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2-9-12 - FERC To Hear Gas Pipeline Comments Monday
ADN-AP. Alaska's procedures for dealing with companies that buy oil leases but don't develop them were debated Wednesday in a case before the state Supreme Court.
CBC. Liquefied natural gas is the future of energy exports in B.C., Premier Christy Clark announced on Friday morning. Clark was at Burnaby's BCIT campus to set out a new 10-year energy plan for the province, which includes the construction of two liquid natural gas plants in northern B.C. by 2020. The premier said the plants in Kitimat would generate $2 billion in new revenue for the government each year.
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Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline Federal Coordinator, Larry Persily (NGP Photo)advised us yesterday that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will hold a public meeting Monday in Anchorage to gather comments on what issues should be covered in its environmental review of TransCanada/ExxonMobil’s proposed natural gas pipeline project. The meeting is set for 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13, in the Kahtnu Room on the second level of the Dena’ina Center. (Click here to see how to see the web stream live on Monday.)
The Hill. Those who heard President Obama’s recent State of the Union speech might have been confused when he got to the energy portion of his remarks. Echoing phrases long used by Republicans, such as “all-of-the-above energy,” the president tried to not only promote oil and natural-gas development but also to take credit for increasing U.S. production.
At Tuesday's NARUC winter meeting in Washington, following opening comments by president David Wright and Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, other capital hill leaders addressed national energy policy issues.
Daniel Yergin's (NGP Photo) IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates provides some of the 
most sought-after energy research and advice available anywhere. The keynote speaker is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author of, "The Prize: the Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power," and his new opus, "The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World." He cautioned commissioners to be aware of changing paradigms that affect energy decisions. As an example, he pointed out that an increase of electricity demand of 20% by 2020 was in large part an effect of our greater use of electrical devices using what he labled, "gadget watts", from digital devices individuals carry around in the purses and pockets. This growth of demand in the developed and developing world forces new demands for infrastructure. A key financing and regulatory challenge will be determining "what to build" and "where to build". While today's energy dialog seems somewhat consumed in the oil and gas hydraulic fracturing technology that is bringing vast new energy supplies and jobs to the country, Yergin pointed out that, "If it were not for shale gas, we'd be sending an additional $100 billion per year abroad for LNG imports." Yergin highlighted the role conservation plays in meeting energy demand, saying that the, "U.S." is twice as energy efficient now as it was in the 1950s. The problem," he said, "is that there is no red ribbon cutting, no photo op...," for conservation accomplishments. (See Alaska Gasline Federal Coordinator Webpage Report Below.)
most sought-after energy research and advice available anywhere. The keynote speaker is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author of, "The Prize: the Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power," and his new opus, "The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World." He cautioned commissioners to be aware of changing paradigms that affect energy decisions. As an example, he pointed out that an increase of electricity demand of 20% by 2020 was in large part an effect of our greater use of electrical devices using what he labled, "gadget watts", from digital devices individuals carry around in the purses and pockets. This growth of demand in the developed and developing world forces new demands for infrastructure. A key financing and regulatory challenge will be determining "what to build" and "where to build". While today's energy dialog seems somewhat consumed in the oil and gas hydraulic fracturing technology that is bringing vast new energy supplies and jobs to the country, Yergin pointed out that, "If it were not for shale gas, we'd be sending an additional $100 billion per year abroad for LNG imports." Yergin highlighted the role conservation plays in meeting energy demand, saying that the, "U.S." is twice as energy efficient now as it was in the 1950s. The problem," he said, "is that there is no red ribbon cutting, no photo op...," for conservation accomplishments. (See Alaska Gasline Federal Coordinator Webpage Report Below.)Ron Wyden, a U.S. Senator from Oregon (NGP Photo) said he would be placing much more 
attention on developing consensus on energy policy. "We have to look at the ultimate cost to our businesses and citizens of energy policies," he said. "Are we going to give communities more and more ability to carve out their own courses?" He advocated more state control of energy decisions and said, "I think it is wrong for Congress to take away from the states the ability to approve sites for LNG terminals and approve electrical transmission facilities." He ended by advocating a revamped federal tax system. "Our Federal tax system is completely broken," he said.
