A Citizen's Guide

• Congress cuts off Darfur

  The U.S. House passed the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act today, which prohibits the federal government from working with companies that fuel the conflict in Darfur and allows state governments to do the same without worrying about lawsuits. Under the law, which the President has not yet signed, the federal government [...]
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  Posted: December 18, 2007, 1:13pm EST
  by Eric Lidji

• Budget, production, prices

  Yereth Rosen takes an interesting angle on the budget announcements today: projected production declines and expectations of lower oil prices. At the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce meeting today, both Sen. Gary Wilken and Rep. Mike Kelly expressed some concern about oil prices being even lower than state projections, and wondered [...]
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  Posted: December 10, 2007, 3:57pm EST
  by Eric Lidji

• Conoco to spend $1 billion in Alaska this year

  ConocoPhillips plans to spend $1 billion on exploration and production in Alaska this year, part of a $15.3 billion capital budget. Of the seven regions broken out to split $11 billion in exploration and production spending, Alaska is near the bottom, getting less than the Lower 48 ($3.3 billion), Canada [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2007, 8:31am EST
  by Eric Lidji

• Outside AGIA, ConocoPhillips takes pipeline plan on tour

  ConocoPhillips wants to start negotiating a natural gas contract with the state before the end of the year, company executives said Wednesday. The negotiations would be the first step in what the company believes is the “fastest way to a pipeline,” according to Brian Wenzel, vice president of Alaska North Slope [...]
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  Posted: December 06, 2007, 1:03pm EST
  by Eric Lidji

• Little-known AGIA applicant has eyed project for decades

  The five companies applying to build a natural gas pipeline in Alaska vary from a multinational oil firm, to a leading pipeline company, to homegrown municipal and state entities, to a big question mark. Even the government officials announcing the applicants seemed short on information about AEnergia LLC. While the company is [...]
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  Posted: December 05, 2007, 2:31pm EST
  by Eric Lidji

• The No-Sinopec chorus sings louder

  The original murmuring about Sinopec revolved around foreign ownership of the pipeline and shipping American natural gas abroad, but the Darfur angle seems to be gaining the most momentum. Ethan Berkowitz, former state legislator and current candidate for the U.S House of Representatives, raised his concerns today about Sinopec’s work in [...]
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  Posted: December 05, 2007, 9:11am EST
  by Eric Lidji

• Sinopec backlash begins

  A Washington advocacy group wants Gov. Palin to immediately reject Sinopec’s bid because of the Chinese oil company’s ties to Sudan. The Genocide Intervention Network believes money from the Sudanese oil industry fuels the conflict in the Darfur region of the country. In a letter to the governor, they said Palin [...]
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  Posted: December 04, 2007, 7:46am EST
  by Eric Lidji

• The Little Susitna Construction Company

  If Sinopec wins AGIA, it plans to work with a local company called the Little Susitna Development Co., the state told us Friday night. The Anchorage Daily News reported this morning that the State mis-spoke. It’s actually the Little Susitna Construction Company, Inc. According to the company’s Web site, Little Susitna is [...]
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  Posted: December 04, 2007, 7:32am EST
  by Eric Lidji

• MidAmerican explains decision to not bid on Alaska pipeline

  ANCHORAGE — A major Midwest energy company said it did not submit an application to build a natural gas pipeline tapping Alaska North Slope reserves because of criminal investigations of state politicians, performance lapses by a major oil producer and other factors. In a letter Friday to Gov. Sarah Palin, the [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2007, 1:10pm EST
  by The Associated Press

• Halcro, on attack, comes to Fairbanks

  Andrew Halcro, former state lawmaker, independent candidate for governor, and active blogger, will be in Fairbanks on Wednesday to give a talk at an Alliance luncheon. (Alaska Support Industry Alliance, that is.) Halcro has been an active critic of Palin’s approach to getting a gas line, largely through his blog. Lots [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2007, 10:14am EST
  by Stefan Milkowski, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner