NEWS OF THE DAY:
Majority of Voters Oppose ‘Build Back Better’
Rasmussen Reports, November 29, 2021
With the Senate now considering the legislation to fund President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda, most voters oppose the controversial bill.
A new national telephone and online survey by Rasmussen Reports finds that 51% of Likely U.S. voters oppose the $2 trillion “Build Back Better” bill, including 40% who Strongly Oppose it. Forty-two percent (42%) support the bill, including 27% who Strongly Support it. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
The House of Representatives passed the “Build Back Better” bill by a narrow 220-213 margin on November 19, but the legislation faces significant opposition in the Senate. Nearly half (48%) of voters believe that if Congress passes the legislation, it will be bad for the economy. Thirty-five percent (35%) think “Build Back Better” would be good for the economy, and nine percent (9%) believe it would not make much difference.
While 69% of Democratic voters support the “Build Back Better” bill – including 50% who Strongly Support it – the legislation is opposed by 76% of Republicans and 54% of voters not affiliated with either major party. Sixty-five percent (65%) of Republicans and 41% of unaffiliated voters Strongly Oppose the bill.
The survey of 1,200 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on November 22-23, 2021, by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
Sixty-four percent (64%) of Democrats believe it would be good for the economy if Congress passes the “Bill Back Better” bill, but 74% of Republicans and 52% of unaffiliated voters think it would be bad for the economy.
More men (52%) than women voters (45%) think “Build Back Better” would be bad for the economy, and men (44%) are also more likely than women (36%) to Strongly Oppose the bill.
Voters under 40 are divided over “Build Back Better,” with 46% supporting and 40% opposing the legislation, but a majority of older voters are opposed, and 53% of those 65 and older Strongly Oppose the bill.
“Build Back Better” is supported by 39% of whites, 58% of black voters and 43% of other minorities, while it is opposed by 54% of whites, 33% of black voters and 49% of other minorities.
Voters with incomes of $200,000 or more, and those with postgraduate education, are most likely to believe passage of “Build Back Better” would be good for the economy.
Government employees (54%) are more likely than private sector workers (38%) to support passage of the “Build Back Better” legislation.
Not surprisingly, President Biden’s strongest supporters are most likely to support passage of the “Build Back Better” bill. Among those who Strongly Approve of Biden’s job performance as president, 92% support the legislation, while among those who Strongly Disapprove of Biden’s performance, 88% oppose passage of the “Build Back Better” bill.
West Virginia voters overwhelmingly oppose an amnesty provision for illegal immigrants in the “Build Back Better” legislation, bolstering Democratic Sen. Joe Machin’s opposition to the measure.
Less than a third of voters think it would be a good idea for President Biden to run for reelection, and he would lose a rematch to former President Donald Trump by a double-digit margin.
OIL:
OPEC expected to take cautious approach to oil demand at December meeting
Anthony DiPaola, World Oil, November 28, 2021
The oil producers’ group OPEC+ will likely take a cautious stance when deciding this coming week whether to go ahead with planned output increases after the emergence of a new coronavirus variant sent crude prices tumbling, according to Vitol Group.
There are signs that demand may be weakening in some markets going into the winter months in Asia and Europe, said Mike Muller, the head of the Asia unit at Vitol, the world’s biggest independent oil trader. The new coronavirus variant will probably lead to more flight cancellations this week, he said.
U.S. crude plunged more than 10% Friday, dropping below $70 for the first time since September, and Brent had its seventh-steepest drop on record as news of the omicron variant spooked traders amid light trading after the American Thanksgiving holiday. OPEC+ was already voicing concern over excess supply after the U.S. and others announced plans to release oil from strategic reserves.
“OPEC+ have erred on the side of caution,” Muller said on a weekly webinar by Dubai consultancy Gulf Intelligence. “Post facto they’ve proven to be right. It is likely they will take into account these fundamentals and the possibility of a demand hit over the winter months.”
