It's the billion-dollar question in Alaska for 2012: Will this be the year Shell Oil begins large-scale offshore exploratory drilling in Arctic waters? Two months into 2012, the oil giant…

Business related events scheduled around Alaska…

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Four months ago I was on top of the world. My business had just been bought by an Alaska Native corporation, giving me enough money to retire and my small…

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New buildings seem to be popping up all over town. They're physical proof of the strength of the Anchorage economy. New construction, particularly speculative construction, happens when an economy is…

Alaskans were surprised to learn that a new and very different mission statement has been adopted by the Department of Natural Resources. Questions about the mission shift dominated a recent…

Officials anticipate an increase in construction spending this year in Alaska.

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North Slope oil: $114.84 per barrel, up $5.33…

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Doyon Emerald, a full-service engineering and consulting firm, said Jan. 27 that it was recognized for its marketing communications efforts by the Public Relations Society of America, PRSA, Alaska Chapter at their annual Aurora Awards Banquet held on Jan. 26. Doyon Emerald, along with Solstice Adver...

Crowley Maritime Corp. said Jan. 27 that to better serve its customers, its Miami-based liner services and logistics personnel, along with those from subsidiary Customized Brokers, are relocating to a new office and warehouse in the heart of the Miami import-export community at 10205 NW 108 Avenue,....

Baker Hughes said Jan. 19 that it is the first integrated oilfield service company to receive full accreditation of its Competence Management Program from the International Association of Drilling Contractors. IADC's system for accrediting competency assurance programs reviews and confirms tha...

With Alaska politicians and oil company executives talking - again - about prospects for exporting liquefied North Slope natural gas, the question has arisen - again - whether the federal loan guarantee could be used for such a project. The short answer is no, not for a project that 'ships gas ...

The eastern coastal area of Alaska's North Slope opened for tundra travel Jan. 31. The Department of Natural Resources' Division of Mining, Land and Water said soil temperatures and snow cover within the eastern coastal area met criteria for opening, which is six inches of snow and a soil...

The Regulatory Commission of Alaska is putting off its decision on a small North Slope natural gas pipeline for another month as it works through some issues on the case. Polar LNG LLC is seeking certification to build and operate a pipeline from Flow Station 1 at the Prudhoe Bay unit to a pad in De...

The Environmental Protection Agency has published for public review draft wastewater general permits for oil and gas exploration activities in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas. The permits come under the National Pollutant Discharge System, or NPDES, and are designed to protect the marine environment a...

A proposal intended to advance an in-state natural gas pipeline project goes too far in giving too much authority to the Alaska Gasline Development Corp., the leading House Democrat said Jan. 31. Rep. Beth Kerttula, D-Juneau, said she has 'terrible concerns' about HB9, which she said isn&...

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources has approved a request by Repsol EandP USA Inc. to form the Qugruk unit on the North Slope, but in a significantly reduced form. While Repsol originally proposed a 98,852-acre unit over 49 state leases, the state ultimately approved a 12,065-acre unit over ...

Southcentral Alaska's cold winter has created a challenge for oil production in Cook Inlet, with ice conditions in the inlet restricting tankers from accessing the offloading terminal at Drift River. As a result, the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is allowing Hilcorp Alaska LLC to ...

It was one of those cringe-inducing moments. Just as the top brass at Kinder Morgan were regaling analysts with their grand plans for pipeline projects across North America to take advantage of the rush to drill for liquids in gas-prone regions and to fill a possible void if TransCanada's Keyst...

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has published the draft environmental impact statement, or DEIS, for the 737-mile Alaska Stand Alone Gas Pipeline, ASAP, project bringing Alaska North Slope natural gas to Fairbanks and Cook Inlet. The project sponsor, the Alaska Gasline Development Corp., said the....

In January, a small team of federal officials were to visit a handful of Alaska villages to discuss with local tribal leaders the proposed multibillion-dollar gas pipeline project - one government to another. The meetings - or consultations, as they're called - stem from an 18-year-old presiden...

The Alaska Legislature's House and Senate Judiciary committees will hold a joint hearing on a ballot initiative for re-establishing the state's coastal management program Feb. 6. The state's program died last year when the House and Senate could not agree on a bill continuing the Ala...

It's a fascinating debate. But could it be done? Participants in a visit to Norway last year by legislators and other stakeholders in the Alaska oil and gas industry have been enthusing about Norway's oil and gas licensing system, a system that some say encourages higher levels of oil and ...

