by wp_sysadmin | Oct 30, 2024 | Home, News
Today’s Key Takeaways: Oil prices steady after inventory draws. Arctic LNG 2 halts operations. Exploring for geological hydrogen in AK. Alaska Miners say “no” to Ballot Measure 1.
OIL:
Oil Steady After EIA Confirms Draw in Crude, Gasoline Inventories
Irina Slav, OilPrice.Com, October 30, 2024
Crude oil prices remained largely unchanged today, after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported an inventory draw of a modest half a million barrels for the week to October 25.
At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at $72.25 per barrel, with WTI at $68.29 per barrel.
The change in oil stocks compared with a build of 5.5 million barrels for the previous week, which pressured oil prices additionally at the time.
The American Petroleum Institute, meanwhile, on Tuesday reported estimated inventory draws across crude and fuels, helping prices move higher for a time, although they remained subdued on the back of expectations of a ceasefire in the Middle East.
GAS:
Sanctions Force Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 Project to Halt Operations
LNG Journal, October 30, 2024
Novatek has suspended operations at its Arctic LNG 2 project due to Western sanctions limiting cargo transport and sales. The halt, reportedly effective since 11 October, reflects difficulties in securing ice-class vessels and finding buyers. The setback threatens Russia’s ambition to capture 20pct of global LNG market share by 2030.
Russia’s Novatek has recently halted operations at its Arctic LNG 2 project as Western sanctions restrict its options to ship and sell cargoes, according to reports by Reuters and Bloomberg. The Russian LNG specialist reportedly has no plans to recommence operations this winter, marking a significant setback for Russia’s gas ambitions. The project, situated on the Gydan Peninsula in the Arctic and majority-owned by Novatek, was meant to expand Russia’s share in the global LNG market to 20pct by 2030.
Export Challenges
According to the reports, commercial liquefaction at the facility was halted on 11 October owing to high inventories the plant cannot freely export. The suspension reflects the mounting difficulties Arctic LNG 2 faces in finding buyers and securing specialised ice-class vessels required for winter operations. The restrictions imposed by Western sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have limited the project’s access to South Korea-built ice-class tankers and made foreign buyers reluctant to purchase the affected cargoes. According to our data, no Arctic LNG 2 cargo had been delivered to facilities outside Russia. At the time of writing, all cargoes were either still at sea or had been parked on one of Novatek’s giant FSUs in the Murmansk and Kamchatka regions.
MINING:
Exploring Alaska for geological hydrogen
Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News, October 28, 2024
Granite Creek assembles the catalyst-rich projects, scientific expertise to become a first mover in the geological hydrogen space.
A belt of rocks spanning the Southeast Alaska Panhandle hosts at least a dozen prospects and deposits enriched with nickel, copper, and platinum group metals (PGM) needed for the energy transition. Could these projects also host hidden stores of geological hydrogen that could offer a clean-burning fuel for the 21st century? Granite Creek Copper Ltd. believes they could and has acquired two Southeast Alaska PGM projects with “white hydrogen” potential.
An element that only emits water vapor when burned, hydrogen is seen by many as a game-changing clean energy fuel of the 21st century. However, hydrogen has the paradoxical distinction of being the most abundant element in the universe, yet very rare in its pure form here on Earth.
Being the lightest of elements on the periodic table, any pure hydrogen on Earth tends to escape the atmosphere. Most of the hydrogen that remains is locked up with other elements in water, hydrocarbons, and other forms.
Splitting hydrogen from water or natural gas, however, requires a lot of energy that comes with both financial and carbon emissions costs.
The grey hydrogen currently being split off natural gas for fertilizers, chemicals, and steel production costs about $2 per kilogram to produce and has a significant carbon footprint that cuts into its clean energy fuel potential.
Green hydrogen, which is split off of water molecules using renewable, does not come with inherent CO2 emissions but costs around $7/kg to produce – way too expensive to be a practical solution to fueling global commerce.
“If you get hydrogen at a dollar a kilo, it’s competitive with natural gas on an energy-price basis,” said Douglas Wicks, a program director at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).
Geological hydrogen, a process that involves iron-rich rock formations producing hydrogen naturally, could be the solution.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates there are potentially billions of tons of geologic hydrogen, also known as white hydrogen, buried in the Earth’s crust.
Granite Creek believes that PGM projects in Alaska and British Columbia have the right conditions to host hidden deposits of geological hydrogen and has acquired two such projects on the Southeast Alaska Panhandle – Duke Island and Union Bay.
