by wp_sysadmin | May 29, 2020 | News
In a week filled with fact-checking news, we couldn’t help but notice the fact-fudging “Believe It or Not” ads rolled out by the Vote Yes campaign and the agency they hired:
“Alaskans aren’t getting a fair share for our oil”
Since 2014, Alaska has received over $8.7 billion in taxes and $13.8 billion in total state revenue from oil companies. AKA 90% of Alaska’s tax revenue from businesses. #90%seemsfair
“Save Your Dividend – Vote Yes for Alaska’s Fair Share”
The reduction in PFD payouts had nothing to do with oil taxes:
- Governor Walker vetoed half of the PFD and
- The legislature upheld the veto and in subsequent budgets reduced the PFD and
- The Alaska Supreme Court supported their actions – finding that the PFD was a budget item that could be cut.
Raising oil taxes will do nothing to change that. #Falseadvertising
“SB 21 has been a disaster for Alaska”
SB 21 is producing more oil – 75,000 bpd – and more revenue – $1.5 billion – for the state than was projected under ACES. # ItsWorking!
Believe them? Or Not…
by wp_sysadmin | May 28, 2020 | News
News of the Day: The Fair Share Act has a data problem
OIL
Alaska oil prices rise smartly, but planned production cuts will continue
Tim Bradner, the Frontiersman, May 28, 2020
Prices for Alaska’s oil are headed up smartly, a relief to state officials and community leaders where the petroleum industry is important to the local economy. Alaska North Slope oil closed at $37.07 per barrel on May 26, according to Alaska Department of Revenue data. That’s sharply up from recent low prices that were as low as $10 per barrel or less. World oil markets were rising with reports of increasing fuel use as the economy in developed nations, including the U.S., showed signs of improvement.
The price still isn’t at the point where drilling and other oil field activity on the North Slope will resume, at least to get back to levels prior to shutdowns in March amid concerns for the spread of COVID-19 virus. Companies working on the slope say prices in the range of $50 per barrel or more will probably be needed. Not all companies cut back, however.
GAS
Ukrainian Government Greenlights U.S. LNG Imports
Tsvetana Paraskova, OILPRICE.COM, May 27, 2020
The government of Ukraine, which is keen to wean itself off Russian energy supplies, approved on Wednesday a plan to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States, Reuters reported, citing a televised government meeting. Under the memorandum approved by the government, Ukraine will be importing at least 5.5 billion cubic meters of LNG annually, while the seller will be Louisiana Natural Gas Exports Inc, according to acting energy minister Olga Buslavets.
MINING
HOUSE REPUBLICANS TARGET CHINA WITH CRITICAL MINERALS BILL: In a swipe at China, House Republican leaders introduced legislation Thursday to encourage U.S. production of critical minerals used in clean energy technologies to lessen reliance on Beijing.
What’s in the bill: It directs federal agencies to ease permitting for mining of critical minerals and directs the Energy Department to establish an R&D program for advanced mineral technologies. It also prevents the executive branch from making large areas of public land eligible for mineral development without congressional approval. And it directs the Interior Department to identify vulnerabilities in the domestic minerals supply chain and publish and periodically update a list of critical minerals.
Pandemic imperils mineral production: The coronavirus has already set back mining operations across the world, imperiling clean energy supply chains, the International Energy Agency recently warned.
POLITICS
In Big Oil Fight, Climate Activists Are Suddenly Preaching Against The Choir
Ed Hirs, Real Clear Energy, May 26, 2020
Climate advocates already have the employees and shareholders of oil and gas companies as allies. Guerrilla warfare against an industry that already wants positive action is just stupid. Climate advocates have expanded their targets beyond university endowments and pension funds to take on retail investment managers and their holdings in oil and gas producers. These passive-aggressive tactics generate headlines, but any victories are Pyrrhic. They are using the wrong tools against the wrong target.
by wp_sysadmin | May 27, 2020 | News
News of the Day:
Watch Live: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 spacecraft’s first test flight to the International Space Station, with NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken on board, is scheduled for 4:33 p.m. ET Wednesday.