Crescent Point Energy has taken another step toward claiming a dominant role in the Lower Shaunavon and Bakken resource oil plays of southern Saskatchewan - both of them Canadian extensions of the Williston basin in North Dakota and Montana. Extending a series of takeovers of small oil producers, Cr...

Buccaneer Alaska LLC is permitting a 3-D seismic campaign on the Kenai Peninsula. The local subsidiary of the Australian independent Buccaneer Energy Ltd plans to shoot 30 square miles in and around the city of Kenai, in the vicinity of its Kenai Loop field. Buccaneer plans to use a combination of s...

Driven by potential energy shortages in Southcentral Alaska and encouraged by various state incentives, the energy scene in the Cook Inlet region has sparked into a newly invigorated life. And, although new exploration for natural gas has grabbed many of the headlines in this evolving situation, sev...

A struggling electric power cooperative is looking to the Alaska Legislature for funding to continue its geothermal exploration program. Officers of Naknek Electric Association on Jan. 27 testified before the House Resources Committee in Juneau, saying $3.2 million is needed right away to complete a...

In addition to a production test the company plans to run on a previously drilled well, NordAq Energy Inc. is permitting a second well at its onshore Shadura prospect on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula. The Shadura appraisal well would be drilled from state land - lease ADL 391596 - into Cook Inlet R...

Linc Energy Inc. is postponing its drilling program at the Umiat prospect in northern Alaska this winter because of 'logistical and weather issues,' according to the company. Although previously reported in Petroleum News, the announcement is the first official acknowledgment from the comp...

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, CAPP, is attempting to get one jump ahead of public opinion by introducing six new 'operating practices' for its member companies to protect multi-stage fracturing wells, now viewed as the drilling technology that is most crucial to the indu...

Officials with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management say the agency is monitoring environmental risk from old wells on federal land on Alaska's North Slope, and is updating plans for remediating the drill sites. The comments come in response to an Alaska state legislator's charge that the BLM...

Two major tax issues - revisions to Alaska's Clear and Equitable Share or ACES and decoupling - are up for consideration in the Alaska Legislature this year. Or perhaps continuing consideration would be a better term. A decoupling bill, which would separate oil and natural gas for calculating...

Senate leaders made clear in a press conference Jan. 26 that Gov. Sean Parnell's HB 110, which passed the House last year, would not be the vehicle for reforming the state's oil production tax. Instead, they said, the Senate Resources Committee will introduce a bill focusing on two key co...

Enstar Natural Gas Co., Southcentral Alaska's natural gas distribution company, is on its way to becoming part of a Canadian energy infrastructure business, Calgary-based AltaGas Ltd. AltaGas said Feb. 1 that it will pay more than $1.1 billion for natural gas businesses in Alaska and Michigan....

Record breaking cold in northern Alaska has interfered with North Slope exploration programs, eating into the already short window of January to mid-April for winter drilling. The majority of ice roads being constructed for this year's winter exploration season are in the western coastal region...

As Shell edges toward drilling in the Alaska Arctic outer continental shelf, or OCS, the stakes are high in the standoff between the proponents of offshore development and those who view the Arctic seas as an unduly risky venue for oil drilling at present. But what are the perspectives of people on....

The Canadian government will introduce measures 'within months' to expedite regulatory reviews of major energy and mining projects, preventing a repetition of the prolonged Mackenzie Gas Project or MGP process and the current stonewalling by opponents of Enbridge's Northern Gateway pi...

Buccaneer Energy Ltd. is taking a stab at the Cosmopolitan prospect. The Australian independent and BlueCrest Energy II, LP, a privately held energy company out of Fort Worth, Texas, announced Feb. 2 that they have purchased two leases at the offshore Cook Inlet prospect from Pioneer Natural Resourc...

When it comes to figuring out how Keystone XL finished in such a pickle, there is no end to the blame game. You can pin the plight on Hollywood stars such as Margot Kidder and Robert Redford, who lent their names to environmental protests; or the environmentalists themselves, labeled by Canada'...

President Barack Obama on Jan. 13 proposed moving the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration out of the Commerce Department and into the Interior Department. It's one prong of a reorganization plan meant to make the government more efficient and helpful to business with less duplicatio...

NordAq Energy Inc. is moving ahead on its efforts to test and potentially develop a Cook Inlet natural gas discovery that the company announced last year. The Alaska-based independent wants to test the Shadura No. 1 well to determine if the prospect can produce commercially. The company is currentl...