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POLITICS:
Alaska Miners Oppose Ballot Measure 1
“Like so many other ballot measures, AMA believes that this is bad policy with no opportunity for public input to improve the harmful provisions and retain the good. Ballot Measure 1 presents itself as a law to increase the minimum wage in Alaska, but also includes unclear provisions requiring mandatory paid sick leave for businesses of any type and size, and prohibiting employers from sharing “political matters” and religious information with employees
AMA is proud of our industry’s average annual wage of $122,000 and is a firm believer in training Alaskans to be skilled workers in our mines. Mining remains one of the top wage providers in Alaska. In fact, the majority of employers in the State of Alaska are paying far above what the wage would be raised to in 2027 should this measure pass. We certainly applaud efforts to help Alaskans cover the increased costs of living, but that concept is merely a façade to promote a full package containing separate, harmful provisions.
Ballot Measure 1 contains a mandatory sick leave provision that, in AMA’s opinion, is the most threatening part to Alaskan employers. It is a “one size fits all” application that ignores Alaska’s industries that are seasonal and industries that have rotational work schedules. Should the measure pass, all businesses that provide paid sick leave must alter their current policy to meet the minimum standards set by this initiative for how the sick leave can be used, and who it applies to. Employers would be required to pay sick leave for the mental and physical care of the employee, a family member, OR “someone whose close association is the equivalent of a family relationship.” The policy is poorly written, lacking clarity and giving broad definitions that will lead to employer-employee disputes, and will certainly increase the cost of doing business in our state.
Finally, AMA is gravely concerned with the section in the Ballot Measure that restricts an employer’s ability to share “political matters” with its employees. The ballot measure broadly defines “political matters” to include “matters relating to elections for political office, political parties, candidates, proposed legislation or regulation, and the decision whether or not to join or support any political party or political, civic, community, fraternal or labor organization.” Again, with more lack of clarity, the way this provision is written makes it possible that sharing this very statement with employees would be prohibited. Employers must be able to communicate attacks on business to their workforce, period.”
by wp_sysadmin | Oct 25, 2024 | Home, News
Short-Sighted Ballot Measure Threatens Alaska’s Economy
By: Adam Gottschalk, Douglas Smith, Gregory Fisher, and Corey Dunn
On November 5th, Alaskans will vote whether to raise prices on goods and services across theState while discouraging investment and hastening job loss.
Ballot Measure 1, “An Act Increasing the Minimum Wage, Requiring Paid Sick Leave, and Prohibiting Mandatory Meetings About Religious or Political Issues” is an outsider-funded referendum carrying significant hidden costs undermining the measure’s purported goals.
Ballot Measure 1’s first goal seeks to increase Alaska’s minimum wage to $15 by 2027.
· Alaska’s minimum wage is already a generous $11.73 with annual increases for inflation baked into the statute.
· Few Alaskans depend on the minimum wage (which is generally for unskilled, entry-level workers and high school students).
· Businesses will likely hire fewer entry-level workers and promote automation.
· Moreover, as Alaska’s minimum wage rises, the threshold salary level for exempt employees also rises. If Ballot Measure 1 passes, that threshold would be $62,400 by 2027 (it is currently $48,800).
· Wage increases do not happen in a vacuum. As labor costs jump up, so do prices.
The minimum wage increase cures a non-existent problem by making Alaska less affordable for everyone including Ballot Measure 1’s intended beneficiaries.
Ballot Measure 1’s next provision would require employers of all sizes to provide paid
sick leave. Businesses will simply pass along these costs to all of us.
· At the front end, mandatory paid sick leave is costly to track and administer.
· At the back end, mandatory paid sick leave creates a new basis for risk and liability.
· Experience from other states where paid sick leave has been mandated does not bode well.
o Businesses grapple with baseless complaints, protracted litigation, lawyers, and enforcement actions.
o Notably, most employers already offer some form of paid sick leave to their employees and have, through time and trial, crafted plans and policies that work.
o Smart employers compete in the marketplace by offering attractive benefits.
· Government-mandated paid sick leave interferes with an already-functional marketplace, adds unnecessary costs, and decreases efficiency and productivity.
Finally, Ballot Measure 1 seeks to restrict employers protected First Amendment rights and, in doing so, disrupt or confuse well-settled law. Since at least 1948, in Babcock & Wilcox (77 NLRB 577), the National Labor Relations Board and courts have recognized employers have free speech rights to share facts, opinions, and experiences about unions and unionization with their employees. Ballot Measure 1 would purport to outlaw such communications. It is unenforceable. Outside union interests pushing Ballot Measure 1 may want to squelch free speech and deny employer rights, but the National Labor Relations Board and courts view the First Amendment quite differently.
Beyond these flaws, Ballot Measure 1 will discourage investment in Alaska. Companies entering a market typically evaluate several factors, chief of which are labor costs and government regulations.
