A judge has told the US government to decide within weeks whether to list polar bears as an endangered species. The federal judge rejected the Bush administration’s pleas for a further delay, and ordered it to make and implement its decision by 15 May. A listing could restrict oil and gas exploration in the US … Read More
Arctic oil
Iraq May Drop Oil Service Contracts
The Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein Al-Shahristani has said the country will likely drop oil service contracts with foreign companies if they don’t have their proposals finalized by a June deadline and will move forward with the work on its own. “June is already a bit late… We may drop them if they aren’t signed soon … Read More
Alaska Rejects Exxon Plan
Alaska officials have rejected Exxon Mobil’s latest plans to develop the giant Point Thomson oil and natural-gas field, setting up a legal showdown to determine whether the state can revoke the lease. The move is the latest sign of how testy the relationship between Alaska and oil companies has grown in recent months as state … Read More
Another 30 Years?
When engineers first turned the spigot on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline (TAPs) in 1977, they thought it would run for about 30 years. But with its 31st anniversary approaching in June, the pipeline is supposedly primed for another 30 years. As producers continue to find ways to squeeze more oil from the frozen North Slope, a … Read More
BP and Conoco Outline Plans for Alaskan Gas Pipeline
Alaska’s long-held dream of utilizing its vast gas reserves cam a step closer yesterday when BP and ConocoPhillips joined forces to try to break a longstanding political deadlock over the project. The two energy giants have said that they will spend billions to build a pipeline from the North Slope to feed energy-hungry markets in … Read More
Land Deal Could Open Alaskan Refuge to Drilling
A controversial land swap proposal could open portions of an Alaska wildlife refuge to oil drilling, but the scheme is already dividing native Alaskans. Supporters of the plan to exchange land in the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, which lies just south of the more-famous ANWR, want the plan approved before the pro-oil Bush Administration … Read More
EU Told to Prepare for Climate and Resource Conflict
European governments have been told to plan for an era of conflict over energy resources, with global warming likely to trigger a dangerous contest between Russia and the west for the mineral riches of the Arctic. A report from the EU’s top two foreign policy officials for a summit in Brussels this week warns that … Read More
Alaska Threatens Companies Over Gas Pipeline
Alaska could revoke leases for oil fields like Prudhoe Bay if top energy companies refuse to participate in a government natural gas pipeline plan, the Governor Sarah Palin has said. Exxon Mobil Corp, BP and ConocoPhillips together control more than 35 trillion cubic feet of known gas reserves on the Alaska North Slope. But the … Read More
The Alaskan PR Campaign to Get the Goahead for Gas Pipeline
Oil companies have spent more than $1.4 million in recent months on advertising in Alaska a bid to win voter support for its views on oil taxes and a natural gas pipeline, according to new figures. The Alaska Oil and Gas Association spent more than $800,000 on ads and public relations last Autumn. At the … Read More
Shell Bids Over $2 Billion for Alaskan Oil Leases
Stuff the bears lets get drilling – that’s the message from oil giant Shell, which has emerged as the highest bidder for 275 lease blocks in the Chukchi sea offshore northwest Alaska. Shell’s bids amounted to $2.1 billion of the $3.4 billion bid overall. The sale went forward over the protest of conservation and Native … Read More