Alaska drilling regulators have issued an order authorizing a procedure to test production from an experimental natural gas hydrate well in the Prudhoe Bay field. The procedure involves injecting a mixed stream of carbon dioxide and nitrogen gases into the Ignik Sikumi No. 1 well. The well, already....

CH2M HILL, a global full-service consulting, design, construction and operations firm, said Jan. 18 that it is pleased to announce the recent signing of a significant Framework Agreement with Statoil Canada Ltd. Valued at nearly $400 million, total installed cost, CH2M Hill's FA is for engineer...

ASRC Energy Services Inc. said Jan. 4 that it has named Shanna Davidson as its supply chain manager. As manager, Davidson will oversee the development and implementation of market sector and strategic sourcing strategies in support of ASRC Energy Services operations. She will be responsible for ide...

Alaska's Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys is starting an investigation of the oil and gas potential of the Nenana basin, in Alaska's interior, about 50 miles southwest of Fairbanks, DGGS geologist Dave LePain told Petroleum News on Jan. 24. The DGGS-led research project is be...

In a preliminary report released Jan. 20 the Alaska Northern Waters Task Force said economic benefits to Alaska could be substantial from diminishing sea ice and the intensifying international race for natural resources. But, the task force said, the state also needs to provide for sustainable comm...

The many billions of barrels of heavy oil lying at shallow depths under Alaska's central North Slope have spurred much interest in finding viable ways of turning this huge resource into a marketable commodity. Heavy oil, with a consistency of honey, is difficult to extract from an oil reservoir...

While Alaska wonders if its liquefied natural gas export market will ever return, gas producers in the Lower 48 are wondering if their LNG export market will ever begin. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has jumbled that question with a report suggesting that exports would drive up natural....

Teck Resources, Canada's largest producer of metallurgical coal and zinc, is taking an even bolder step into oil sands mining with a C$435 million bid to acquire SilverBirch Energy, its 50 percent partner in the Frontier lease. If the transaction is ratified by two-thirds of SilverBirch shareho...

A number of oil and gas issues were on the table Jan. 20 when Commissioner of Natural Resources Dan Sullivan updated the House Resources Committee on the department's activities. Extra money the Legislature provided to the department last year helped reduce the backlog of applications in the D...

An Alaska state legislator says the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has 'ignored its responsibility' to properly square away dozens of old, abandoned well sites on the North Slope. Rep. Charisse Millett, R-Anchorage, on Jan. 17 introduced House Joint Resolution 29 urging the BLM 'to pl...

Kenai Pipe Line Co., Tesoro Alaska Co. and Tesoro Logistics Operations LLC filed a request Sept. 1 asking that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission determine that pipeline routes under Kenai Pipe Line Co.'s FERC tariff are not subject to FERC jurisdiction under the Interstate Commerce Act. ...

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has rescheduled an Anchorage scoping meeting for the Alaska Pipeline Project, the proposal to build a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope to Canada to connect with markets in the Lower 48. FERC said Jan. 20 that the scoping meeting will be Feb. 13 at 7....

Shell Canada has put C$970 million on the table in a major reawakening of exploration in offshore Nova Scotia. That's what it bid to win the rights to four deepwater parcels in hopes of finding oil in a region the Nova Scotia government estimates holds 8 billion barrels, based on preliminary wo...

Rep. Carl Gatto, R-Palmer, co-chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said the House and Senate Judiciary committees will hold a joint hearing on the coastal zone initiative to satisfy legal requirements. The initiative would reestablish a coastal zone management program. The existing program lapsed...

Gov. Sean Parnell, in his recent State of the State speech to the Alaska Legislature, laid out some rather specific steps for oil companies and the state to take over the next year in the continuing quest for a natural gas pipeline. What does the governor's schedule mean? In concrete terms, not...

Although Great Bear Petroleum does not yet have a drilling rig for its North Slope shale exploration and evaluation program, the director of Alaska's Division of Oil and Gas told state lawmakers Jan. 20 that the company has secured the primary government authorizations and permits necessary for...

A new report by the research firm McDowell Group is shedding light on seemingly contradictory North Slope employment figures and an apparent spike in nonresident hire. North Slope employment dropped sharply in 2009 but has since rebounded and is now at an all-time high. Industry spending is up, but...

TransCanada is digging deep into its bag of tricks to outwit opponents of Keystone XL, save what it can of the $1.9 billion it has already invested on the $7 billion project and stop those who have signed shipping contracts from walking away. Faced with one analyst's prediction that its shares ...