OIL
Morgan Stanley sees tighter oil market, raises Brent forecast
Oil & Gas 360, May 27, 2020
Morgan Stanley on Tuesday raised its year-end Brent price forecast to $40 per barrel, citing a faster-than-expected balance in global oil demand and supply as countries ease coronavirus restrictions and major producers cut supply. “We expect demand to rebound to about 97 million barrels per day (bpd) by Q4 as economies come out of lockdown – a significant improvement although still down about 4 million bpd year-on-year,” the bank said.
Exxon shareholders soundly reject splitting CEO/chairman roles
Jennifer Hiller, Reuters, May 27, 2020
Exxon Mobil Corp shareholders soundly rejected climate-related proposals and splitting the chairman and chief executive’s roles at the oil major’s shareholder meeting on Wednesday. Climate activists had swung behind efforts to split the roles of chief executive and chairman after prior defeats on climate reports. This year’s vote on an independent chair collected 32.7% of the vote, down from nearly 41% last year. Exxon’s director slate was approved by an average of 93.6%, the company said in preliminary results.
GAS
Pro-Gas States Pass Laws Barring Local Natural Gas Bans, Limits
Bloomberg Environment, May 27, 2020
States friendly to oil and gas development are trying to stop more cities, towns, and other municipalities from banning natural gas connections in favor of electric hookups, which are seen as more climate friendly. A bill scheduled for debate Wednesday in the Louisiana House of Representatives would ban local governments from prohibiting utility connections, including natural gas hookups. It follows a measure signed in Oklahoma May 19 and similar bills approved in Tennessee and Arizona earlier this year
MINING
Quaterra’s Alaska prospect may be similar to Pebble project — report
Mining.Com, May 27, 2020
Quaterra Resources (TSXV: QTA) published a report that, according to the company, supports its assessment of the Groundhog prospect in Alaska as a possible copper-gold porphyry system hosting mineralization similar to that of Northern Dynasty’s (TSX: NDM) massive Pebble project. Groundhog is located some 300 kilometres southwest of Anchorage. It is a 54,880-acre property that covers the northern extension of a 10-kilometre wide north-northeast trending structural zone that hosts a number of porphyry copper-gold prospects, including the Pebble project, which is approximately five kilometres south of the Groundhog claim boundary.
POLITICS
AMERICA HAS NO APPETITE FOR RADICAL ‘GREEN ENERGY’ POLICIES
Daniel Turner, Real Clear Energy, May 27, 2020
Our nation has no appetite for radical green policies.
When the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) brought the environmental policy resolution the “Green New Deal” authored by Senator Markey (D-MA) and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to a vote, every Democrat voted “present” including the author. Going into the congressional record supporting green socialism is a lot harder than going on a talk show.
by wp_sysadmin | May 26, 2020 | General, News
News of the Day: Retired Anchorage lawmaker Bob Lynn has died at age 87
OIL
Demand rise, output cuts could mean oil market balance in June
Oil & Gas 360, May 26, 2020
Recovering demand as coronavirus lockdowns ease combined with output cuts by top producers could balance global oil markets as soon as June, some analysts and banks predict. “Bullish sentiment continues to gather momentum as we move closer to June, when … the global crude balance is set to reach net short territory, to the tune of a non-negligible 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd), its tightest point since August 2019,” JBC Energy said.
Oil prices climb as faith in supply cuts grows
Oil & Gas 360, May 26, 2020
Oil prices rose on Tuesday, supported by growing confidence that producers are following through on commitments to cut supplies and as fuel demand picks up as coronavirus lockdowns ease. Brent crude LCOc1 futures were up 0.8%, or 30 cents, at $35.83 a barrel by 1411 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 gained 2.2%, or 73 cents, to $33.98. There was no WTI settlement on Monday because of the U.S. Memorial Day holiday.
GAS
FERC Greenlights Alaska LNG Project
The U.S. Becomes The World’s Swing LNG Producer
Tsvetana Paraskova, OILPRICE.COM, May 25, 2020,
The United States has turned into the world’s swing producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as liquefaction capacity has tumbled in recent months amid an LNG glut, low prices, and weak demand in the pandemic, IHS Markit said in a recent analysis. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the LNG market was already oversupplied because of gushing new liquefaction capacity from the United States, Australia, and Russia. The weak demand and record-low natural gas and LNG prices in major markets, including Asia and Europe, have led to cancellations of at least 20 cargoes of U.S. LNG in recent weeks.
