Northern Pipelines

"I got nothin'..."

2011-08-17T12:58:00.000-07:00

TransCanada hopeful despite no customers - Anchorage Daily News In what has to be the most depressing development in years (for those of us hoping for an Alaskan pipeline project, anyway), TCPL CEO Tony Palmer acknowledged that his company has to date been unable to reach any firm deals with potential shippers on its AGIA-supported pipeline project. Though there was a hail-Mary-like attempt to

WTF?

2011-07-15T13:28:00.000-07:00

Shell wants out of Mackenzie pipeline project - North - CBC NewsAn odd development, to be sure. And my first response is... huh? Shell has been in the Mackenzie Delta for decades, and has invested billions of dollars in bringing product to market from there.Shell's press release says that following a regular global portfolio review, they've decided to put their resources "elsewhere".I'll admit to

Mackenzie pipeline decision coming soon: official - North - CBC News

2011-06-17T20:07:00.000-07:00

Wow Mackenzie pipeline decision coming soon: official - North - CBC News I know there's an awful lot of skepticism, but I still think the fix is in. It's gonna happen. Now, the "proponent" that suggested this could happen so soon is Bob Reid, the head of the Aboriginal Pipeline Group, and that particular "proponent" is really the least likely to actually make anything happen. Former

Better Living Through (Petro-) Chemistry

2011-06-06T17:29:00.000-07:00

Another bitumen bonanza - Oilweek A thought-provoking piece that serves as a strong reminder that gas isn't the only issue here; liquids are a big part of the equation, too. Interesting point #1: "I question the long-term sustainability of the gas supply," [chemicals task force industry representative Val Mirosh] says. "There´s no question the [gas] resource is massive, but pockets of shale

And Then There Was One...

2011-05-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

BP-Conoco ends bid to build Alaska gas line She's dead. Frankly, I'm surprised it took this long. The Denali joint venture between BP and Conoco seemed like a longshot to begin with, and more of a protest against the AGIA process than anything else. An expensive protest at that, considering the $165 million spent on it. There is some small chance that the Denali venture has some assets that

The End of the Beginning

2011-03-11T10:41:00.000-08:00

Mackenzie pipeline OK'd by cabinet, energy board - Business - CBC News The Mackenzie Valley Natural Gas Pipeline project has passed its most significant regulatory hurdle: it has been approved by Canada's energy regulator and federal cabinet. While local permitting would still have to be granted for actual construction, the project itself has been given it's most important regulatory green

Building Concerns over Shale Exploration

2011-02-02T01:52:00.001-08:00

Diesel Use in Gas Drilling Cited as Violation of Safe-Water Law - NYTimes.com As much as northern pipline critics want to point to vast stores of shale gas in North America, it's clear that this practice still has a few hurdles to pass. In a nutshell, US lawmakers are becoming increasingly concerned with the use of a variety of chemicals used in the "fracking" process that frees gas from

Where to go from here?

2010-12-21T04:01:00.000-08:00

It's great to see that the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline has been approved by Canada's National Energy Board. It's possibly the most significant regulatory step in a mega-project that's been more than three decades in the making, and that means that in terms of planning and permitting, we're reaching the home stretch. The question is, what happens now? It may be as much as two years before

Green Light for Mackenzie Line

2010-12-16T15:22:00.000-08:00

Mackenzie gas pipeline OK'd by NEB - CBC.ca website The long-awaited ruling from the National Energy Board has come: The MVP has official approval, albeit with some conditions. I haven't had a chance to review them yet, but I'd suspect there aren't any serious deal-breakers. The approval goes to cabinet now, but any significant changes are seen as unlikely. Some analysts are mistakenly seeing

Terribly surprising?

2010-11-16T02:45:00.000-08:00

Some N.W.T. pipeline recommendations rejected - Vancouver SunThe Canadian Federal and Northwest Territories governments have not adopted all the environmental recommendations made by the Joint Review Panel.This really isn't a surprise; at least some of these recommendations are better served by the proponents, for one thing, and some would appear to directly contradict current policy.

I repeat: I'm not dead yet!

2010-11-13T10:18:00.000-08:00

Don't give up on the gas pipeline: AlaskaDispatch Blog The Alaska Dispatch blog gets a lot more visibility than I do, but I want to pass this piece along. Essentially, there are a lot of things going on behind the scenes right now. It's not all terribly visible, but it doesn't mean there isn't work being done. AGIA is not a failure at this point, in fact it's moved the ball forward considerably

Prentice Leaves Politics

2010-11-07T11:21:00.000-08:00

CBC News - North - Baird takes over Mackenzie pipeline fileThis was a surprising development: Canadian Environment minister Jim Prentice suddenly announced his retirement from politics, taking a senior executive position with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. With this departure, the MVP file is being handed to John Baird.This CBC piece includes some quotes from analyst Ian Doig suggesting

US Midterms: Fallout?