A steep rise in oil prices last year helped ConocoPhillips earn nearly $2 billion in Alaska, an increase over 2010 earning despite falling oil and natural gas production in the state. ConocoPhillips earned $1.9 billion in Alaska last year, up from $1.7 billion in 2010. While ConocoPhillips' ann...

Last year the Alaska House picked away at issues surrounding an in-state gas pipeline, moving three bills to the Senate. In July, the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. delivered its feasibility report to the Legislature, complete with a list of recommended legislative changes. House Speaker Mike Ch...

A forecast from the Institute of Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage says construction spending should be $7.7 billion in Alaska this year, up 3.3 percent…

Employers added a better-than-expected 243,000 non-farm payroll jobs in January and the unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent, the government said today in a report that put an exclamation point…

North Slope oil: $109.51 per barrel, down $1.25…

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Fairbanks Sewer and Water has agreed to pay $4.5 million in customer refunds for setting rates too high the last decade.

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The graffiti artist who took Facebook stock instead of cash for painting the walls of the social network's first headquarters made a smart bet. His shares should be worth upward…

A Canadian energy business announced Wednesday it will pay $1.1 billion to buy the parent company of Enstar Natural Gas Co., the lone distributor of natural gas to tens of…

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Facebook made a much-anticipated status update Wednesday: The Internet social network is going public eight years after its computer-hacking CEO Mark Zuckerberg started the service at Harvard University.

North Slope oil: $110.76 per barrel, down $0.87…

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North Slope oil: $111.63 per barrel, down $0.30…

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Supporters of a bill to ban Permanent Fund investments in companies that do business in Iran describe it as a threat to U.S. security. But there are concerns about the…

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A new report by the research firm McDowell Group is shedding light on seemingly contradictory North Slope employment figures and an apparent spike in nonresident hire.

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North Slope oil: $111.93 per barrel, down $0.83…

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Conventions and conferences…

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Some months ago, a temp employee accused one of our managers of hitting on her. We pulled the manager in for questioning. He absolutely denied it.

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As expected, there will be fewer halibut available for fishermen to catch this year -- an 18 percent reduction to 33 million pounds, split among fisheries along the West Coast,

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Harry and Brigid Dodge's efforts to reduce the environmental impact of their business have won them several awards. This month, their business, Kodiak Treks, was recertified by Adventure Green Alaska,

The difficulty and uncertainty in predicting natural gas resources was underscored last week when the Energy Information Administration released a report containing sharply lower estimates in the Lower 48.

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Officials with the Alaska Permanent Fund said it ended the second quarter of the 2012 fiscal year with $38.6 billion, a 4.2 percent gain in the quarter. The fund ended…

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Richard MacLean, Ph.D and president of Charter College, announced the opening of the School of Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, Refrigeration and Welding.

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North Slope oil: $112.76 per barrel, down $0.14…

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Commercial fisherman in the Gulf of Alaska, Aleutian Islands and Southwest Alaska will see substantial cuts in the commercial halibut catch this year, though Southeast got an increase.

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Things are looking up for Alaska's fund to share oil wealth.

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The University of Alaska Fairbanks says an engineering company has made a $1.6 million software donation to the school's petroleum engineering department.

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The U.S. economy grew late last year at a pace that in normal times would suggest it's healthy. But investors aren't necessarily cheering.

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The rig owner involved in drilling the Gulf of Mexico well that spewed more than 200 million gallons of oil will not have to pay many of the pollution claims…

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North Slope oil: $112.90 per barrel, up $1.22…

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The chamber of commerce and the convention and visitors bureau in Kenai are becoming one organization.

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Alaska Air Group Inc.'s fourth-quarter net income dipped, to below analyst expectations, as fuel costs soared 31 percent.

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Sea ice is encroaching unusually early on the central Bering Sea, threatening to grind Alaska's economically important snow crab fishery to a halt at the peak of the season, leaving…

Alaska Airlines is ending decades of giving passengers prayer cards with their meals, saying today it heard from customers who preferred not to mix religion with transportation.

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North Slope oil: $111.68 per barrel, up $0.38…

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Federal regulators have rescheduled to Feb. 13 a meeting in Anchorage on TransCanada Corp.'s proposed Alaska natural gas pipeline project.

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Two Alaska House leaders are proposing legislation they see as empowering the Alaska Gasline Development Corp., which is leading efforts to develop an in-state gas pipeline.

