Aftermath of Denali's FERC Filing - Canadian News

 

Reuters by Yereth Rosen.  The cost estimate for that 1,700-mile project is $32 billion to $41 billion, according to the TransCanada-Exxon Mobil open-season plan. Those companies have received FERC permission to start a 90-day open season on April 30.  Denali President Bud Fackrell (NGP Photo) said the company has 'a really high-quality design and execution plan' and believes its $35 billion estimate is well supported.  'We have to give confidence to the shippers that we know what this project is going to cost. We feel very good about that,' Fackrell said in a telephone news conference.

Seattle Times by Becky Bohrer.  President Bud Fackrell said Wednesday that, while there's only enough room for one line, BP and ConocoPhillips do not agree with all the state's terms under the act, making it problematic to coalesce now. He said Denali and its owners are open to anyone who can add value joining their project, defending it as highly competitive.  Gov. Sean Parnell (NGP Photo) chalked Fackrell's comments up to "posturing." "They're negotiating," he told reporters, adding that he sees back-to-back open seasons as a positive for Alaska. TransCanada and Exxon Mobil plan to begin seeking shipping commitments as early as May 1, with Denali hoping to hold its own as early as July.

Cleveland.com via AP.  A massive endeavor to move natural gas from Alaska's North Slope to North American markets will cost an estimated $35 billion, according to a plan unveiled Wednesday, potentially setting the stage for a high-stakes showdown with a competing pipeline project and the state.

Alaska Dispatch by Rena Delbridge.  The FERC waiver, if approved, would apply whether producers make bids on space in the TransCanada line or Denali's line, Alaska Gasline Inducement Act outreach coordinator Mark Morones said.  If the state is granted a waiver, it will be able to negotiate a way to maintain its unique right to switch how it takes royalty gas while addressing financial risk to producers who buy space in the line.  ...  "(The waiver) would give us an opportunity to negotiate something down the line here to attract more interest from shippers who are expressing concern about having to pay those costs," Morones said.
Alaska gets a roughly 12.5 percent royalty on gas produced on the North Slope. The state can choose whether to take that share as money -- royalty in value -- or as gas for in-state use -- royalty in kind. The state can also switch from one payment method to the other.  BP is one of the three key North Slope producers with gas to commit to a pipeline. Producers who buy space in the line as shippers will shoulder much of the financial risk on the $26 billion to $40 billion project.  "The royalty gas issue is very important," BP spokesman Steve Rinehart said. "We will carefully review the petition the state has filed to FERC."

E&E News (4/7, subs. req’d) reports, “The Obama administration is considering the imposition of new conservation measures in Alaska 's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Fish and Wildlife Service said today it is updating the refuge's 22-year-old comprehensive land-use plan and will consider proposing new wilderness areas. Wilderness designations impose sharp limits on development and could be a major barrier to developing oil and gas reserves. Following a scoping process, the administration will submit any suggested wilderness additions or revisions to Congress, which has final authority. Any effort to block development of the refuge's petroleum reserves would meet resistance from Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), spokesman Robert Dillon said today. "Alaska always leads the nation in wilderness designations and the amount of land protected, and so further wilderness designations are unnecessary," Dillon said.  (A release from Governor Sean Parnell's office quoted him as responding, “The oil and gas, wilderness, and wildlife values of the coastal plain have already been studied and this study previously has been submitted to Congress,” Governor Parnell said. “It is a mistake for the federal government to initiate yet another planning process in ANWR, the most promising unexplored petroleum region in North America.” )

OPEN PDF.  Several landslides are still active and. could affect the new gas pipeline route planned to be built until 2010 on a permafrost environment ...permafrost under current climate changes is essential to pipeline construction and monitoring. The. satellite radar interferometric techniques are providing useful ... These results can be extrapolated in similar areas along the Mackenzie valley and in permafrost. environment. Keywords: D-InSAR, geo-hazard, successive ...File name: 1947.pdf 

Calgary Herald by Shaun Polczer.  In September 2008 Mike Rose founded Tourmaline Oil Corp. after selling his previous creation Duvernay Oil Corp. to Shell for mega billions. What do we know aboutTourmaline other than the fact that it's a semi-precious stone and another really cool geology-inspired name for an oil company? Not much except that it's a private company already worth about $1.8 billion and that its CEO is scheduled to speak to his alma mater at Queen's later this year. (That ought to be interesting.)