· Does it make sense for us to adopt measures calculated to discourage businesses from opening shop here? We need a diversified economy. We don’t need outside political funds and unions telling us how to run our economy, especially when they will not be here to suffer the fallout.
Price increases and decreased services are not the only way we would all be paying for Ballot Measure 1.
The State estimates regulatory and enforcement costs would be $458,827, but it’s fair to question whether actual costs could far eclipse this projection. The State will need to hire more personnel to process complaints and enforce the law. Let’s be frank—Ballot Measure 1 is nothing but another hidden tax on an over-taxed public already carrying the oppressive weight of inflation.
Finally, a host of other problems attend Ballot Measure 1.
· Along with increased labor costs, we will experience decreased services.
· Employees will see jobs lost to automation and businesses outside Alaska.
· As costs climb, our brick-and-mortar stores will find it harder to compete. Will our declining brick-and-mortar stores be able to survive when forced to raise prices even higher?
Ballot Measure 1 promises much but delivers nothing. Alaskans should vote NO on Ballot Measure 1.
*Gregory Fisher (admitted in Alaska and Arizona), Douglas Smith (admitted in Washington), Corey Dunn (admitted in Indiana and Kentucky), and Adam Gottschalk (admitted in Alaska and Washington) are attorneys in private practice. The views expressed here are the authors’ alone and should not be attributed to their firm.
by wp_sysadmin | Oct 23, 2024 | Home, News
Today’s Key Takeaways: Gen Z wants to learn skilled trades. More investment in ANWR leases. Appeals court likely to rule in favor of AKLNG – against Sierra Club. Lithium deposit in AR could meet world demand nine times over.
NEWS OF THE DAY:
Skilled trades gain traction with Gen Z, report finds
Benton Graham, Higher Ed Dive, October 21, 2024
About 9 in 10 Gen Z graduates said learning a skilled trade can be a better route to economic security than college, home services app Thumbtack found.
- Social media is increasingly driving an interest in skilled trades careers among members of Generation Z, generally defined as people born from 1997 to 2012, according to a report from home services app Thumbtack.
- Social media is the second-largest driver of Gen Z career paths, with 55% of Gen Z respondents now saying they are considering a career in the skilled trades, up 12% from last year, Thumbtack says in its Future of the Skilled Trades report. Two out of three Gen Zers say social media has made them more interested in the trades, according to Thumbtack, which surveyed 1,000 Gen Z respondents in July.
- The Thumbtack report also found that 93% of the Gen Z graduates and 80% of the parents surveyed said learning a skilled trade can be a better route to economic security than college.
READ MORE
OIL:
Alaska development agency looks at spending up to $20M to buy more leases in the Arctic refuge
Alex DeMarban, Anchorage Daily News, October 22, 2024
The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority is poised to take an early step this week to once again buy oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in a sale that could be held before the end of this year.
Last year, the Biden administration canceled oil and gas leases issued to the agency by the prior administration in 2021, after determining that an environmental review and decision leading up to that first-ever lease sale in the refuge had not followed the law.
A resolution at the Alaska development agency’s board meeting Wednesday, if approved, would allow the agency to spend up to $20 million to bid on tracts in the refuge in the second lease sale, according to a proposed item on the agenda.
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GAS:
US appeals court likely to reject challenge to Alaska LNG exports
Nate Raymond, Reuters, October 21, 2024
A U.S. appeals court on Monday appeared likely to reject a challenge by environmental groups to the Biden administration’s decision to approve exports from a planned $39 billion liquefied natural gas project in Alaska.
Two members of a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit posed skeptical questions to a lawyer for the environmental groups as she argued that the U.S. Department of Energy inadequately weighed the risks to the climate when it authorized exports last year.
U.S. Circuit Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, said that while the climate harms may be uncertain, “it seems like there’s still going to be significant economic benefits, whether it’s a large effect or small effect.
“It seems, especially with the Natural Gas Act’s presumption in favor of gas, that if there are going to be economic benefits and if it’s merely speculative whether there will be environmental harms, that DOE in that situation at least may authorize the export,” Walker said.
READ MORE
MINING:
Lithium source in Arkansas could meet world demand “nine times over” study says
Chris Banks, KTVH, Little Rock, AR, October 22, 2024
A study completed by the USGS found that there are lithium reserves located under southwestern Arkansas that’s estimated to between 5 and 19 million tons.
A new study conducted by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment (ADEE) discovered a method to “quantify the amount of lithium present in brines located in a geological unit known as the Smackover Formation.”
The study, which was done by the USGS and the ADEE’s Office of the State Geologist, noted that extraction was especially valuable when lithium is extracted from brines that’s been co-produced during oil and gas operation.
