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Oil and Gas Pipeline Topics
China's
oil advantage Axios
China has far more
oil stashed away than any other country — giving it a strategic
edge during the biggest oil shock in history
Why
the Persian Gulf has more oil and gas than anywhere else
on Earth The conversation
Humans knew about the
presence of hydrocarbons in the area long before flooding created the
Persian Gulf at the end of the last ice age, between
14,000 and 6,000 years ago. Natural seeps of oil and gas are common along
rivers and valleys in many parts of the region. Thousands of
years before the
start of the Common Era people used bitumen, a form of heavy oil, for
building mortar and to waterproof boats. The first modern oil
discovery came in 1908 at a known seepage site in western Iran.
In the 1950s and ’60s, an era of rapid
expansion in oil and gas exploration, it became clear that
no other region on Earth was likely to have a similar abundance.
Alaska proved reserves
increased in 2024, while nationwide proved reserves fell EIA
Oil and gas producers
operating in Alaska reported increases in proved reserves in 2024 at
a time when low prices triggered a decrease in nationwide proved
reserves, according to our recently released U.S. Crude Oil and Natural Gas Proved Reserves,
Year-End 2024 report. Alaska’s crude oil and lease condensate
proved reserves increased 5%, and natural gas proved reserves
increased nearly 7% in 2024.
1
big thing: The new oil reality Axios
As the Iran war drags
on, it's increasingly clear that there is likely no going back
for the energy market. Oil and gas prices will be higher
for longer than investors expected, and the market dynamics are
shifting — as countries and companies look for alternative sources of
energy or oil and for new ways to move it around the world.
Current Topics
Feds
select Alaska for $115M to improve and build port facilities across
much of the state Anchorage
Daily News
The U.S. Department of
Transportation grants include $4.7 million to plan for future
replacement of an aging petroleum terminal at the Don Young Port of
Alaska in Anchorage, where much of the fuel arrives for Joint Base
Elmendorf-Richardson and jets at the Ted Stevens Anchorage
International Airport.
Gov.
Dunleavy announces $115.4 million in federal port grants for Alaska Alaska News Source
Alaska has received more
than $115 million in federal grants through the U.S. Department of
Transportation’s Port Infrastructure Development Program. $4.7
million for the Municipality of Anchorage to plan the replacement of
a petroleum terminal damaged in recent earthquakes. $4.1 million for
Whittier to design a replacement for the Delong Dock, the closest
year-round deepwater port to Anchorage
GCI
to acquire Alaska fiber developer Quintillion for more than $300
million Anchorage
Daily News
GCI will acquire Alaska
fiber owner Quintillion for more than $300 million, the companies
said in a statement Wednesday.
The deal will allow
Alaska’s largest telecommunications company to add 1,800 miles of
fiber, off Alaska’s northern coasts and down the Dalton Highway, to
its statewide network.
Alaska
legislative audit casts doubt on $75M investment by former revenue
commissioner Anchorage
Daily News
A newly released
legislative audit raises questions about whether former Revenue
Commissioner Adam Crum met his statutory and fiduciary duties when he
invested millions of dollars from the state’s primary rainy day
account into a private equity fund last summer.
Legislature
weighs law change to give Alaskans ‘right to repair’ electronics Anchorage
Daily News
Alaska lawmakers are
considering legislation that would give independent repair shops
greater access to materials needed to fix digital equipment.
Stuff I found Interesting
Why
Gulf countries are seeking dollar help Axios
Foreign central banks
exchange (or swap) their home currency for U.S. dollars. The Treasury
Department has limited ability to open a swap line; the Federal
Reserve has more resources. The Fed has standing swap lines with
the central banks of a few key allies like Canada, Japan and the
European Union. When credit is freezing up, the Fed has
added more — like at the start of the pandemic and during the 2008 financial crisis.
Beavers Leave A Trail As They
Head Into The Arctic Eurasia
Review
Beavers are ecosystem
engineers, capable of changing landscapes through the construction of
dams, which can alter the stability of permafrost and impact the flow
of water, fish populations and local livelihoods. Led by researchers
from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in Cambridge, England, this new
study shows that beavers leave behind a datable environmental record.
Their browsing creates scars within the growth rings of shrubs, and
their dams generate hydrological changes detectable from space.
Higher
temperatures spur Alaska’s invasive pike to eat more, a bad sign for
salmon Alaska Beacon
As temperatures rise in
waterways, invasive pike eat more, said the study, published in the
journal Biological Invasions. And as temperatures continue to rise,
that trend will continue, the study said. Based on expected
temperature trends, invasive northern pike will eat 6% to 12% more by
the end of the century, the study said.
1
big thing: We've been warned Axios
Six facts. No hyperbole. All in the past 60 days.
1. AI is
the fastest-growing product
category in world history.
2. One of
the latest models is so powerful that its maker won't release
it to the public.
3. OpenAI and Anthropic say
their most powerful AI coding models are now building
themselves.
4. Etc
(My comment: I havent
included this topic previously. But…we need to be aware.)
Arctic
At
Alaska forums, U.S. senators warn Greenland tensions are straining
Arctic alliances Alaska Beacon
“What’s so disturbing to me
is that even many of our NATO allies are internalizing that they
can’t count on the United States, and that’s upsetting to me, because
we have been so benefited by that level of cooperation,” said Sen.
