OIL
Alaska Loses More Than 3,000 Oil, Gas Jobs During Pandemic, Price Drop
KFQD News, November 16, 2020
The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development has reported the state lost more than 3,000 jobs in the oil and gas industry since January because of the coronavirus pandemic and falling prices. Alaska Public Media reported that experts said that because oil prices are now stagnant, it’s not clear when the jobs may return. Labor department data show there were an estimated 6,900 jobs in the state’s oil and gas industry in September, which was down from 10,000 jobs in January. Alaska Public Media reports that job numbers haven’t been so low in more than 30 years.
Our Take: Thank you Alaskans for voting down Ballot Measure 1 and choosing not to do more harm to the state’s leading industry.
GAS
US to drive LNG liquefaction capacity growth in North America by 2024
Hellenic Shipping News, November 17, 2020
The US is expected to lead the liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction capacity growth in North America by 2024, accounting for around 92.6% of the region’s total growth. Approximately 144.6 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) is likely to be added by the US by 2024, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
GlobalData’s report, ‘LNG Liquefaction Industry Outlook in North America to 2024’, reveals that liquefaction capacity in North America is expected to increase by 156.2 mtpa, from 69.9 mtpa in 2020 to 205.1 mtpa by 2024, registering an average annual growth rate (AAGR) of 26.9%. Of the total capacity additions in the region, 125.5 mmbd is expected to come from planned projects, while the remaining 30.7 mmbd is likely to come from the expansions of active/operational projects.
Adithya Rekha, Oil and Gas Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “In North America, the US is likely to witness capacity additions mainly through the commencement of 11 planned and announced liquefaction terminals during 2020 and 2024. Of these, Rio Grande liquefaction terminal in Texas is one of the largest new-build projects with a capacity of 16.2 mtpa. It aims to monetize abundant, low-cost unconventional gas in Permian Basin and Eagle Ford shale as exports.”
MINING
Golden Summit assays are worth the wait
Shane Lasley, North of 60 Mining News, November 13, 2020
A highly anticipated and long-awaited batch of assay results show that Freegold Ventures Ltd.’s 2020 drill program at Golden Summit continues to tap bonanza grade gold along with the very wide sections of bulk tonnage mineralization for which the property is known.
Located about 25 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska and on the north border of Kinross Gold Corp.’s Fort Knox gold mine property, Golden Summit hosts 61.5 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 0.69 g/t ton (1.36 million ounces) gold; and 71.5 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 0.69 g/t (1.58 million oz) gold.
POLITICS
Alaska Beware: Sue-Happy Louisiana Sends People, Jobs, and Investments Fleeing
Craig Richardson, Real Clear Energy, November 11, 2020
Home to some of the most beautiful and bountiful fishing and hunting grounds in the world, Louisiana has long been known as the Sportsman’s Paradise. Unfortunately, a government-sponsored legal war against some of the country’s largest job creators has earned the state a new nickname: The Lawsuit Paradise. Seeking to blame the oil and gas industry for shoreline erosion along the coast, Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards and some local leaders have partnered with plaintiffs’ attorneys to file dozens of lawsuits challenging production and exploration operations conducted across South Louisiana over the last 100 years.
Unfortunately, in the meantime, hardworking Louisianans will continue to suffer as frivolous lawsuits drive people, jobs, and investments out of state. It is estimated that over 75,000 people left the state over the last four years, searching for jobs and a better life. In addition, economists estimate the suits have cost Louisiana’s economy as much as $113 million a year since the litigation was filed. How much more must be lost before state and local leaders decide to end this legal war on their state’s top job creators?
CLIMATE CHANGE CONVERSATIONS
From the Washington Examiner, Daily on Energy:
EXCLUSIVE…NEW CONSERVATIVE CLIMATE SITE LAUNCHES: The conservative group C3 Solutions is launching an online database today called “Right Voices” promoting the evolution in rhetoric used by Republican policymakers and environmental advocates regarding the need to address climate change, Josh has exclusively learned.
The project compiles a database of quotes from conservatives illustrating the “depth and breadth of the nascent conservative movement on climate,” said John Hart, co-founder of C3 Solutions, a 501(c)3 think tank that seeks to provide clean energy solutions and to counter liberal ideas.
Zack Roday, a former communications staffer for GOP Rep. Greg Walden who advised on the project, noted that some of the incoming House Republican freshmen class leaned into climate or other environmental issues in their races, including Michelle Steel and Young Kim of California, Pete Meijer of Michigan, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, and Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida.
“In Congress, I will work towards climate solutions that promote innovation and diversification,” Steel told Josh in a statement. Another Republican, Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas, won a second term after running a climate change ad in his campaign declaring himself “an environmentalist” who knows “climate change is real