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and partners like Russia will meet this coming week to consider whether to enact a planned 400,000 barrel-a-day production increase. The group has been slowly sending more oil to global markets after slashing production last year at the onset of the pandemic. The group, which will be discussing January production, can pause the monthly increases to account for fluctuations in demand and some members favor that approach.
“The market was rattled by fear of the unknown,” Muller said of last week’s rout, adding that he thought the drop was excessive given not enough is known about the new Covid strain.
GAS:
McDermott Completes Net Zero LNG Construction Study for Shell
Yahoo! Finance, November 29, 2021
McDermott recently completed a liquefied natural gas (LNG) construction study identifying tangible reduction pathways toward net-zero construction emissions on behalf of Shell Global Solutions International B.V.
The results of this study provide a strategic framework for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in LNG facilities during the project execution phase.
“Operators continue to seek actionable plans to advance their commitments to net-zero emissions by 2050,” said Samik Mukherjee, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “Leveraging our unique LNG and modularization expertise, McDermott has developed multiple, innovative pathways to reduce and/or eliminate emissions throughout the life cycle of an LNG facility. We believe, in future scenarios, up to 65 percent of emissions associated with construction can be eliminated through a combination of construction execution efficiency, modularization and targeted investment in construction emissions reduction initiatives.”
Mon, November 29, 2021, 4:00 AM·4 min read
HOUSTON, Nov. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — McDermott recently completed a liquefied natural gas (LNG) construction study identifying tangible reduction pathways toward net-zero construction emissions on behalf of Shell Global Solutions International B.V.
The results of this study provide a strategic framework for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in LNG facilities during the project execution phase.
“Operators continue to seek actionable plans to advance their commitments to net-zero emissions by 2050,” said Samik Mukherjee, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “Leveraging our unique LNG and modularization expertise, McDermott has developed multiple, innovative pathways to reduce and/or eliminate emissions throughout the life cycle of an LNG facility. We believe, in future scenarios, up to 65 percent of emissions associated with construction can be eliminated through a combination of construction execution efficiency, modularization and targeted investment in construction emissions reduction initiatives.”
Study results include emission reduction opportunities, in order of magnitude, based on mapping key sources and the identification of low-carbon alternatives during construction. These include site efficiency improvements, replacing diesel powered equipment with lower GHG intensity alternatives, module fabrication and construction and sourcing lower intensity raw materials. The study also provides more clarity on the associated environmental, social, and economic considerations of future projects.
Building on this study, McDermott is also engaging with Shell to identify low-carbon solutions to help reduce GHG emissions in McDermott’s operations.
“We are committed to monitoring and managing the carbon footprint on our projects to support our customers in meeting their net zero goals,” said Tareq Kawash, Senior Vice President, Europe, Middle East, Africa. “This study is an excellent example of how, through early engagement with Shell, we were able to identify potential low-carbon delivery solutions.”
MINING:
Western Alaska mineral explorer now public
Shane Lasley, North of 60 Mining News, November 24, 2021
After more than a decade of advancing multiple precious and base metals deposits and targets across its more than 49,000-acre Illinois Creek Mining District property as a private company, Western Alaska Copper & Gold is now a public junior explorer listed on the TSX Venture Exchange.
Western Alaska Minerals Corp., the new name for the mineral exploration company, became listed on the TSX.V on Nov. 15 through a reverse takeover merger with the already listed 1246779 B.C. Ltd.
Prior to the combination, 1246779 B.C. raised C$5.2 million through the issuance of 6.12 million shares at C85 cents each.
“Completion of the RTO transaction and subsequent listing of Western Alaska Minerals Corp. on the TSX.V marks a major milestone for our company,” said Western Alaska Minerals President and CEO Kit Marrs.
Marrs is joined by award-winning geologist Joe Piekenbrock, who serves as Western Alaska Minerals chief exploration officer. Alex Tong, who held senior finance roles at Energy Metals and Novagold Resources, and attorney Greg Anderson round out the newly listed company’s executive team.
“Access to the public capital markets will allow us to fully utilize our three company-owned drill rigs in a greatly expanded program so that we can unlock the potential of the Illinois Creek District,” Marrs said.
As an Anaconda Copper Company project geologist involved with the original discovery at Illinois Creek in 1980, the Western Alaska Minerals CEO is very familiar with the potential this district-scale property has to offer.
Over the ensuing four decades, multiple mineral deposits enriched with both precious and base metals have been discovered:
• Illinois Creek, a past-producing gold-silver mine.
• Honker, a high-grade gold target.
• Water Pump Creek, a carbonate replacement zinc-lead-silver deposit.
• Round Top, a porphyry copper-molybdenum-silver deposit.
The Illinois Creek Mine was an open pit and heap leach operation that produced roughly 150,000 ounces of gold and 500,000 oz of silver during three years of mining that ended in 2002. The shuttering of this operation had more to do with financial difficulties related to low gold and silver prices of the day than a lack of ore grade.
According to a calculation completed earlier this year, Illinois Creek hosts 8.7 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 0.9 grams per metric ton (253,000 oz) gold, 34.4 g/t (9.6 million oz) silver, and 0.21% (40 million pounds) copper; and 3.3 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 0.99 g/t (104,000 oz) gold, 36.2 g/t (3.8 million oz) silver, and 0.21% (15 million lb) copper.
This includes 7.4 million metric tons of unmined indicated resource averaging 0.98 g/t (234,000 oz) gold, 32.7 g/t (7.8 million oz) silver, and 0.17% (28 million lb) copper; and 3.1 million metric tons of unmined inferred resource averaging 1.02 g/t (102,000 oz) gold, 35.9 g/t (3.6 million oz) silver, and 0.2% (14 million lb) copper.
The heap leach pad from historical mining hosts another 1.3 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 0.44 g/t (18,600 oz) gold, 44.3 g/t (1.9 million oz) silver, and 0.42% (12 million lb) copper.
While making the transition to a public listing, Western Alaska continued to advance exploration with a 25-hole drill program during the 2021 exploration season designed to make initial tests on a variety of high-quality targets in anticipation of introducing the property and district to the public market.
Much of this drilling targeted Waterpump Creek, which is about four miles northeast of the past-producing Illinois Creek open pit.
Based on 58 holes historically drilled by Anaconda Minerals Company and Novagold Resources Inc., 166,000 tons of historical resource averaging 9.5 oz/t (295 g/t) silver, 16.1% lead, and 5.5% zinc was calculated for Waterpump.
Looking to establish an expanded resource that is compliant with modern reporting standards, Western Alaska completed nine holes at Waterpump this year.
The best hole, WPC21-09, cut 9.3 meters of 540 g/t silver, 23.5% zinc, and 16.1% lead.
Western Alaska’s 2021 program also included two holes at Last Hurrah: a similar silver enriched carbonate replacement prospect about 2,000 meters southwest of Waterpump.
A 2,000-meter geophysical anomaly extending south of Waterpump and along the east side of Last Hurrah indicates a connection between these two silver-rich targets.
A connection that will likely be further tested with 2022 drilling at this potentially large carbonate replacement deposit.
“The mineralization is open to expansion at depth and will be a major focus of future exploration,” Marrs said. “The CRD environment at Illinois Creek has the hallmarks of a large-scale system, and we look forward to systematically exploring and advancing the project.”
Another six holes were drilled at Honker, a high-grade gold target about six miles north of the historically mined Illinois Creek deposit.
A gold-rich quartz vein that is one to five meters thick has been traced for 800 meters at Honker. Historical bulk samples collected from Honker averaged 26.5 g/t gold and 26.8 g/t silver.
Metallurgical testing shows this mineralization is amenable to heap leach recovery, indicating Honker could be a good source of satellite ore for Illinois Creek.
