Yes, I admit it.  I watched all 450 minutes of the CNN Climate Town Halls on Tuesday.  Ten Democratic Presidential hopefuls – each with their own plans for ending climate change – spoke to America, took questions from audience members, and engaged in true one-upmanship for 45 minutes each. I watched not because I thought it was going to be engaging TV, but because I was curious whether any of the ten candidates would mention how Alaska’s economic reliability on responsible resource extraction would save it from the Green New Deal-esque plans many had already rolled out. While not naïve,…

Most people think of Alaska as the “Land of the Midnight Sun”, a major oil and gas state, a land where wildlife abundantly roam free, where world-class fishing can be found statewide, and a state where vast mountain ranges, tundra, rivers and lakes sit side by side with responsible resource development projects.  People are correct – it is all of those and more. Where a key resource has sat for nearly 30 years – off-limits due to environmental overreach during the Clinton administration – is in Southeast Alaska.  Logging – with its requisite mills to turn the wood into a…

From pre-statehood to present, Alaska has wrestled with the question of ‘how much is the right amount?’, with regard to oil tax percentages. There have been an incredible 13 changes to the state’s oil and gas taxation structure since Alaska’s giant Prudhoe Bay field first came online in 1979. Some were driven by new areas of development, such as when oil and gas were discovered in Cook Inlet, and a new section was inserted to tax that production differently than the North Slope.  Some were driven by politics, where additional (or fewer) percentages were levied in order to raise state revenues….

With nothing but good things to say about his time with the Department of the Interior and his role as Assistant Secretary of State for Land and Minerals Management, Alaskan Joe Balash resigned his position, effective end-of-day on August 30, 2019. While no reason was given for his departure, he did state that he was leaving on good terms and will provide more information after his tenure with Interior is complete. His resignation read, in part, “While much has been done, much more remains to do.  By embracing your [President Trump’s] policies, we can realize the potential our domestic energy…

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced on July 26th that it would hold eight meetings across Alaska, designed to gather public comment on Alaska’s proposed LNG pipeline’s draft environmental impact statement (DEIS). The LNG project, estimated in the $40-45 billion range to build, has been under state control.  Recently, the board overseeing the project has stepped back its efforts, stating that it plans to finish the DEIS then pause until the project is more feasible and the market more viable. Power The Future acknowledges that current market conditions make it difficult for the AKLNG project to move past the DEIS…

Anyone who has heard the ongoing rhetoric from environmental extremist organizations – including the Alaska Wilderness League, Trustees for Alaska, Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges and well-known national lawsuit-factory groups such as The Sierra Club, The Audubon Society and Center for Biological Diversity – know they value wilderness above anything else. Their actions on Wednesday, August 7th, put an exclamation point on those beliefs. Those six – along with three other national groups – filed suit against the Department of Interior over its revised land-swap agreement with the King Cove Corporation, an Alaska Native village corporation whose land holdings…

Bringing Alaska in-line with other states with offshore drilling opportunities and/or projects, Alaska Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski recently teamed with Senate colleagues to introduce legislation regarding state royalties. Co-sponsored with Bill Cassidy (R-LA), John Kennedy (R-LA), Doug Jones (D-AL) and Roger Wicker (R-MS), the bill would enable Alaska to join Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas in receiving state royalties for offshore development.  The latter four states currently receive 37.5% of revenues derived from drilling in federal waters.  Alaska is currently excluded from any state royalties.  But the new legislation, entitled the Conservation of America’s Shoreline Terrain and Aquatic…