“Lithium is a critical mineral for the energy transition, and the potential for increased U.S. production to replace imports has implications for employment, manufacturing and supply-chain resilience,” said David Applegate, USGS Director. “This study illustrates the value of science in addressing economically important issues.”
According to the researchers, the Smackover Formation is described as a “relic of an ancient sea that left an extensive, porous, and permeable limestone geologic unit.” Researchers said that this geological unit dates back to the Jurassic geological time period and currently stretches under parts of Arkansas, along with Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida.
READ MORE
by wp_sysadmin | Oct 21, 2024 | Home, News
Today’s Key Takeaways: AFN tables resolution to support Ballot Measure 1 over concern for increased economic burden in Alaska’s small Native village corporations. Pacific Seafood Processors Association opposes Ballot Measure 1, estimating a $16.5 million dollar increase in labor costs.
The Pacific Seafood Processors Association (PSPA) stands with other business sectors in Alaska in opposition to Ballot Measure 1.
Ballot Measure 1 has three parts. The first part, increases to minimum wage, would have no direct impact on PSPA companies, because they already pay workers more than minimum wage.
The second part of Ballot Measure 1 requires up to 56 hours of paid annual sick leave for all employees, including seasonal workers, and would negatively impact PSPA shoreside processors. Seafood processors already provide paid sick leave and other benefits for full-time employees. Seasonal workers are provided health insurance, transportation, food, and housing, but do not have the same level of benefits as full-time employees, which is common for most businesses across Alaska. Seafood processors have a high percentage of seasonal workers due to the nature and timing of Alaska’s fisheries. The paid sick leave component of Ballot Measure 1 would add at least $16.5 million in estimated additional labor costs to the shoreside processing sector at a time when the Alaska seafood industry is already experiencing an economic crisis due to a significant number of global market factors combined with soaring operational costs. For example, labor costs increased 50% in two years, from 2021 to 2023.
Excerpt from ADN article published on 10/19/2024 sourced here:
The Alaska Federation of Natives, meeting at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center less than three weeks before the Nov. 5 election, also decided in a voice vote to indefinitely table a resolution that expressed support for Ballot Measure 1. The measure seeks to increase the minimum wage and improve other working conditions.
An influential voice in Alaska politics, AFN represents about 150,000 Alaska Native members. Its annual convention brings together more than 5,000 Alaska Natives. At the event, they set goals designed to improve Native communities.
The decision to not hold an up-or-down vote on the minimum-wage increase came after Curt Chamberlain, deputy general counsel for Calista Corp., took the floor. Chamberlain raised concerns from the corporation that the measure could lead to increased economic burden for small Alaska Native village corporations with limited resources.
The ballot measure would increase the minimum wage $11.73 to $15 by 2027 and guarantee Alaska workers paid sick leave for the first time. It would prohibit employers from requiring their employees to attend meetings of a political or religious nature, which can sometimes be used to dissuade employees from unionizing.
Debra Call, with resolution sponsor Knik Tribal Council, joined a small number of speakers who expressed support for Ballot Measure 1. She said there needs to be a better economic foundation for people who are struggling to pay rent and other bills.
“It’s about (providing) a living wage,” she said of the increase.
An audience voice vote seemed to favor the side that opposed the measure, said Jodi Mitchell, an AFN board member and moderator of the resolutions meeting. Mitchell said the AFN board could consider the measure in December. But that will be after the November election.
by wp_sysadmin | Oct 18, 2024 | Home, News
Todays’ Key Takeaways: The Wage and Hour section of Labor Standards anticipates 20-25 inquiries against Alaska employers each week if Ballot Measure 1 passes. The state anticipates extensive audits of employer policies and accrual rates if Ballot Measure 1 passes. The state will seek resolution of complaints through civil court.
From the Fiscal Note Developed by the Alaska Department of Labor:
The initiative expands the purview of the Wage and Hour section in Labor Standards & Safety (LSS) to include:
- Enforcement and compliance for employer paid sick leave provisions and investigating retaliation complaints by employees for “right to avoid speech” violations.
- Investigations for paid sick leave requirements will be more complex than the standard wage claims Wage and Hour now investigates. These will require extensive audits of employers’ policies and accrual rates for all employees, as well as reasons for usage or denial for all employees.
- The “right to avoid speech” initiative will require Wage and Hour to investigate retaliation complains. Retaliation investigations will require the development of a distinctive investigative process to establish a causal relationship.
- Both the sick leave and “right to avoid speech” cases will not be settled through small claims court but will require Wage and Hour to seek resolution through civil court.
- Wage and Hour will need an additional Administrative Assistant 2 to handle an estimated additional 20-25 inquiries Wage and Hour anticipates it will be receiving each week regarding these issues