attention on developing consensus on energy policy. "We have to look at the ultimate cost to our businesses and citizens of energy policies," he said. "Are we going to give communities more and more ability to carve out their own courses?" He advocated more state control of energy decisions and said, "I think it is wrong for Congress to take away from the states the ability to approve sites for LNG terminals and approve electrical transmission facilities." He ended by advocating a revamped federal tax system. "Our Federal tax system is completely broken," he said.Senator Joe Manchin (NGP Photo) of West Virginia spoke of coal as a critical piece of the country's energy security, noting it produced nearly half of America's electrical power generation. (We also 
recalled -- as the coal state senator spoke -- that Alaska is thought to have half of Americas coal resources and as much as a quarter of the total world's discovered and undiscovered coal resources.) Manchin pointed out that while his state is noted for its coal mines, West Virginia has the largest wind farm activity east of the Mississippi. He acknowledged his state and other energy producing states had not done a very good job of informing the public. "You better tell your story," he cautioned the audience, "or someone else will tell your story for you." He emphasized the importance of coal to energy consumers. "Coal has given us dependable, reliable and affordable energy, " he said, "longer than has any other energy source. We must tell the Federal government," he concluded, "that we want permit approvals, not hand outs."
recalled -- as the coal state senator spoke -- that Alaska is thought to have half of Americas coal resources and as much as a quarter of the total world's discovered and undiscovered coal resources.) Manchin pointed out that while his state is noted for its coal mines, West Virginia has the largest wind farm activity east of the Mississippi. He acknowledged his state and other energy producing states had not done a very good job of informing the public. "You better tell your story," he cautioned the audience, "or someone else will tell your story for you." He emphasized the importance of coal to energy consumers. "Coal has given us dependable, reliable and affordable energy, " he said, "longer than has any other energy source. We must tell the Federal government," he concluded, "that we want permit approvals, not hand outs."
Congressman Jim Clyburn (NGP Photo) is a member of the House of Representatives minority leadership team. Supporting a diversity of domestic energy sources Clyburn said, "our energy future must include nuclear as a central feature. While mentioning wind and solar energy he made indirect reference to fossil fuel by indicating, "We cannot leave anything out of the equation." The "All of the above" principle of energy exploration and development is one long advocated by Consumer Energy Alliance and a principle more recently advocated by the President in his recent State of the Nation speech (i.e. CEA is an organization on whose board your author sits). (Cont., More on the FERC’s Anchorage Meeting on Monday)
Monday’s meeting will be streamed live by the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects. The web stream will be available at www.arcticgas.gov,
where it also will be available for viewing after the event.
The meeting will start with a presentation by FERC on the environmental review process, followed by a description of the project by TransCanada/ExxonMobil, followed by public comment.
The Alaska Pipeline Project, a partnership of TransCanada and ExxonMobil, is proposing to build a gas pipeline that would span 803 miles of Alaska – from Point Thomson to Prudhoe Bay to the Canadian border – en route to a terminus at the British Columbia-Alberta border. The proposal calls for construction to start in 2016, with pipeline startup in late 2020. The pipeline would carry 4.5 billion cubic feet a day of natural gas from North Slope fields, targeting Lower 48 markets.
FERC will prepare an environmental impact statement on the project, with the public scoping sessions to help define what environmental effects the review will consider. The Anchorage meeting is the last of seven such meetings in Alaska.
In advance of the scoping meetings, TransCanada/ExxonMobil filed 11 environmental reports on the pipeline corridor, called draft resource reports. Links to those reports are available at
http://www.arcticgas.gov/environmental-review-documents . The reports cover issues such as fish and wildlife habitat, soils, air quality, cultural resources, safety and socioeconomic effects of the multi billion-dollar project.
Utility regulators hear about shale gas, fracking and U.S. LNG exports
Daniel Yergin, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and consultant on global oil and gas history and politics, told several hundred utility regulators Feb. 7 that if just five years ago any of them had talked about exporting U.S. natural gas, “we’d take you off to the asylum.”
But in the past five years, he said, “the impact of shale gas has been enormous,” filling the U.S. market with new supplies, changing the economics for the nation’s electrical generation industry, and prompting strong interest in shipping U.S. gas overseas. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing for natural gas are “the biggest innovations in the energy sector,” Yergin told a packed ballroom at the winter meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners in Washington, D.C.
“There is no doubt that our whole model for getting natural gas in North America has been turned on its head in the past decade,” said Cal Cooper, manager of special projects for the CEO at oil and gas producer Apache Corp. Cooper, a geophysicist, said today’s low prices brought on by prolific shale gas production are unsustainable, though it’s hard to see gas climbing above $5 per thousand cubic feet “anytime soon.”