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Google Inc. is overhauling the way it treats user data, linking information across its array of email, video and social-networking services so that information gathered in one place can be…

North Slope oil: $111.30 per barrel, down $0.67…

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he new board of directors for Kodiak-based Leisnoi Inc. has announced a sizable dividend for shareholders. Shareholders of the Native village corporation for Woody Island will receive $100 per share.

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When one of our senior managers unexpectedly decided to leave the state, it left a vacancy. Two of our best junior managers applied for the job and since we couldn't…

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People say you don't know you've hit bottom until you're on the way back up. Coming off last year's slow residential real estate market - the year we'll remember as…

The state and Exxon Mobil are scheduled to go to school Feb. 8, and each will be looking to teach the other a lesson.

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An array of 19 new seafood products will compete for top honors at the annual Symphony of Seafood contest in Seattle. The Symphony began nearly two decades ago as a…

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News on hires or promotions of employees to senior or midlevel professional or supervisory positions…

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The Alaska Journal of Commerce announced its 2012 Top Forty Under 40 recipients this week, honoring Alaska's top 40 up-and-comers who are under 40.

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North Slope oil: $111.01 per barrel, down $1.93…

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The Alaska Supreme Court has ordered that amounts to be refunded in a case about overpayment of nonresident commercial fishing fees be recalculated.

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Seventy-five percent of Alaska's salmon packers have decided to pull out of the Marine Stewardship Council's fisheries certification program when the current agreement expires at the end of October.

After an extremely busy, productive year, the final weeks of 2011 and the first few weeks of the New Year were remarkably quiet for Alaska's mining industry. But not to worry, it appears to be just a pause, while everyone catches their breath before heading into what promises to be another even...

One year after going public, Chieftain Metals Inc. is blazing a trail through roadblocks that impeded past efforts to re-open the historical Tulsequah Chief Mine, a precious metals-rich volcanogenic massive sulfide project on British Columbia's western border about 65 kilometers (40 miles) nort...

While most companies exploring the mineral potential of Alaska and other Far North locales have stacked their drills, winterized camps and are poring over data from their 2011 programs in preparation for the upcoming exploration season, Freegold Ventures Ltd. continues its field program with drills....

As reported in the Fairbanks Daily News Miner Jan. 11, the University of Alaska Museum of the North received a big gift just in time for Christmas. Four crates containing about a thousand pounds of rocks and bones, the remains of a plesiosaur, arrived at the museum on Dec. 23. UPS carried the four....

Foss Maritime Co. said Jan. 18 that a second hybrid tug will soon be working the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Foss once again partnered with Aspin Kemp and Associates to retrofit the Campbell Foss with this proven, patented hybrid technology. The tug is the first vessel to be retrofitted wi...

ASRC Construction Holding Co. said Dec. 6 that it has acquired the business of McGraw's Custom Construction Inc., an Indian-owned small business that has been performing residential, industrial and government construction in Alaska for more than 30 years. ASRC McGraw Constructors LLC, a subsidi...

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation said Jan. 18 that XTO Energy has 'adequately addressed the release' which took place Jan. 9 from tank No. 3 at the company's Nikiski onshore facility 'and that no further cleanup action is needed until spring.' DEC said th...

The state and ExxonMobil are scheduled to go to school on Feb. 8, and each will be looking to teach the other a lesson. The topic for the day is the Point Thomson case - a heavyweight struggle between the state and the oil giant for control of a lucrative oil and gas field on Alaska's North Slo...

As global climate change opens the possibility for greater industrial involvement in the Arctic Ocean, the United States is seeking to establish the full reach of its claims at the top of the world. And it's making significant progress. U.S. officials say a summer 2011 mission with Canada wrapp...

Norway has a permanent fund, established from oil revenues, that was originally based on Alaska's permanent fund, Ira Perman, chairman of the Institute of the North, commented during an Alaska World Affairs Council panel discussion on comparisons between the Alaska and Norwegian oil industries....

With very high personal taxes and cradle-to-grave welfare, the culture of Norway is poles apart from that of Alaska. But could Norway's success in attracting oil industry investment point to some ways of improving Alaska's oil investment climate, to ensure that the 'Last Frontier'...

The Regulatory Commission of Alaska has approved modifications to the Kenai Nikiski pipeline and the Cook Inlet Gas Gathering System, or CIGGS, to enable the flow of gas east to west through CIGGS under Cook Inlet. Previously gas has only been able to flow west to east through the pipeline system. ...

Chevron Canada is at the center of deals with Norway's Statoil and Spain's Repsol that involve a sweeping strategic overhaul of exploration rights in the Beaufort Sea and Newfoundland offshore. The result is a series of ambitious plans to probe Canada's most remote, highest cost fron...

In an effort to better understand trends in North Slope spending, and in response to clamor from lawmakers, the Department of Revenue has started gathering additional information from oil producers. The department worked with oil companies last fall to develop a system for breaking spending into fiv...

Hilcorp Alaska LLC is officially a player in Cook Inlet. The privately held Houston independent has closed on its acquisition of Union Oil Company of California's Cook Inlet assets, and the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas has approved Hilcorp as unit operator for Deep Creek, Ivan River, Lewis Ri...

Savant Alaska LLC could return to the Red Wolf prospect this winter. The local subsidiary of Denver-based Savant Resources is looking to drill the onshore Red Wolf No. 2 delineation well in the Badami unit this winter. The 12,000-foot vertical well would be on ADL 367005, in the western half of the....

TransCanada Alaska Co. has submitted 11 draft resource reports for the Alaska Pipeline Project to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The project is being jointly advanced by affiliates of TransCanada Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. The office of the federal coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Tra...

An Alaska judge has approved a stay of a civil case pitting the state against BP so a key aspect of the dispute can go to binding arbitration. The order granting the stay was entered on Jan. 12 in state Superior Court in Anchorage. The state sued BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. in March of 2009. The la...

The New Year has arrived with a resounding thump in the oil towers of downtown Calgary, with investors purging the upper echelons of two companies with large stakes in the oil sands. There is nothing linking the events, but the departed heads of Nexen and Connacher Oil and Gas might have reason to r...

The State of Alaska is not a business, but when it comes to oil tax reform, it ought to act like one, according to Sen. Bill Wielechowski. 'I don't think there are too many businesses that would agree to multibillion-dollar tax breaks with no assurances in return,' Wielechowski says....

Buccaneer Energy Ltd. is the newest natural gas producer in Alaska. The Australian independent brought the Kenai Loop No. 1 well online on Jan. 14, according to the company. Buccaneer said it expects to produce up to 5 million cubic feet per day from the well for up to three months while it monitors...

The Environmental Appeals Board announced on Jan. 12 that it had rejected appeals against the Environmental Protection Agency's air quality permits for Shell's use of the drillship Noble Discoverer for exploration drilling in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. The air quality permits are criti...

With its new Liberty rig undergoing a lengthy engineering and design review that began shortly after 2009 delivery to BP on the North Slope, Parker Drilling has suffered another setback in its attempt to resurrect its business in Alaska. On Jan. 17 the Houston-based company said it had received a le...

The Obama administration, to a chorus of disapproval from Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. Congress, has turned down TransCanada's proposed 800,000 barrels per day Keystone XL pipeline from the Alberta oil sands to Texas Gulf Coast refineries, but left the window open for the Can...

When the Alaska Legislature gaveled in Jan. 17 in Juneau, it returned to two oil and gas issues which dominated the 2012 session - oil taxes and coastal management. House Bill 110, Gov. Sean Parnell's proposed changes in ACES, Alaska's Clear and Equitable Share, the state's oil and g...

New Zealand police today raided homes and businesses linked to the founder of Megaupload.com, a giant file-sharing site shut by U.S. authorities, and seized guns, luxury cars and millions of…

Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell said Thursday that he didn't seek approval of the North Slope's three major players before setting a timeline for progress on a major natural gas pipeline…

North Slope oil: $112.94 per barrel, down $0.20…

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The Web buzzed with protests Wednesday as the tech industry rallied against legislation to curb Internet piracy. Some sites blacked out while others draped their pages with information about the…

In a state that expects to see more than 400 cruise-ship sailings with nearly a million passengers this summer, it's difficult to look at the images of the Costa Concordia…

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North Slope oil: $113.14 per barrel, down $0.12…

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President Obama says he's denying an application for a controversial Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline because a GOP-mandated deadline didn't allow time for a full environmental review.

The Fisheries Industrial Technology Center in Kodiak has a new name.

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Alaskans have been clamoring for it for years, and the day has almost arrived. Olive Garden will open its first Alaska restaurant in Anchorage on Monday, Jan. 23.

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North Slope oil: $113.26 per barrel, up $2.01…

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Fairbanks officials will seek funding from the Legislature for a natural gas distribution network.

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The state's civil suit against BP over the high-profile pipeline leaks in the Prudhoe Bay oil field in 2006 is headed to arbitration.

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Security Aviation, a Part 135 charter operator located in Anchorage, announced recently that it has added an eighth aircraft to its fleet.

