Free Republic

Drue Pearce, a former Alaska legislator, is President Bush's nominee to be the new federal coordinator for construction of an Alaska gas pipeline. But she got a scolding at her confirmation hearing Thursday that seemed more aimed at the Alaska Legislature. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, was frustrated that the Alaska Legislature has not endorsed the governor's gas pipeline contract with the state's three major oil companies. "What's the holdup?" he asked Pearce. The governor's contract includes a new method of taxing the companies on the oil they extract. Pearce said that component has troubled...

Turkey says Poland mulls buying from Turk pipelines ANKARA, July 6 (Reuters) - Turkey's Energy Minister Hilmi Guler said on Thursday that Poland was interested in energy cooperation and was considering buying from energy pipelines that will cut through Turkey. Poland considers meeting some of its energy needs through the Nabucco natural gas pipeline project, which will pump central Asian gas via Turkey to Austria, and Turkey's Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline project, said Hilmi Guler after meeting the president of Poland's parliament. The Nabucco, supported by the European Union, is designed to increase Europe's access to alternative sources of natural gas...

HELSINKI, Finland (AP) -- The European Union said Monday it would seek to launch talks with Russia later this year on forging closer political and economic ties, including a possible free trade pact. The move, to offer Moscow open access to the EU's market, was seen as an overture by the EU to sway Russia in offering long-term guarantees of secure energy supplies for western Europe. Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, whose country holds the EU presidency, said he hoped all 25 EU governments will approve a negotiating mandate on a new EU-Russia accord to replace the existing so-called partnership...

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AP) - Turkmenistan on Friday said its natural gas contract with Ukraine for 2006 was invalid, as it continues to pressure Ukraine to pay about 50 percent more than what it currently pays for Turkmen gas. [...] Turkmenistan's gas supplies have taken on even greater importance for Ukraine after a bitter dispute in January with Russia over gas prices, but Kiev has repeatedly stalled on agreements to pay off debts, and Turkmen officials have repeatedly criticized Kiev. [...] "Turkmenistan proposed Ukraine sign a contract on gas deliveries to Ukraine for the fourth quarter at a price of US$100...

JUNEAU, Alaska - The Bush administration is pressuring state lawmakers to pass legislation that would advance a proposed multibillion dollar natural gas pipeline. In letters to the Alaska House and Senate, Vice President Dick Cheney urged prompt action during the upcoming special session. "You have it in your hands to help ensure that the Alaska Gas Pipeline ultimately furnishes dependable, affordable, and environmentally sound energy for America's future," Cheney wrote in his letter, dated Tuesday. Adding to the pressure was an announcement Thursday from the federal energy department, which said plans were in place to expedite the federal permitting process...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, June 23 (Reuters) - Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski aims to negotiate a revised contract for a $20 billion natural gas pipeline before a general election in November, a top aide said on Friday. The Republican governor may alter about 15 points in the initial pipeline contract he negotiated with ConocoPhillips (COP.N: Quote, Profile, Research), BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and Exxon Mobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) earlier this year in response to public comment and criticism, said Jim Clark, Murkowski's chief of staff. "(The hope is that) we'll be able to get the various provisions renegotiated and come...

Kiev 17:45 Neftegaz Ukrainy admits the possibility of unauthorized tapping of gas pipelines if its underground gas reserves run out this winter, as stated in the company's letter to the Ukrainian PM Yury Yekhanurov of June 8, 2006. "Under such conditions Ukraine will be forced to tap off gas which is supposed to be transported further, thereby giving Russia grounds for accusing Ukraine of theft and presenting the country as an unreliable partner in the eyes of the European community," the document reads. The company explained that if the planned volume of gas was not injected into the underground gas...

Russia’s gas monopoly Gazprom and Hungary’s MOL Group have signed an agreement on the South European Gas Pipeline project. The two companies agreed to set up a joint venture to prepare the technical and feasibility study for new transnational gas transportation and underground gas storage facilities in Hungary, Gazprom said. Gazprom’s spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said the idea was to build a new gas transportation system that would carry gas to Europe. The Blue Stream gas pipeline across the Black Sea would be used, he noted. "Considering Gazprom’s reserves, its contracts and prospects for new export agreements, this seems to be...

Russian Gazprom could trade upstream rights for access to Polish gasinfrastructure assets WARSAW. JUNE 21. INTERFAX CENTRAL EUROPE - Russian gas giant Gazprom would willingly consider giving Poland access to upstream gas resources in return for access to Polish gas infrastructure assets, Russian Gazprom Deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev told reporters Tuesday. "This is quite simple, if Poland makes its strategic assets accessible to us - and it seems to be obvious that the first strategic asset is the pipeline system - then we will gladly consider such a possibility," Medvedev said in response to questions about the possibility of such...

Gas Diplomacy By Michal Jeziorski 7 June 2006 The plan to build a gas pipeline from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea has caused controversy in Poland and across the European Union. Polish politicians say national energy policy will only be effective if it is built on the principle of solidarity. Poland's priority is to diversify sources of gas. Russia is increasingly seen as cynically taking advantage of the former East Bloc countries' dependence on its raw materials. After pro-Western forces won the elections in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, Gazprom dramatically increased its gas prices for these countries. The...

