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In my humble opinion, one of the finest energy policy analysts in the state, perhaps THE finest, is Richard Fineberg. During the 1980s he was senior advisor to the Governor of Alaska on oil and gas policy, and since then he has been an intrepid independent analyst with an excellent reputation. In his own words…

At this web site [www.finebergresearch.com] you will find fact-based information about economic and environmental aspects of oil industry operations in Alaska, with special emphasis on the North Slope oil fields and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS), which provides about one million barrels of oil per day (five percent of the nation’s total consumption) to the West Coast. Due to the oil industry’s power, political clout and media skills, much of the information you will find here is not widely reported or readily available elsewhere.

Read the rest of this entry »

I would like to bring to your attention a new informative and well-documented publication from Cook Inletkeeper, Alaska Coal Primer: The ABC’s of Coal in Alaska. In addition, here is a recent communication from Cook Inletkeeper that outlines the policy issues and how you can influence them:

Help shape Alaska’s energy policy! Tell AEA the best way to power Alaska! The Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) is holding a series of Energy Plan Town Hall Meetings across the state. AEA is most interested in hearing how to address rising energy prices across the state.

Read the rest of this entry »

In late June, Cook Inletkeeper joined Alaska Native tribes and fishing groups to challenge the Environmental Protection Agency’s re-issued Clean Water Act permit that will allow the oil and gas industry to almost triple the amount of toxic waste dumped into Cook Inlet’s rich and productive fisheries each year. Cook Inlet is the only coastal waterbody in the nation where the oil and gas industry may legally dump its toxic waste, even though oil and gas prices remain at record highs and the technology exists to reinject the wastes back into formation. Despite the relatively lax permit terms enjoyed by industry, it has violated its permit thousands of times over the past decade. Inletkeeper is now working with counsel at Trustees for Alaska to challenge the re-issued permit in federal court. For more information, see: http://www.inletkeeper.org/energy/production.htm

(Source:  Cook Inletkeeper Update, July 17, 2007)

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I would like to bring to your attention a fascinating piece of research conducted by Senator Hollis French.  He asked the question, “Is pipeline corrosion really the new and unexpenced issue that British Petroleum is claiming to the Alaskan Public?”  His off-the-cuff research indicates that the largely unaddressed problem goes back at least 15 years.  I have not been able to find a written transcript of his comments, but there is an existing audio recording of his comments which you can listen to.  Perhaps the next discussion needs to be how should state regulatory policy should be changed to better ensure protection of the infrastructure that generates most of the State’s revenues.

ldw

Issue number six of Eric Croft’s excellent E-News Gasline Update was released recently. It includes a fascinating historical discussion about The Stranded Gas Act, and a systematic critique of the Governor’s position on the issue. Here is the conclusion from the most recent issue of Croft’s newsletter… Read the rest of this entry »

I reprint here with permission some particularly insightful, well informed comments submitted as public testimony at hearings on the gas pipeline fiscal contract. The comments were written by Eric Larson, a local, well respected economist.

The fiscal certainty clause in Article 11, section 1 of the proposed fiscal contract raises two important Constitutional issues:

1) Can the Legislature limit the taxing authority of future Legislatures?
2) Can the Legislature limit the taxing authority of the voter initiative process?

In his testimony before the Legislature on May 10, the Attorney General offered his legal opinion that Read the rest of this entry »

I am unabashedly reproducing here an information release from the office of Rep. Les Gara because it factually reports on the conclusions of a consultant hired by the Legislature re the Governor’s proposed pipeline contract. Just one more red flag on this issue which seems headed down the path of being railroaded through the legislature with minimal public input like the disasterous SB 141, the highly flawed legislation that terminated the pension system for Alaska public employees, teachers, firefighters, police, and other civil servants. These issues are just too important to ram past the people of Alaska for reasons which seem to have little to do with our wellbeing. Read the rest of this entry »

Senator Kim Elton writes an excellent newsletter. Every now and then, however, it is particularly revealing, and particularly relevant to a critical public policy issue in Alaska. Such was the case with his recently released “off the record” #242…

The gas pipeline deal… Is it a case of “inexcusable trustfulness”?