2010-11-04T14:15:00.000-07:00

I didn't comment much during the height of the US midterms, in part because I was far too entertained by the Alaska races to actually spend time writing about them. In the final analysis, the results of two of the races stood a chance to affect Alaska Highway projects, and in both cases we seem to have the status quo: Sean Parnell is still Governor, and it looks likely that Lisa Murkowski will

Just a litte longer...

2010-10-11T19:54:00.000-07:00

Pipeline leader lays out three-year plan - Northern News ServicesAt the Prospects North 2010 conference in Yellowknife last week, an Imperial Oil executive laid out a timeline for the preliminary work that would need to be done before a decision could be made whether or not to go ahead with the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline project.This would assume, of course, that the National Energy Board issues

Curb Your Enthusiasm

2010-10-05T21:40:00.000-07:00

Denali gas line bids called 'significant': Gas Pipeline adn.comThe Denali Project announced the conclusion of their Open Season on Monday, claiming "significant" volume had been bid for among potential shippers.To be honest, this really sounded like a paint-by-numbers press release, with nowhere near the energy or optimism that TCPL seemed to exude at the conclusion of their own Open Season back

Figures...

2010-09-30T15:31:00.000-07:00

Mackenzie pipeline decision delayed - regulator ReutersWe'd hoped that the NEB's final report would be issued in September. Now, on the last day of the month, we learn that they don't have all the information they require for their final report. Given how long this process has been dragged out so far, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.Cross your fingers and hope they can hold to that projected

Glimmers of Hope

2010-08-17T00:10:00.000-07:00

Giving hope a chance - August 15, 2010 - Petroleum NewsGary Park's op-ed piece for Petroleum News recaps some recent bid activity for exploration leases in the Beaufort Sea, and he suggests that the recent successful bids might indicate some cautious hope that the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline project will proceed soon.The subtext here is that while the natural gas lines will be essentially paid for

Alaska Loses a Legend

2010-08-10T16:17:00.000-07:00

CBC News - North - Ex-U.S. senator Ted Stevens dies in plane crashIf an Alaska Highway Gas Pipeline project ever gets off the ground, there should be a moment of thanks for former US Senator Ted Stevens. However you want to view Stevens' politics, he worked long and hard for the people of Alaska, and that included strong advocacy of the pipeline project. Stevens was lost in a plane crash north

A little more detail...

2010-08-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

TransCanada touts substantial interest in Alaska gas line - Alaska DispatchOn reviewing some of the coverage of TCPL's announcement of the end of its Open Season last Friday, I found this to be one of the better articles, with a little more background on the issues surrounding some of the bids. A particularly interesting tidbit is that the AGNDA--a group formed to ensure gas supply to the

Open Season... Closes

2010-07-31T13:21:00.000-07:00

Natural gas pipeline project moves forward: Gas Pipeline adn.comTo hear tell from TCPL's Tony Palmer and Alaska Governor Sean Parnell, a "significant milestone" has been passed in the construction of an Alaska Highway Natural Gas Pipeline, with the ending of TC's Open Season, where bids were solicited from potential shippers on the pipeline. According to Palmer, they've recieved bids for "

Move along folks... nothing to see here...

2010-07-20T16:02:00.000-07:00

BP asset sale doesn't include Alaska stake - Anchorage Daily News As has been widely rumored, BP has sold a significant chunk of assets to Apache, including gas assets in Western Canada and 10 fields in the Permain Basin in Texas. What did NOT happen was the rumored sale of BP's Alaska fields. Soooo, BP's Alaska gas assets remain in play, and BP remains an Alaska pipeline player. For now. I

Hint, hint...

2010-07-19T00:11:00.000-07:00

Feds need to expand Arctic sovereignty efforts: premier - Vancouver SunNWT Premier Floyd Roland took the opportunity to promote the MVP project at the annual gathering of the western Canadian premiers. Among its other benefits, it will improve Canada's claims of northern sovereignty.This is true, of course, and the economic benefits are important, but where Roland begins to "jump the shark", if

There's no such thing as an "All-Alaska" gas project...

2010-07-14T13:42:00.000-07:00

Walker fights to open gas pipeline files - Anchorage Daily News Yes, this item goes back a couple of weeks now, but indulge me for a minute. It's inevitable that when you're talking about the kind of money that gas sales could provide for the state of Alaska, that projects can become political footballs. The Republicans are holding their primaries for this November's gubneratorial elections,

Shakeup on the North Slope?

2010-07-12T01:20:00.000-07:00

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - Interior Alaska politicians have mixed reactions to BP sale rumors - Fairbanks Daily News-MinerA bit of a roundabout trip for this development, as the piece I cite is actually a reaction to a report in London's Sunday Times that BP is in talks to sell its stake in Prudhoe Bay to Apache. But, since this is the piece where I actually read the news (and since the Sunday

Couldn't have said it better...

2010-07-06T11:30:00.000-07:00

Mackenzie a must-do - Financial Post Canadian finance journalist Diane Francis nicely summarizes why the MVP "must" proceed, and I largely agree whole-heartedly. I take a little issue with her assertion that this project is the only way to achieve sustainable economic development in Canada's north, but it's certainly the best prospect we'll have for a while.