OIL
Hilcorp takes over BP’s North Slope oil production as $5.6 billion deal advances
Alex DeMarban, Anchorage Daily News, July 1, 2020
Hilcorp Energy has assumed management of the Prudhoe Bay oil field, marking the end of an era for BP oil production in Alaska and vaulting the smaller company into a position as the state’s second-largest oil producer, the companies announced Wednesday.
Conoco to bring back curtailed oil output in response to rally
Rachel Adams-Heard, BNN Bloomberg, June 30, 2020
ConocoPhillips said it will begin restoring curtailed oil production in July as crude prices rebound from their lockdown depths. The company will bring back output in Alaska and other states next month, with Canadian production coming back in the third quarter. “Given ongoing variability and uncertainty in the outlook for production curtailments, the company will continue to suspend forward-looking guidance and sensitivities,” Conoco said in a statement Tuesday.
GAS
Groups seek FERC rehearing on Alaska LNG project
Kallanish Energy, June 25, 2020
An Alaskan Native village council and environmental groups have asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reconsider its approval of the Alaska LNG project, Kallanish Energy reports. Project opponents said that FERC had ignored the project’s impact on climate change and on endangered wildlife. The 153-page rehearing request was filed last Monday. The request was filed by the Center for Biological Diversity and Earthjustice on behalf of the Chickaloon Village Council, the Northern Alaska Environmental Center, and the Sierra Club.
MINING
COVID killing ultraviolet light discovery
Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News, July 1, 2020
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, ultraviolet light has emerged as a popular way to kill novel coronavirus without the use of harsh chemicals. While research has shown that UV light is an effective destroyer of viruses and bacteria, the devices that emit a strong enough dose to get the job done tend to be bulky and expensive. “You have to ensure a sufficient UV light dose to kill all the viruses,” said Roman Engel-Herbert, Penn State associate professor of materials science, physics and chemistry. “This means you need a high-performance UV LED emitting a high intensity of UV light, which is currently limited by the transparent electrode material being used.” Herbert and his Penn State colleagues have discovered that strontium, a metallic element most people have never heard of, may be the solution to creating a better transparent electrode and thus a more effective virus killing UV device.
How America Can Win the Critical Minerals Battle Against China
POLITICS
Parties skeptical of ranked-choice voting initiative
Elwood Brehmer, Alaska Journal of Commerce, July 1, 2020
This fall Alaskans will have the chance to overhaul the voting process for statewide elections with an initiative longtime Alaska officials in traditional two-party politics are dead set against.