Cook

Oil and natural gas producers will have their first opportunity in nine years to bid for blocks offshore Alaska’s southcentral coast, federal officials said Thursday.

Repairs on a leaking undersea natural gas pipeline in Alaska’s Cook Inlet cannot begin until mid-March because of sea ice, tides and other conditions, pipeline operator Hilcorp Alaska LLC has told a state regulator.

The energy industry has, for now, eschewed interest in exploring and developing oil and natural gas reserves offshore Alaska, but a federal environmental review is underway regardless for Cook Inlet offshore the south-central coast, to determine whether to proceed with a scheduled auction next June.

Both chambers of the Republican-controlled Alaska Legislature passed a controversial oil tax reform bill on Monday and sent it to Gov. Bill Walker for his signature, but it was unclear whether he would sign it.

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said there were no bids placed in an oil and gas lease sale for the Cook Inlet and the Alaska Peninsula on Thursday, marking the first time in state history that there were no bidders for the inlet.

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said there were no bids placed in an oil and gas lease sale for the Cook Inlet and the Alaska Peninsula on Thursday, marking the first time in state history that there were no bidders for the inlet.

A list of 13 candidates has been narrowed to two in the running to develop a project to deliver liquefied natural gas to Interior Alaska (see Daily GPI,Oct. 14), the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority said. Proposals bySalix Inc.(Avista Corp.) andSpectrum LNG LLCare the finalists. A final decision is expected early next year. The Salix proposal does not include transport but can accommodate either rail or truck transport from Cook Inlet. Spectrum provided two alternatives to source gas, North Slope and Cook Inlet, but did not provide for transportation, leaving it to the utilities that would be receiving the gas. Trucking is possible from both locations and rail is possible from Cook Inlet.

ConocoPhillips Alaska Natural Gas Corp. (CPANGC) has filed with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to extend exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its terminal at Kenai, AK.

Developers of competing projects to serve Interior Alaska natural gas demand with liquefied natural gas (LNG) now have the option of shipping by rail as the Alaska Railroad Corp. has been cleared by federal regulators to carry containerized LNG.