News

Oct.18 gas line public forum to review fiscal options

Release Date: October 12, 2011

The federal coordinator's office for an Alaska North Slope natural gas pipeline is sponsoring an Oct. 18 public forum in Anchorage (and streamed live on the web) to discuss the state's options for assisting in gas line development. The panelists will review potential fiscal options that could help in developing an out-of-state and an in-state line, and how the state could benefit from looking at the two projects as a package. Panelists: William Garner, senior counsel at Dewey & LeBoeuf in...

Release Date: September 26, 2011

Construction is on schedule for an estimated $180 million natural gas storage facility in Alaska's Cook Inlet region. But local utilities think liquefied natural gas imports still might be necessary in a few years, even after storage smoothes the flow of gas supply. These were among the messages delivered by panelists Sept. 22 at an Alaska In-State Energy Supply Summit in Anchorage, an adjunct event to the annual Alaska Oil & Gas Congress held earlier in the week. The new Kenai Peninsula...

Release Date: September 20, 2011

Natural gas will show more growth in demand and production worldwide over the next 25 years than any other fossil fuel, the U.S. Energy Information Administration says in its new forecast of global energy use. Global natural gas demand should rise 52 percent over the next 25 years or so, reaching 169 trillion cubic feet a year in 2035, up from 111 tcf in 2008, the EIA says. Demand for other fossil fuels such as coal and oil will grow meaningfully, too, the EIA predicts. Coal demand...

Release Date: September 19, 2011

By: Jennifer Thompson The federal coordinator's office for an Alaska natural gas pipeline is sponsoring a public forum Oct. 18 on what could be done to help the economics of a large pipeline from the North Slope to the Lower 48 states, while also supporting a smaller in-state spur line to serve Alaska's needs. The forum will be held in Anchorage and streamed live on the Internet. "Alaskans want a natural gas pipeline for the public revenues it will produce, for the oil and gas development it...

Release Date: September 15, 2011

By: Jennifer Thompson The Office of the Federal Coordinator today posted online its new, searchable permits matrix to help the public better understand the complexities, the data needs and schedules of the multiple federal approvals required for the Alaska North Slope natural gas pipeline. The revised permits matrix is available at www.arcticgas.gov/permits-matrix. The new matrix provides detailed information on major federal authorizations and permits that may be required for construction of...

Release Date: September 7, 2011

Like Alaska, Norway is a petroleum province that brings in billions of dollars in annual revenues from oil and gas development. But important differences exist in how Alaska and Norway collect, save and spend their wealth, and issue oil and gas leases. About one-third of Alaska's oil and gas revenues come from its royalty slice of production by private companies on state lands and waters. Norway doesn't take a royalty share of its oil and gas production. Instead, Norway makes all of its money...

Release Date: August 29, 2011

More natural gas is being used in the United States for electrical-power generation than for industrial use, the historical main consumer of gas, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reports. As recently as 1997, U.S. industry consumed twice as much natural gas as the electrical-power sector. Gas for electricity passed industrial use of gas for the first time in 2007, the EIA says. Last year, electric utilities consumed 12 percent more gas than the industrial sector - 20.2 billion cubic...

Release Date: August 24, 2011

The Office of Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects - created by Congress in 2004 to help coordinate the federal government's role in a pipeline project to move Alaska natural gas to the Lower 48 states - issues an Attention Items Update twice a year, tracking progress on permitting and regulatory issues for the project. The August 2011 update (attached) reports few changes in most of the items covered in the February 2011 report, and highlights several key items...

Release Date: August 17, 2011

Federal Coordinator Larry Persily will testify before the Alaska State Senate Resources Committee today, August 17th. The committee has met the past two days discussing various plans for an Alaska natural gas pipeline project, both an in-state proposal and the Alaska Pipeline Project proposal. Today, the federal coordinator will update the committee on the work of the federal agencies as it relates to the Alaska Pipeline Project which proposes to build a pipeline to move North Slope...

EIA reviews Lower 48 shale gas plays

Release Date: August 12, 2011

The U.S. Energy Information Administration recently released a 105-page appraisal of old and new natural gas shale gas fields and how much resource might be recoverable from each. The EIA says the 20 shale gas and oil plays studied could hold 750 trillion cubic feet of natural gas producible with current technology. The agency did not estimate how much could be produced profitably. The agency used the appraisal in its "Annual Energy Outlook 2011." "The proliferation of activity into new shale...