MMS Seeks Comment on 2012-17 Leasing Plan -- PLEASE COMMENT

 The MMS is seeking comment now, until next week (June 30), on its OCS leasing plan for the period 2012-17.  Its decision could shut down this true economic stimulus for years to come.  It could cause the economic downfall of Alaska by constricting Trans Alaska Pipeline replacement oil throughput and lowering the potential for gas pipeline throughput.  A restrictive lease sale program could harm most other states in varying, significant degrees.  In large part, this decision process depends on your weighing in.  To have your opinion counted, please go to this page for an easy way to participate

Here is a comment your author provided last week.

Fairbanks News Miner.  A Republican challenger for governor has filed Freedom of Information Act paperwork in the hopes of forcing Gov. Sean Parnell (NGP Photo) to open the books in ongoing pipeline open season processes.  The challenge from Bill Walker (NGP Photo-l), an attorney and former Valdez mayor, portrays Parnell as too cozy with the companies leading the pipeline project, one of two competing plans to ship natural gas through Canada.

 

 

Decision expected this fall
Bob McLeodThe Mackenzie Valley pipeline, a major N.W.T. project, has been tied up in regulatory reviews and delays for years. In the past, it has been the main topic at the Inuvik Petroleum Show, now in its 10th....
But N.W.T. Industry Minister Bob McLeod (NGP Photo-l), who also attended the conference, said businesses that have hoped to work on the Mackenzie Valley pipeline are starting to wonder if the pipeline will ever become a reality.
 
'Light' at end of the pipeline?
"A lot of the businesses are telling us that unless they see something that will indicate there's some future prospects, that the situation is pretty grim," McLeod said....  But Aboriginal Pipeline Group chairman Fred Carmichael (NGP Photo) said those concerns may be premature, as he's confident the project will go ahead. ... Come September, I think you'll see the sparks fly again," he said....
 
Drilling concerns in Nunavut
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Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Mary Simon said Greenland's government "is determined to go ahead with offshore drilling in Davis Strait, and there has been some criticism both in Canada and within Greenland on this issue." ... Simon said offshore drilling concerns will likely be discussed at the Inuit Circumpolar Council's general assembly next week in Nuuk, Greenland.
Simon said various Inuit groups in Canada and Greenland want to ensure Arctic offshore drilling is done safely. She added that she has shared those concerns in a recent letter to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.