Alaska

After decades of attempts to commercialize its vast North Slope natural gas reserves, Alaska is on the cusp of years more work. But now, producer, pipeline and state interests are aligned; there’s a mandate from lawmakers to get a project done; and a real plan has begun to take shape.

The Obama administration, joined by Royal Dutch Shell plc, has asked an Alaska district court to allow the U.S. Department of Interior to revise an environmental impact statement (EIS) used to support the Chukchi Sea lease sale in 2008.

The state of Alaska and ExxonMobil Corp., BP plc, ConocoPhillips and TransCanada Corp. have signed a heads of agreement (HOA) for the proposed Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, which would provide gas to Alaskans and be one of the largest export projects of its kind in the world.

The state of Alaska will be an equity partner in a pipeline and natural gas liquefaction project that would at last commercialize the state’s vast stranded natural gas resource, Gov. Sean Parnell said Friday.

Never mind leveling it; somebody just upset the playing field for national energy legislation in the next two years.

ConocoPhillips Alaska (COPA) has submitted an application to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to resume exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its Kenai, AK, facility located in the Cook Inlet, according to an e-mail to the Alaska Oil and Gas Association (AOGA) and other stakeholders.

A study commissioned by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on the commercial aspects of the Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project that the three major North Slope oil producers (ExxonMobil Corp., BP plc, ConocoPhillips and TransCanada Corp.) are pursuing says the state would benefit from having an equity stake in the pipeline and LNG project.

A total of 92 bids were entered in a pair of North Slope oil and gas lease sales in Anchorage Wednesday and the state netted $5.6 million, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said.

Secondary locations are still in the running after a site in the state’s Nikiski area on the Kenai Peninsula.