The Illinois Creek District property also hosts Round Top, a large porphyry copper deposit about 10 miles northeast of the past-producing mine, and TG North, a potentially larger but lower-grade zinc-lead-silver carbonate replacement target associated with Round Top.
As a private company, Western Alaska has completed 9,933 meters of drilling in 40 holes at Round Top.
Highlights from this drilling include 64.7 meters of 0.65% copper-equivalent; 166 meters of 0.51% copper-equivalent; 209.7 meters of 0.28% copper-equivalent; and 64 meters of 0.74% copper-equivalent.
Western Alaska plans to compile the results from drilling at Round Top into a maiden resource for the copper-gold deposit.
Looking ahead at 2022, the company plans to explore some of the higher-grade targets the Illinois Creek property has to offer.
“We have pursued exploration of our properties as a private company since 2008, but now as a public company we can accelerate our drilling programs at Waterpump Creek and Last Hurrah carbonate replacement deposits and our advanced high-grade Honker Gold prospect,” said Marrs.
POLITICS:
Gov. Dunleavy’s Broadband Task Force Releases Report
Anthony Moore, KSRM, November 29, 2021
Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Friday thanked the 14-member Governor’s Task Force on Broadband for its comprehensive and timely report on how best to connect all Alaskans with affordable, high-speed broadband. The taskforce is comprised of stakeholders who produced a comprehensive report on how Alaska can close the digital divide.
The report’s timing coincides with the news of potentially $1 billion to $1.5 billion in funding coming to the state of Alaska for broadband from the recent adoption of the federal infrastructure act.
The Broadband Task Force has been meeting since July and its members represent a broad swath of Alaska’s broadband stakeholders, including Alaska Native leaders, local government officials, urban and rural business leaders, state legislators, rural healthcare representatives, a rural school district superintendent, the telecommunications industry, the Commissioner of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, the Commissioner of the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, and several other participants, according to the office of Gov. Dunleavy.
The report aims to make possible for every Alaskan to participate and be competitive in the global community by facilitating access to the full benefits of broadband with improved quality of service and lower costs. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the need for reliable, high-speed broadband as Gov. Dunleavy issued an administrative order establishing the Broadband Task Force to provide recommendations that assist in the buildout of broadband networks in Alaska.
The list of recommendations in the report includes:
- Focus on bringing every Alaskan’s home internet bandwidth to at least 100 mbps download speed and 20 mbps upload speeds (100/20 mbps).
- to create an Office of Broadband within the State of Alaska, focused on the deployment of broadband infrastructure funding to build out Alaska’s networks and ensure broadband access and digital equity.
Read the final report here.
CLIMATE CHANGE:
Oil-and-gas leasing plan shows climate agenda’s limits
Ben Geman, Axios, November 29,2021
The big policy news over the break was the Interior Department’s Black Friday release of its review of oil-and-gas leasing policy.
Catch up fast: The long-awaited document recommends higher royalty rates, bidding costs and rental costs.
- It also calls for a more selective and restrictive approach to deciding which lands and waters to offer, Axios’ Torey Van Oot reports.
Why it matters: While federal lands and waters are a relatively small share of U.S. production, there’s still expansive development.
- Climate activists have looked to federal leasing and permitting policy as a place where the Biden administration could impose major new limits on fossil fuel development.
Yes, but: The plan stops far short of President Biden’s campaign platform, which vowed sweeping new restrictions.
- The Black Friday release underscores how the administration is in a politically delicate spot-on oil-and-gas policy.
- The White House faces political jeopardy from elevated gasoline prices and last week announced a major release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
What they’re saying: “Lesser availability at higher prices and stricter standards for a smaller pool of bidders may not meet some environmental activists’ hopes for an outright leasing ban,” the research firm ClearView Energy Partners said in a note.
- “But…this approach could still significantly curtail future federal oil and gas production activity while remaining consistent with existing laws.”
Go deeper: Oil-and-Gas Companies Should Pay Higher Fees to Drill on Federal Lands, Interior Department Says (WSJ)