The gas pipeline contract knit together by the governor and three multi-national energy companies seems less the product of bruising debate and more the product of a deal written on a cocktail napkin in the country club bar. Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear…

who will talk about questions Alaskans should ask about the natural gas pipeline at the Annual Meeting of Alaska Common Ground

April 15, 2006

Anchorage Senior Center

1300 East 19th Avenue

10:30am to 1pm

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The following is reprinted by permission from the most recent copy of Senator Kim Elton’s newsletter, Off the Record. You can review past issues of Senator Elton’s excellent newsletter on his webpage, and sign up to recieve future issues on the same page. The public policy issues raised here in his most recent issues of the newsletter have the potential of an enormous impact on the relationship of Alaskan families to their publicly owned resources. –ldw

(This special edition of my newsletter excerpts portions of a stunning memo that partially pulls the wraps off the governor’s secret negotiations to build a pipeline that carries our North Slope natural gas to consumers in the Lower 48. Read the rest of this entry »

Alaska Renewable Energy Fair
Saturday August 13th, Noon to 10 PM
Anchorage Park Strip

Alaska possesses vast wind, geothermal, biomass, hydro, tidal
and solar energy resources. Despite looming natural gas shortages
and rising energy prices virtually none of these resources have
yet been tapped. Come learn about the numerous opportunities
that Alaska has to utilize its clean, affordable, and inexhaustible
energy resources.

The Fair will feature local leaders, expert speakers, workshops,
films, informational booths, solar and wind energy demonstrations,
food and craft booths, live music, and more.
For more information contact Renewable Energy Alaska Project
Director Chris Rose at 745-6000 and crose@alaska.net or
Hannah Manser at 317-2050 and hannah_manser@hotmail.com

The oil industry is making more than $10,000.00 per minute after taxes from Alaska North Slope and associated pipeline operations, according to a report by Richard Feinberg, released June 2 by the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council. Three major oil companies – BP, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil – control approximately 95 percent of North Slope production, as well as the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS). Among the key findings of the 98-page report: Read the rest of this entry »

The other day I received an invitation to attend a presentation at the Alaska Housing finance Corporation office on the peak oil dilemma. I was only vaguely aware of the issue, or perhaps theory, that the easily (i.e. cheaply) available world oil supply had peaked, or was about to peak in perhaps ten to fifteen years. The two hour presentation by AHFC’s Scott Waterman (swaterma@ahfc.state.ak; 907-330-8195) was an extraordinary eye-opener. A few of the highpoints include: Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t know who Richard A. Fineberg is? Here is how he describes himself on the home page of his site:

The material presented here was researched and compiled by Richard A. Fineberg, founder and principal investigator of Research Associates of Ester, Alaska. Fineberg has observed Alaska petroleum development for three decades as a prize-winning reporter, as an advisor to the Governor of Alaska on oil and gas policy and as an independent consultant to investors, government agencies and non-profit organizations. In recent years his horizons have expanded to include two oil provinces in the Former Soviet Union, the Caspian Basin and Sakhalin Island. Often controversial, Fineberg’s petroleum research has earned a reputation for dedication to factual accuracy and carefully reasoned analysis.

I came to Alaska 23 years ago, and I remember coming across articles by Fineberg during the 1980s that appeared to be eminently factual, meticulously documented, and wonderfully credible compared to the superficial hype and PR that otherwise dominated the media. In recent years I missed the clarity of his research and policy documents, but now I have stumbled across his website, and it does not disappoint.

I urge you to visit finebergresearch.com yourself and take a look at this wonderful resource. See in particular a couple of his latest papers, The Arctic Refuge Numbers Game: Update, and, Oil Industry Performs Poorly On International Pipeline Projects. The policy implications are enormous, and, as is typically the case with Fineberg’s work, the research is very well documented. That’s good, because our motto here at the Alaska Center for Public Policy is, “facts matter.”

Lawrence D. Weiss, Ph.D., M.S.
President of the Board
Alaska Center for Public Policy