MINING
Army Corps prefers Pebble all-road route
Shane Lasley, North of 60 Mining News, May 25, 2020
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has determined that a road and pipelines around the north shore of Iliamna Lake is the most environmentally sound route to access the proposed Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum-silver mine in Southwest Alaska. Referred to as Alternative 3 in the draft Environmental Impact Statement for Pebble, this roughly 85-mile northern land-based transportation route would connect the Pebble mine site to Cook Inlet without the need for a ferry to transport supplies and concentrates across Iliamna Lake.
Pogo owner donates $1.5M of PPE to Alaska: Safety gear will help Interior, rest of state safely re-open
Gold giant Australia is firing back up a record exploration boom
POLITICS
From the Washington Examiner, Daily on Energy:
BIDEN OFFSHORE DRILLING BAN WOULD KILL 200K JOBS: Joe Biden’s proposal to ban new offshore oil and gas drilling in federal waters would cost nearly 200,000 jobs, strip the U.S. government of billions in dollars of revenue, and potentially push production to other countries, according to a new study commissioned by the industry’s trade group.
The study, released Tuesday by the National Ocean Industries Association, doesn’t name Biden but is intended to underscore the potential consequences of his proposal to prevent the U.S. government from issuing new oil and gas drilling permits in federal waters, which had experienced record oil production before the coronavirus halted demand.
In 2019, offshore oil and natural gas industry, directly and indirectly, supported roughly 345,000 jobs in the U.S., a number that the study projects to increase to 370,000 jobs on average between now and 2040, absent new policy. The industry study, produced by Energy and Industrial Advisory Partners for the National Ocean Industries Association, projects average employment to decline to 179,000 jobs under a permitting ban.
Biden’s official campaign plan says that he would “ban new oil and gas permitting on public lands and waters,” which appears to mean he would stop the government from issuing approvals for drilling through the duration of a lease, even if the lease was issued before Biden took office.
by wp_sysadmin | May 20, 2020 | News
OIL
From the Washington Examiner, Daily on Energy
FEAR AMONG PRODUCERS THAT OIL RALLY IS FRAGILE: Some oil industry officials and analysts worry the mini-recovery of prices to above $30 per barrel is fragile and not sustainable.
“It’s a very dangerous time,” said Frederick Lawrence, an economist with the Independent Petroleum Association of America, a lobbying group representing small oil producers. “There are some bullish currents, but riptides underneath. I would not get too optimistic on these prices holding and staying in the 30s,” Lawrence told Josh.
Lawrence is optimistic that the U.S. has hit bottom on the demand side, with states beginning to open up again, but he’s less certain that the glut of oil in storage facilities, pipelines, and refineries has been relieved.
Prices got another small lift Wednesday when the Energy Information Administration reported U.S. oil inventories fell by 5 million barrels last week, providing some relief for overwhelmed storage.
“You have to be careful,” Lawrence said. “Supply and demand has been more aligned than a month ago, but we have so many unknowns.”
Trans-Alaska pipeline operator increases oil flow, demand creeps back
GAS
Global demand for natural gas will drop 2% in 2020 as COVID-19 lockdowns take toll
Oil & Gas 360, May 20, 2020
Commercial and industrial demand for natural gas is declining as most countries around the world impose lockdowns to limit the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Rystad Energy estimates global natural gas demand to fall by almost 2% this year as a result of the lower activity.
LNG supply boom and bust: Oil price and COVID-19 shake-up
MINING
From the Bloomberg Open, May 20, 2020:
Renewable power is set to fall this year for the first time in two decades. Construction of new wind and solar farms is being delayed by factory closures, the need for social distancing and developers’ financial concerns, according to the International Energy Agency. The world will probably add 167 gigawatts of renewable power capacity, 13% less than in 2019. It’s a reality check for a sector that’s seen only growth for years.
POLITICS
Alaska Legislature adjourns after Senate approves coronavirus aid plan
James Brooks, Anchorage Daily News, May 20, 2020
If there was a smile at the end of the Alaska Legislature’s final day, it was hidden by a mask. With a 19-1 vote Wednesday morning, the Alaska Senate ratified Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s plan for almost $1.5 billion in federal coronavirus aid, likely eliminating the last legal obstacle before a small-business aid program begins accepting applicants next week. Following the vote, the Senate adjourned the Legislature’s last regular session, though members of the House and Senate have said that a special session may be needed later in the year.