Welch at the conference. “What Russia is doing now in Ukraine is just
so violent and vicious and terrible that we can’t afford to be having
any friction that is self-made amongst allies who have a shared
interest in standing up for the independence of a sovereign
nation.”
Education
One
Anchorage high school will lose its band program next year. The
director says they’re cutting more than music AK Pub Media
Next year, Barton won’t be
teaching East High students. In mid-April he got the news that he’ll
be transferred to a different Anchorage school. It’s part of a
cost-saving measure, after Anchorage voters narrowly opted against a
one-year tax increase that would have kept many teachers and programs
in place. Now, the Anchorage School District is eliminating nearly
500 positions, including teachers, aides and administration, to
reduce expenses. They’re also moving more than 200 teachers around to
fill the gaps. Barton, the sole band director at East High, is one of
them. Without him, there won’t be anyone to teach the five band
classes, effectively killing the program.
(My comment: This is
terrible! Music is valuable! Brain development, social skills, team
work, leadership, self-confidence. This is devastating.)
Alaska
Senate committee fast-tracks one-time education funding measures Anchorage
Daily News
It is the Senate
committee’s newest effort to provide around $85 million in funding
for Alaska schools this session, as well as add requirements for
increased oversight of publicly funded homeschool programs. Those
measures stem from a separate bill from Senate
Education. That bill, which originally sought to overhaul
homeschool funding, was revised after receiving significant pushback.
Reflecting
on What Matters. Expectations That Shape Our School Community North DeArmoun Living
Recognizing
the Value of Early Childhood Educators North DeArmoun Living.
Opinion:
Anchorage’s shrinking schools aren’t inevitable — they’re the result
of policy choices Anchorage
Daily News
Shrinking enrollment is not
the root problem. It’s the result of years of policy decisions that
have left our education system underfunded, overburdened and
under-measured. If we want different education outcomes, we need to
start telling the truth about what’s driving K-12 education outcomes.
Elections
Groups
sue Alaska election officials, allege the sharing of voter data with
DOJ was unconstitutional Anchorage
Daily News
Lawsuit
filed against Alaska Division of Elections for releasing voter data Alaska News Source
Voting and civil rights
groups sued Alaska elections officials Wednesday, alleging that their
sharing of the state’s full voter registration list with the U.S.
Department of Justice violates the state constitution.
(My comment: Its not
inexpensive to sue. But this represents what I hear from you –
outrage that this detailed data was sent, without public notice, to
the Feds.)
Energy
Ontario,
Yukon team up on nuclear energy North of 60
Mining News
Ontario Ministry of Energy
and Mines April 22 announced that Ontario and Yukon have signed a
partnership agreement aimed at laying the groundwork for small
modular reactor (SMR) deployment in the North, opening the door to
potential nuclear power development for Yukon's strained electricity
system and, potentially, for remote communities and mines beyond the
main grid.
(My comment: This would be
amazing for remote industries like mining. If Donlin Mine in SW
Alaska had nuclear power, no gas pipeline from Cook Inlet would be
needed. I wish the Canadians success that we can follow.)
A
big federal move to license microreactors Axios
The NRC unveiled
draft rules to speed approval for deploying very small
reactors. Bite-sized, easily transported units are drawing
increased support from the DOE, Pentagon and VC firms in recent years.
Alaska’s
energy cliff isn’t coming. It’s already here The Northern Journal
Politics
Quote
du jour Axios
A
deal would likely give Uncle Sam a substantial ownership
stake in Spirit — possibly as much as 90%
Senators
condemn Trump administration's National Park Service cuts and $10B
'slush fund' AK Pub Media
The Trump administration is
proposing steep cuts to the National Park Service and plans to cut
nearly 3,000 more positions from the payroll.
U.S. senators of both
parties told Interior Secretary Doug Burgum at a hearing Wednesday
that they don’t like the idea
Congress
keeps holding all-nighters, creating dysfunction after dark Anchorage
Daily News
Just as the Senate prepared
to launch into a late-night vote series, Republican Sen. John Kennedy
of Louisiana went to the floor to vent. Frustrated and seemingly
exhausted Wednesday, Kennedy said he wanted more time to debate his
amendments to a budget resolution to fund immigration enforcement
agencies. But he had another complaint. “Frankly I am worried about
the health of some of our members,” Kennedy said as 9 p.m.
approached. “Not that they’re in bad health, but it’s hard to stay up
all night.”
In
speech to Congress, King Charles highlights bond with the U.S. amid
diplomatic trip Anchorage
Daily News
He said the alliance
between the U.S. and the U.K., tested anew by President Donald
Trump’s war in Iran, “cannot rest on past achievements.” Charles
urged “unyielding resolve” in backing Ukraine against Russia and
heralded the NATO alliance that Trump has consistently undermined.
United
Arab Emirates says it will leave OPEC in a blow to the oil cartel Anchorage
Daily News
The United Arab Emirates
said Tuesday it will leave OPEC effective May 1, stripping the oil
cartel of its third-largest producer and further weakening its
leverage over global oil supplies and prices. The UAE’s decision had
been rumored as a possibility for some time, as it pushed back in
recent years against OPEC production quotas it felt had been too low
— meaning it wasn’t able to sell as much oil to the world as it had
wanted.
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