As Alaska’s North Slope Crude prices creep up above the $41 per barrel mark, ConocoPhillips rolls back its 100,000-barrel-per-day reduction in throughput (starting July 1st) and multiple projects on the Slope and in Cook Inlet creep forward in their exploration and permitting processes, one might look at the industry and see signs of recovery. Most Alaskans want that to be the case.  After all, our economy – already reeling from lower-than-forecasted oil revenues – is going to continue to be driven by responsible resource development.  One in four private-sector jobs are directly or indirectly tied to oil and gas development. …

Every Tuesday night from 5:00-6:00 PM local time, Alaska State Director Rick Whitbeck hosts the “Power The Future Energy Hour” on KNVT (92.5 FM, 1020 AM and online at 1020KVNT.com).  The show (also replayed during the same hour on Saturday night) is heard throughout Southcentral Alaska communities, and acts as a recap of Power The Future activities in Alaska, as well as an opportunity to hear from various members of Alaska’s energy community. Since the show’s inception in January 2018, it has had dozens of guests, including members of Congress, Alaska’s Governor, Lt. Governor, State Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners, members…

President Trump’s latest Presidential Memorandum could have monumental impacts on Alaska and the Arctic. Titled “Safeguarding U.S. National Interests in the Arctic and Antarctic Regions”, the President summarized his orders “To help protect our national interests in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, and to retain a strong Arctic security presence alongside our allies and partners, the United States requires a ready, capable, and available fleet of polar security icebreakers that is operationally tested and fully deployable by Fiscal Year 2029.” Successful implementation of the directive would lead to building both heavy- and medium-level Polar-Class Security Cutters (PSCs), which have icebreaking…

With Alaska’s unemployment at nearly one-third of its potential workforce, and industries still struggling with post-COVID re-openings and restrictions, any good news in Alaska’s energy sector is noteworthy. This week brought two stories worth highlighting, as both are energy-centric, and both would boost employment in areas of the state that are suffering right now. The Donlin Mine project, located near Bethel in the Yukon-Kuskokwim area of the state, announced plans to restart its summer drilling program, which had been delayed due to COVID-19.  The mine, one of North America’s largest gold prospects, will ultimately have hundreds of employees, with shareholder…

Every Tuesday night from 5:00-6:00 PM local time, Alaska State Director Rick Whitbeck hosts the “Power The Future Energy Hour” on KNVT (92.5 FM, 1020 AM and online at 1020KVNT.com).  The show (also replayed during the same hour on Saturday night) is heard throughout Southcentral Alaska communities, and acts as a recap of Power The Future activities in Alaska, as well as an opportunity to hear from various members of Alaska’s energy community. Since the show’s inception in January 2018, it has had dozens of guests, including members of Congress, Alaska’s Governor, Lt. Governor, State Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners, members…

Every Tuesday night from 5:00-6:00 PM local time, Alaska State Director Rick Whitbeck hosts the “Power The Future Energy Hour” on KNVT (92.5 FM, 1020 AM and online at 1020KVNT.com).  The show (also replayed during the same hour on Saturday night) is heard throughout Southcentral Alaska communities, and acts as a recap of Power The Future activities in Alaska, as well as an opportunity to hear from various members of Alaska’s energy community. Since the show’s inception in January 2018, it has had dozens of guests, including members of Congress, Alaska’s Governor, Lt. Governor, State Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners, members…

Alaska State Director Rick Whitbeck is an undying advocate of Alaska’s energy community; the employees, the current projects and numerous prospects that drive over one in three private-sector jobs in our great state. Last Tuesday night, Rick fell ill and rushed to the emergency room for what was ultimately diagnosed as pulmonary embolisms (blood clots) in both lungs.  The size and scope of the clots were classified as life-threatening, and Rick spent four days and nights in the hospital, before being discharged on Sunday to return home to continue with his recovery – which will take months. In his own…

Every Tuesday night from 5:00-6:00 PM local time, Alaska State Director Rick Whitbeck hosts the “Power The Future Energy Hour” on KNVT (92.5 FM, 1020 AM and online at 1020KVNT.com).  The show (also replayed during the same hour on Saturday night) is heard throughout Southcentral Alaska communities, and acts as a recap of Power The Future activities in Alaska, as well as an opportunity to hear from various members of Alaska’s energy community. Since the show’s inception in January 2018, it has had dozens of guests, including members of Congress, Alaska’s Governor, Lt. Governor, State Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners, members…

Competing full-page ads in the Anchorage Daily News these past two Sundays highlighted the differences between the anti-Pebble Mine crowd and the Pebble Partnership. On May 10th, Trout Unlimited’s Alaska chapter – through its anti-Pebble organization, Save Bristol Bay – paid for an ad highlighting the alleged misdeeds of Alaska’s Governor, Michael J. Dunleavy, and his administration, in supporting the NEPA process that Pebble is in the middle of. What caught Alaska State Director Rick Whitbeck’s eye wasn’t the list of actions that Save Bristol Bay say were egregious, but instead, the list of company logos associated with the ad. …

Alaska residents from Fairbanks to Homer should see rate savings, and workers at the six electrical utilities should have job security under state legislation signed into law this week. Per the Anchorage Daily News article recapping the signing, the actions will lead to: “Fortifying the authorities of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska and directing the six Railbelt electric utilities to establish a new organization to plan for and manage deeply integrated utility operations. At its core, SB 123 mandates the Railbelt electric utilities work with other stakeholder-driven organizations to form an electric reliability organization, or ERO, that would oversee implementation…