OIL
More tax relief for oil and gas could be on the horizon in Wyoming
Camille Erickson, KPVI, June 2, 2020
Wyoming lawmakers mulled ways to prop up the ailing oil and gas industry Monday, including possible cuts to state mineral taxes. The Legislature’s Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development committee moved to draft a new bill that would cut in half the mineral taxes oil and gas firms must pay the state. The proposed legislation would reduce the severance tax by 50 percent for a consecutive six-month period. The relief would need to be utilized within one year of the price of oil hitting $45 a barrel. Co-chairman of the Mike Greear, R-Worland, who introduced the idea, hopes the aid could “incentivize and encourage” the recovery of oil production in Wyoming.
GAS
Is This The Next Major Market For U.S. LNG?
Alex Kimani, OILPRICE.com, June 2, 2020
Natural gas producers have had little to cheer about over the past few months after prices sunk to multi-year lows amid a huge oversupply and warm weather. The slowdown could not have come at a worse time for the burgeoning U.S. LNG industry, which has experienced explosive growth over the past decade that put the nation on the cusp of becoming the world’s largest LNG exporter ahead of Qatar and Australia. But now, U.S. LNG producers can afford to smile after nabbing a key customer: Turkey. Turkey’s LNG imports from the U.S. tripled during the first quarter to nearly a million tons (48 billion cubic feet of natural gas) as Ankara continued to distance itself from Russian and Iranian natural gas.
MINING
Changes to Alaska’s Mining Laws – Qualification Statutes
Stoel Rives Mineral Law Blog, June 3, 2020
Senate Bill 155, amending Alaska’s mineral tenure statutes, took effect April 30, but also addresses certain historical events affecting state mining claims. As previously reported, the amendments clarify who can hold state mining rights. But maybe more importantly, the law now addresses the effect of past qualification issues on the validity of the mineral interests.
POLITICS
Russia Fears American Energy Dominance — And That’s a Good Thing
Alan Gilmer, Real Clear Energy, June 3, 2020
Russian president Vladimir Putin once described the meteoric rise of hydraulic fracturing in the U.S. as “dangerous” — not to the environment, but to the Kremlin. Putin should know. He is, after all, an expert. His Ph.D. thesis, entitled “Mineral and Raw Materials Resources and the Development Strategy for the Russian Economy” shows he understands both energy supply chains and their geopolitical importance.