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Oil and Gas Pipeline Topics
Oil
climbs anew as Strait of Hormuz remains stifled Axios
The partial reversal of the
steep selloff shows that shippers lack confidence in safe passage and
understanding of conditions Iran will impose. "[L]et's be
clear: the Strait of Hormuz is not open. Access is being restricted,
conditioned and controlled," Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, head of UAE
state oil giant ADNOC, said in a statement.
Alaska
villages can already pay $10 or more for a gallon of fuel. A
war-driven spike could produce a ‘survival scenario.’ Northern Journal
The war in Iran is risking
what could be a catastrophic spike in the price of fuel in the rural
villages and hub communities across Alaska’s coast — and distributors
are also warning of possible supply shortages.
Charted:
A historic oil disruption Axios
Baringa economist Caspian
Conran said the conflict leaves Iran in a stronger geopolitical
position despite U.S. military success. That's from "being
able to turn on and off flows through the Strait at will, and no
doubt demanding a price for safe passage,"
1
big thing: The new oil world order Axios
Iran now realizes that it
can wield the Strait of Hormuz as a new weapon, creating a huge
rupture in a critical connection for global oil. The market may
now be changed forever.
Why
more inflation pain might be ahead Axios
Gasoline prices surged 21%
— the biggest monthly jump in 59 years of records! — and accounted
for nearly three-quarters of the total gain. In the 12 months
ending in March, CPI was 3.3% — the highest since May 2024, after
being up 2.4% in February.
An
iterative process Petroleum
News
Fulford focused on how LNG
project host governments typically work with project developers and
the role property tax or the alternative volumetric tax plays in
project economics.
This
is a drag Axios
Higher oil prices are
projected to erase any boost to U.S. economic growth expected
from President Trump's tax cuts.
Iran
war projected to bring first oil demand drop since COVID Axios
Shipments of oil, natural
gas liquids and petroleum products through the Strait of Hormuz
averaged just 3.8 million bpd in early April, down from over 20
million pre-war. Some oil is getting out through other routes,
notably added volumes in Saudi Arabia's east-west pipeline to the Red
Sea. But the overall export loss is still north of 13 million
bpd.
Alaska
House rejects Senate effort to impose corporate taxes on Hilcorp Alaska Public Media
The Alaska House rejected a
state Senate effort to impose corporate income taxes on energy
producer Hilcorp and other similarly structured oil and gas
companies.
Current Topics
Opinion: Time
for Alaska lawmakers to stop playing games with a politically rich
dividend Alaska Beacon
Alaska
Senate leaders still aiming for $1,000 dividend despite high oil
prices Alaska
Public Media
With
$3,800 PFD on the line, House ends day one of operating budget debate Alaska News Source
Currently, the budget
includes a full $3,800 statutory dividend after an amendment narrowly passed the House Finance Committee before lawmakers left for
their Easter/Passover break. But in the Senate, in the opening days of this
year’s legislative session, when oil prices were low, lawmakers said
they’d aim for a $1,000 dividend. And despite a March revenue forecast
projecting an extra half-billion dollars, Stedman said at a news
conference Wednesday he’d rather direct any unexpected money toward
repairing dilapidated state facilities. Sen. Cathy Giessel, an
Anchorage Republican and the No. 2 leader in the Senate, said $1,000
“isn’t enough” but was all the state could afford. She said the state
could pay higher dividends if lawmakers and Gov. Mike Dunleavy could
find common ground on bills that would raise state revenue. “There are
answers to these issues,” she said. “We just have to have the courage
to go forward with them.”
Time
for Alaska lawmakers to stop playing games with a politically rich
dividend Alaska Beacon
Dunleavy
signs $449 million supplemental budget, providing Halong, fire
suppression relief Alaska News Source
·
$75 million for former
Typhoon Halong disaster relief
·
$100 million for fire
suppression
·
$20 million for Department
of Corrections overtime spending
·
$34.4 million for Medicaid
·
$12.8 million for
Department of Health public assistance programs
·
$130 million for the Alaska
Higher Education Fund
·
$70.2 million to
time-sensitive Alaska construction industry funding, unlocking
upwards of $630 million
(My comment: These are not
“dedicated funds”; these are allocations. Big difference. Another
point: these are things the Governor requested, many of them things
he vetoed last year.)
Alaska
Gov. Dunleavy signs nearly $450M supplemental budget to cover state
expenses this year Alaska Beacon
Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed
off on a supplemental budget bill that authorizes nearly $450 million
in additional state spending this year.