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Business related events scheduled around Alaska…

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The day after we offered an applicant a job and she accepted, she asked us to delay her start date and allow her to work part time for her first…

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The drama that played out in Norton Sound this week, with the icebreaker Healy smashing a path through heavy ice so a Russian tanker could deliver fuel to Nome, was…

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Most people don't know that 40 years ago Alaska pioneered the use of sonar to track salmon runs, or that state fishery managers operate 15 sonar sites on 13 rivers…

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Another 28 bills have been filed ahead of next week's legislative session start, including a measure that would require legislative approval for a project like the proposed Pebble Mine.

News on hires or promotions of employees to senior or midlevel professional or supervisory positions…

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North Slope oil: $111.25 per barrel, down $0.40…

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An Alaska natural gas pipeline project that would serve overseas markets seemingly wouldn't qualify for a loan guarantee under federal law. The Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline Act contains incentives aimed at speeding a project. But Larry Persily, federal coordinator for Alaska gas transportation p...

Norway's Statoil said Jan. 9 it has discovered a large oil reserve in the Barents Sea, its second major oil find in the Arctic region in less than a year. The state-controlled oil company said a well drilled in the Havis prospect in the Barents Sea proved both oil and gas at an estimated volume...

Taiga Ventures provides portable camps, fuel systems, expediting and drilling supplies for remote projects throughout Alaska and Outside. With offices in Fairbanks and Anchorage, we supply everything from shelters to showers, kitchens and diners, utilities, even internet access, wherever needed. Cat...

XTO Energy had a 6,300-gallon spill of crude oil and process water, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation's Division of Spill Prevention and Response said Jan. 10. The spill, discovered at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 9, was reported to DEC by XTO at 4:50 p.m. that day, the agency said. The s...

The National Marine Fisheries Service is getting a new chief. Sam Rauch is taking over for Eric Schwaab, who is moving up to a new post within the Obama administration. NMFS is an agency within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. NMF...

A U.S. inspection of a Chinese-made oil rig due to begin drilling in waters off Cuba has determined that it meets international safety norms, the American government said Jan. 9. A statement issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior said members of its Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforce...

A group of environmental, commercial fishing and Native village organizations are pushing for permanent protection of Alaska's Bristol Bay from oil and gas exploration. The Fish Basket Coalition is urging people to sign an online open letter to U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Alaska...

The price of natural gas continued to drop Jan. 12 after the government said U.S. supplies are well above normal for this time of year. Natural gas prices fell 9 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $2.69 per 1,000 cubic feet in morning trading in New York. They've fallen by 13 percent in the past week as...

The NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service's 2011 survey of the Cook Inlet beluga whales resulted in an estimated population of 284 whales, NOAA announced on Jan. 9. That count was almost 20 percent lower than the 2010 population estimate of 340 and was the second lowest population estimate sin...

Alaska's major North Slope producers are aligned, BP Exploration (Alaska) President John Minge told the Alaska Support Industry Alliance 'Meet Alaska' conference in Anchorage Jan. 6. BP, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil do compete globally, he said, 'but we primarily compete for ac...

Alaska has competitive disadvantages when it comes to attracting investment, ConocoPhillips chief economist Marianne Kah told the Alaska Support Industry Alliance Meet Alaska conference Jan. 6. And those disadvantages, she said, mean that Alaska is not participating in the current boom in industry....

It's an increasingly familiar story: Alaska's economic dependence on oil production is causing smiles in the short-term and worry over the long-term for state economists. While Alaska can expect to see 'stronger than average' economic growth this year, compared to other states, p...

The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is investigating a claim that BP might potentially be wasting propane through its operations at the Prudhoe Bay unit. The state regulatory agency on Jan. 3 asked the company to provide information about its natural gas liquids infrastructure and product...

Naknek Electric Association, a small Southwest Alaska power cooperative, is asking a bankruptcy judge to approve settlement of a lawsuit over alleged shipping damage to a key component of its geothermal drilling rig. In September 2010, Naknek Electric sued the Bristol Bay Borough in state Superior C...

For decades, Nigerians have expected low gasoline prices, one of the few perks seen by residents of an oil-rich nation where corruption siphons billions. Now, that long-cherished benefit has ended, more than doubling prices and fueling a planned nationwide strike by angry labor unions. The strike s...

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude oil production grew by an estimated 90,000 barrels per day last year to 5.57 million bpd, with a 370,000-bpd increase in Lower 48 production partly offset by a 40,000-bpd decline in Alaska and a 240,000-bpd decline in the federal Gulf of Mex...