Does EU have an eastern policy? NETWORK EUROPE LOOKING EAST - Why have the Baltics, Poland and Ukraine slammed the German-Russian Baltic gas pipeline? - Can the EU do more to promote democracy and civil society in Belarus? - And what are Ukraine’s prospects of joining the EU? The German-Russian deal struck last autumn to build a pipeline under the Baltic Sea to pump natural gas from Russia continues to raise concerns in the Baltic States, Poland and Ukraine. These countries’ leaders have said they felt uneasy about, what they felt was, deals being made behind their back on an...

Poland opposes EU financing for Northern gas pipeline Polish Foreign Minister Anna Fotyga voiced opposition to the possibility of "controversial" energy projects being financed from the EU budget, her spokesman told the Polish news agency PAP on Monday. Fotyga made the remarks at a Monday meeting of European Union (EU) foreign ministers in Luxembourg. "Poland believes that if the EU decides to participate in the financing of projects aimed at diversification of energy supplies, it should not finance projects that raise controversy in some member countries," the spokesman cited her as saying. One such project is the Russian-German Northern Pipeline,...

San Ramon-based Chevron Corp. (CVX) announced today the opening of the Baku-Tbilisi- Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline with the delivery of its first cargo of Caspian crude oil to world markets. The inaugural shipment of about 600,000 barrels of crude was delivered by tanker to Savona, Italy, marking the start of export of Azerbaijan's crude oil via the BTC oil pipeline. The crude oil initially will come from the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea and is expected to be joined by other volumes in the future, including production from across the Caspian region. Chevron has an...

US bypasses Russia with BP pipeline By Adrian Blomfield in Moscow (Filed: 09/06/2006) Washington scored a significant victory in its contest with Moscow for influence in Central Asia yesterday when Kazakhstan agreed to start pumping oil to the West through a British Petroleum pipeline that bypasses Russia and Iran. The deal, secured largely because of a personal visit to Kazakhstan last month by Dick Cheney, the United States vice-president, will infuriate the Kremlin. But there will be secret relief in European capitals, where there is growing concern over Russia's apparent willingness to use its vast energy supplies as a political...

New pipeline offers Poland 3.5 bcm of Norwegian gas a year, deal may beinked by end-'07 - official WARSAW. JUNE 6. INTERFAX CENTRAL EUROPE - Poland can theoretically obtain a maximum of 3.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas annually from a Norwegian-Swedish gas pipeline project, and a contract for Norwegian gas could be signed within a year, a Polish Economy Ministry official said Tuesday. "We know from [Norwegian gas company] Gassco that we can receive a maximum 3.5 bcm annually from this Norwegian-Swedish pipeline, considering the needs from the other participants in the consortium," Director for Energy Supply Diversification...

The following is in mp3 format on rogerhedgecock.com on 05-25-2006: When the Alaskan Pipeline was being built the environmental whackos whined the pipeline whould cut the grazing land of the caribou in half and the caribou would die out. So to appease them, the pipeline was put on stilts where it crossed the caribou graze lands. What happened? The caribou decided to gather at the spot where the pipeline came down to the ground. Seems the caribou liked to lie against the pipeline because the pipe was warm from the oil passing through it. The liked it so much they...

Poles eye Norwegian gas The search for a diversified gas supply has again turned Poland towards Norway. Is its bargaining position better than five years ago? Slawek Szefs reports 12.05.06 There are increasing hopes for Norwegian natural gas deliveries finding their way through Sweden to Poland. This would mean a competitive source to dominating Russian supplies. This is not the first time Poland is viewing Norway as an alternate natural gas supplier in its long efforts to diversify delivery sources. Political strings attached to Russian supplies and Poland's dependence on them created still during the post war decades of communist...

A gas pipeline exploded in Nigeria as villagers collected fuel from the ruptured conduit, killing between 150 and 200 people and leaving charred bodies scattered around the blast site. Dozens of burned corpses could be seen lying on the ground at the waterside village of Ilado, about 45 kilometers east of Lagos, Nigeria's main city, and police said dozens had perished in the flames. "Between 150 and 200 people died," Lagos Police Commissioner Emmanuel Adebayo told reporters. Rescue workers dug a ditch near

The State of Alaska today released the draft Alaska Gas Pipeline Project fiscal contract between the State and the North Slope producers. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is supportive of starting the public review process. The fiscal agreement will provide the essential elements for clarity and fiscal certainty necessary to advance the Alaska Gas Pipeline project. The terms of the agreement include state fiscal certainty, as well as the six principles mandated by the State of Alaska for the project. The fiscal contract outlines activities and plans between ConocoPhillips, the other major producers and the State of Alaska for equity ownership, state revenue,...

Energy: Dispute on price India will pay for gas in the $22-bn pact New Delhi, May 2: Iran today dangled the gas pipeline carrot to New Delhi after showing the LNG stick to restrain India from siding with the US on a Security Council resolution that would legally bind Tehran to halt all nuclear enrichment activity. At a hurriedly-scheduled ‘non-structured meeting’, Iranian deputy oil minister Nejad Hosseinian told New Delhi that the price agreed between them last June for five million tonnes of LNG was no longer valid. At the same time, he assured New Delhi that there would be...