(My comment: These are
items he vetoed last year, that the Legislature knew would be needed.
Well, “conservatives”, where is the “cut the budget”?)
Opinion:
The solution to our state’s staffing crisis? A secure retirement for
our public employees Anchorage
Daily News
(My comment: Agree.)
Opinion:
Alaska’s future depends on jobs, investment and getting oil policy
right Anchorage
Daily News
(My comment: I agree. And
one major oil company owns 98% of Cook Inlet leases, working interest
owner (27.1%) in North Slope. That one company pays no corporate
income tax to the State. None. That needs correction. AOGA and
Alliance don’t address that.)
Alaska
House passes budget with $1,500 Permanent Fund dividend and boosts to
education funding Alaska Public Media
It came to the floor with a
roughly $3,800 dividend, contingent on a supermajority vote to draw
nearly $1.5 billion from the state’s main savings account, the
Constitutional Budget Reserve. But in a dramatic vote Friday night,
three minority Republicans sided with the majority to eliminate the
savings draw, and the $3,800 dividend, from the budget.
Alaska
Senate proposes more capital spending as House passes operating
budget Anchorage
Daily News
The capital budget, which
covers maintenance and construction projects across the state, was
expanded to $247 million in state general funds, up $88 million from
Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s initial proposal of $159 million in state funds.
Most of the additions made in the Senate were directed to K-12
maintenance funding.
Alaska
House rejects measure to apply corporate income tax to Hilcorp and
other private oil companies Anchorage
Daily News
The 23-17 House vote
against the idea, which primarily saw support from minority
Republicans but also drew in some votes from the bipartisan House
majority, keeps alive the status quo for companies such as Hilcorp.
Hilcorp is the operator of Prudhoe Bay, the state’s largest oil
field, and is an S corporation that currently does not
pay the income tax.
(My comment: The Texas
billionaire who owns this oil company is laughing all the way to the
bank. Conoco, Exxon, and Santos would never get away with not paying
Alaska corporate income tax. I wonder how Hilcorp dodges this.)
Stuff I found Interesting
Real-time
snow and ice monitoring coming to Rabbit Lake in Anchorage Alaska Public Media
Starting mid-April, people
looking to recreate at Rabbit Lake will be able to check snow and ice
conditions before heading out on the trail.
Retiring
en masse Axios
The growing population of
older Americans — the youngest boomers turn 62 this year — is one of
two huge demographic forces hitting the labor market right now, as
evidenced in last week's jobs report. The other is the big
decline in immigration.
Building
a bionic YOU Axios
Microsoft's
carbon removal pause Axios
(My comment: Governor
Dunleavy said Alaska would make millions/billions in carbon capture
and sequestration. The Legislature worked to quickly put a program in
place. There’s no interest in using it by the companies touted to
want it.)
Boulder
strikes moving car on Seward Highway Alaska News Source
A boulder broke loose above
milepost 113 of the Seward Highway Monday afternoon and crashed into
a moving car, blowing out the windshield in a section of road
currently under a seasonal hazard traffic pattern for falling ice and
rock hazards.
Economy
The
petrodollar faces its biggest test Axios
Iran currently sells oil
priced in the Chinese currency, the yuan, and if sanctions lift, it
could start selling even more oil that is not denominated in
dollars. Iran is also seeking to charge a toll on traffic
through the Strait of Hormuz. There's talk of the toll being
charged in yuan or crypto. A non-dollar toll would be a threat
to the petrodollar system.
1
big thing: Global economy could take big hit from Iran war Axios
High commodity prices are a
"textbook negative supply shock" that raises costs for
goods and services that require lots of energy — food, chemicals,
shipping, you name it. The result: higher inflation and less consumer
buying power. These effects can be amplified as companies and
workers alike try to make up their income losses. This risks an
upward spiral — workers need higher wages as prices rise, which
prompts businesses to further raise prices to deal with higher labor
costs, and so on.
Education
Anchorage
School District to transfer STEM accreditation from Campbell
Elementary to Klatt Alaska Public Media
Anchorage School District
officials plan to transfer a special accreditation for an elementary
school focused on science, technology engineering and math to a
different school. That’s after a vote from the school board to close
Campbell STEM Elementary School in February.
For
second time, Trump seeks to eliminate federal funding for tribal
colleges and universities Anchorage Daily
News
(My comment: The Founders
of this nation (Franklin, Washington, Adams, Jefferson, etc) all
recognized that a republic such as ours can only be sustained by a
population that is educated and knowledgeable. This president and our
present governor seem to be attempting to remove access to education.