Canadian gas producer Encana and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are locked in a dispute that is taking on a life of its own. It started before Christmas with a draft EPA report claiming that synthetic chemicals consistent with those used in hydraulic well-fracturing fluids had been found i...

l GOVERNMENT Feige stands behind governor's HB 110 House Resources co-chair makes case for cutting oil production taxes, and soon; says state losing workers as well as investment By Stefan Milkowski For Petroleum News As a pilot flying oilfield workers to the North Slope, Rep. Eric Feige of Ch...

Amid the understandable euphoria that surrounds the burgeoning shale gas industry in North America, a contrarian voice can perhaps help temper enthusiasm with some hard facts. And on Jan. 6, at the Alaska Support Industry Alliance Meet Alaska Conference, Arthur Berman, a consultant with many years o...

China has made an early start on the Year of the Dragon, which officially gets under way Jan. 23. In full fire-breathing mode, the economic giant has sent its state-owned oil enterprises on raiding missions to North America, devouring whole operations in the process. In Canada, one Chinese national....

Winter weather has walloped Prince William Sound in Southcentral Alaska, and Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. said Jan. 10 that crews at the Valdez Marine Terminal are moving mountains of snow off essential facilities and infrastructure to keep oil flowing. Valdez is fabled for 'epic weather,'...

In a Jan. 11 interview with Petroleum News, Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell panned the rumor that his private meeting with the three CEOs of BP, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil on Jan. 5 had advanced the Point Thomson lawsuit settlement between the state and those three companies and Chevron. The rumor was s...

Two of the CEOs of Alaska's three largest gas owners had more to say after their Jan. 5 luncheon with the state's movers and shakers than they did in their luncheon speeches; one about alignment under the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, or AGIA, and both about the strength of the Asian mark...

The question of how low the flow rate of oil through the trans-Alaska pipeline can go before the pipeline becomes inoperative seems a bit like the proverbial question about how long is a piece of string: it all depends on how long you want it to be. And in the case of the pipeline commonly referred....

The state's civil suit against BP over the high-profile pipeline leaks in the Prudhoe Bay oil field in 2006 is headed to arbitration. On Dec. 29, attorneys for the state and the oil company filed a 'stipulation to stay litigation.' The filing said a stay would 'allow the parties ...

TransCanada Corp., which has yet to secure agreements for a major gas pipeline in Alaska, must solicit the market again this year to gauge interest in its project.

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Can it last? That was the question everyone was asking after the Labor Department reported that employers added 200,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent.

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North Slope oil: $110.56 per barrel, down $0.25…

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Standard & Poor's has upgraded its bond rating for the state of Alaska to AAA, its highest, citing what it calls "exceptionally strong fiscal practices" incorporated into the budget process.

News on hires or promotions of employees to senior or midlevel professional or supervisory positions…

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The Alaska Energy Authority has taken the next step toward construction of a major hydroelectric power plant at Watana on the upper Susitna River by filing a license pre-application with…

2011 was a year of increased commercial real estate activity in Alaska, and 2012 appears likely to continue that improvement.

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The Bering Sea snow crab fishery is picking up earlier than usual as the fleet scrambles to pull up the catch before encroaching sea ice shuts them down. About 25…

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Business related events scheduled around Alaska…

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Alaska business news in brief…

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In an effort to sustain commercial and recreational fishing for the next several decades, the United States this year will become the first country to impose catch limits for every…

The trans-Alaska oil pipeline could have several years of life left or several decades, according to the political debate surrounding lowering production taxes on oil companies.

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If you could create the career future you want in 2012, what would it look like? Would you retire 10 years early? Get promoted into your boss's job? Find the…

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North Slope oil: $110.76 per barrel, down $0.25…

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House Speaker Mike Chenault says his GOP-led caucus is weighing whether to push a bill aimed at getting more information about whether a major Alaska natural gas pipeline project is…

A spokesman for TransCanada Corp. says the company will attempt to file environmental reports with federal regulators soon for its proposed Alaska natural gas pipeline but Terry Cunha can't say…

Alaska environmental officials say a faulty gasket on a tank led to a spill of 6,300 gallons of crude oil and process water at the XTO Energy onshore facility at…

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North Slope oil: $113.42 per barrel, down $1.37…

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Computer problems caused delays on 25 Alaska Airlines flights Wednesday.

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An Alaska natural gas pipeline project that would serve overseas markets seemingly wouldn't qualify for a loan guarantee under federal law.

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