Anchorage

Nearly 10 million acres are up for auction on the Alaska Peninsula and in the Cook Inlet, according to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

The Alaska Railroad plans to begin a demonstration of containerized liquefied natural gas (LNG) rail shipment on Tuesday (Sept. 27). Intermodal LNG tanks will be shipped from Southcentral Alaska to the Interior during a month-long project, making the railroad the first in the country to carry LNG.

A federal judge in Anchorage Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit aimed at preventing Royal Dutch Shell plc and BP plc from conducting seismic exploration for oil in Alaska’s Arctic waters.

A federal judge in Anchorage has enjoined the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from carrying out a lease sale in the northeastern corner of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPRA) that was scheduled to take place Wednesday, despite the agency’s offer to forego lease sales in the environmentally sensitive Teshekpuk Lake area of the reserve.

The Anchorage Chamber of Commerce said in a new report that building a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope to either the Lower 48 or the state’s southern coast should be the top priority of the state’s oil and natural gas industry.

Royal Dutch Shell was the big bidder on leases in Alaska’s Beaufort Sea in the Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) Oil and Gas Lease Sale 195 in Anchorage, AK, on Wednesday. Shell’s bids totaled more than $44 million out of the $46.7 million received by MMS for 127 blocks totaling about 618,751 offshore acres. ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc. and Armstrong Alaska Inc. placed the remaining bids.

Royal Dutch Shell was the big bidder on leases in Alaska’s Beaufort Sea in the Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) Oil and Gas Lease Sale 195 in Anchorage, AK, on Wednesday. Shell’s bids totaled more than $44 million out of the $46.7 million received by MMS for 127 blocks totaling about 618,751 offshore acres. ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc. and Armstrong Alaska Inc. placed the remaining bids.

FERC has set Dec. 3 for a technical conference in Anchorage, AK on its proposed regulations governing the conduct of open seasons for the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System. The Commission’s action comes after President Bush signed into law last month a bill that provides for an $18 billion federal loan guarantee for the construction of the remaining 1,600 miles of the project. FERC expects to issue a proposed rule by about Nov. 18. The public would have until Dec. 17 to comment on FERC’s notice of proposed rulemaking. The law requires FERC to complete the regulations by Feb. 10, 2005.

FERC has set Dec. 3 for a technical conference in Anchorage, AK on its proposed regulations governing the conduct of open seasons for the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System. The Commission’s action comes after President Bush signed into law last month a bill that provides for an $18 billion federal loan guarantee for the construction of the remaining 1,600 miles of the project. FERC expects to issue a proposed rule by about Nov. 18. The public would have until Dec. 17 to comment on FERC’s notice of proposed rulemaking. The law requires FERC to complete the regulations by Feb. 10, 2005.