, departing at 4:15 a.m. Meanwhile, reporters on board Air Force One said that Obama took the opportunity to call for opinions on oil and gas development in Southcentral Alaska’s Cook Inlet region, with the administration requesting input from developers on the potential for the area.
The Houston Chronicle:
Feds seek input on drilling off Alaska coast. The Obama administration is asking the oil and gas industry to weigh in on a possible sale of drilling leases in the Cook Inlet off the coast of south-central Alaska. The move is designed to gauge the industry’s interest in exploring for oil and gas in the area, but it doesn’t guarantee the government will sell drilling leases in the region.
With the average price per gallon in the U.S. reaching $3.86 this month, it’s no wonder President Obama is talking about energy issues. The increase of 49 cents a gallon over the past two months alone translates to a $35 billion price tag for the broader economy – that’s just in direct costs that do not include related cost increases for transportation and other goods.
The American Petroleum Institute recently called on President Obama to immediately approve the entire Keystone XL project to bring more secure and reliable oil from Canada to the United States and help American consumers at the pump. "We are encouraged to see the president speed up approval of the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline," said API Executive Vice President Marty Durbin. "We now hope he will speed up the approval of the entire pipeline.
What might be called the four pillars of partisan positioning on gasoline prices — more domestic drilling, stronger limits on oil-futures speculators, tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and building new infrastructure for Canadian crude — are set to top the agenda in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee this week.
Leave A Comment