Interesting.)
Public
pools, small schools will close under newly adopted district budget Homer
Independent Press
Homer’s public pool will be
defunded, four schools in other towns will be closed, librarians will
be eliminated and teachers will lose their jobs under a budget
adopted Monday by the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board
of Education. The budget could still change depending on funding
decisions elsewhere. The school board is assuming flat funding from
the state and a cutback in local support proposed by Kenai Peninsula
Borough Mayor Peter Micciche.
Senate
committee strips homeschool funding overhaul from education bill,
adds one-time ‘energy relief’ funding Anchorage
Daily News
The Alaska Senate
Education Committee on Monday replaced a school funding bill
introduced in March with a new version that strips out a controversial overhaul of publicly funded homeschooling programs.
Elections
The
midterms angle Axios
How expensive health
care feels to you depends on where you live. From a
political standpoint, some of the states with this year's most
competitive Senate races are also the states with the highest health
care cost burden: Georgia, Alaska and Ohio. (See graph)
President
Donald Trump calls for repeal of ranked choice voting in Alaska Alaska Beacon
Trump
calls Alaska’s ranked-choice voting ‘disastrous’ and ‘very
fraudulent,’ without evidence Alaska News Source
Ranked-choice voting in
Alaska lets voters pick candidates in order of preference rather than
choosing just one. If no candidate wins a majority of first-choice
votes, the lowest-ranked candidate is eliminated and those votes are
redistributed until someone surpasses 50% of votes. Ranked voting,
open primaries and the tougher campaign finance disclosure
requirements would all be struck down if the 2026 ballot measure is
approved by a majority of voters.
(My comment: When, ever,
has a President of the US tried to manipulate a state’s elections?
This is clearly for the purpose of reelection of federal candidates.)
Energy
World’s
First Microreactor Test Bed Now Open for Business Department of
Energy
Construction of the
National Reactor Innovation Center’s (NRIC) Demonstration of
Microreactor Experiments (DOME) test bed is now complete. Located at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), the first-of-its-kind facility
will enable the rapid development, testing and demonstration of
privately developed advanced nuclear reactors. A bellwether for
the nuclear energy renaissance, DOME is ready to host its first
fueled microreactor test campaign.
Mapped:
America's highest electric bills Axios
Americans are
spending an average estimated $158/month on their home electric
bills
New
hydro possibilities Petroleum
News
The sites are at Canyon
Creek on the Kenai Peninsula, north of Cooper Landing; Godwin Creek
near the Fourth of July area of Seward; Caribou Creek, north of the
Glenn Highway to the east of the Matanuska Glacier; and Boulder
Creek, north of the Glenn Highway near Chickaloon.
Opinion:
Alaska’s energy future just got more expensive — and more uncertain Anchorage
Daily News
For Alaskans, the immediate
pain is with the prices of gasoline and diesel. These will ease when
the fighting stops and the Strait of Hormuz reopens. Right now, it’s
unknown when that will happen.
I think about these things
when I go to the gas pump. I’d like to ask President Trump: “Mr.
President, you started this war. How will you end it?”
Fisheries
Roe Seized from factory
trawler accused of fishing violations in Alaska's Bering Sea Alaska Beacon
The U.S. Coast Guard said it
has seized 5.4 metric tons of allegedly unreported pollock roe and
discovered several significant fishing violations aboard one of the
biggest factory trawlers operating in the Bering Sea off Alaska.
(My comment: This Seattle
based vessel fishes in the Federal waters outside the 3 mile Alaska
waters limit.)
Healthcare
The
hospital challenge Axios
Several states have already
passed — or are trying to pass — laws that regulate
hospital prices. They include red states, most notably Indiana, where
the effort has recently attracted a lot of attention. "We
are moving ever closer to large portions of health care becoming
treated like regulated utilities with government more broadly setting
prices," Meekins told me.
Bills
introduced to satisfy Rural Health Transformation requirements, but
passage may not be the point Alaska News Source
Despite the governor
throwing the question over to the legislature, Sen. Forrest Dunbar,
D-Anchorage, said the process has been abnormal.
“Usually when the
Department of Health or the governor needs something with the federal
government, they could just introduce it themselves to the Rules
Committee or they could give us suggested language,” Dunbar told
Alaska’s News Source Wednesday. “They didn’t do that in this case.”
(My comment: The Dept of
Health promised the Federal government that Alaska would do certain
things, but didn’t ask the Legislature. Very unusual process.)
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