Category: Oil & Gas

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Bracing for Another Budget Debate

In my most recent column for State Tax Notes, I look at the numbers in the Alaska Department of Revenue’s (DOR) 2022 Fall Revenue Sources Book, which tabulates historical revenues and provides the revenue forecast that the governor and Legislature will rely on for budget discussions during the legislative session. I also discuss the status of the refundable/rebatable … Continue Reading

Alaska Gets a Boost from Oil

In my latest column for State Tax Notes, I outline the impacts rising oil prices are having on the Alaska economy and the state’s citizens, the accomplishments and tasks ahead of the Legislature as it passes the midway point in its regular session, and the fall prognostication by the Department of Revenue for revenue in … Continue Reading

2021 Alaska Legislative Sessions Run From ‘Frenzy to Fizzle’

In my latest column for State Tax Notes, I outline several bills to increase taxes introduced during the 2021 sessions of the Legislature, and discuss the status of the government’s repayment of rebatable tax credits, two packets of regulations promulgated by the DOR, and a preliminary revenue forecast issued by the DOR for 2022. The … Continue Reading

Recent Alaska Legislative Sessions Leave Future Unclear for State’s Taxpayers

In my latest column for State Tax Notes, I provide an update on the status of the Alaska Permanent Fund and on actions taken during the regular legislative session and three special sessions to attempt to clarify the many questions that exist surrounding Alaska’s fiscal structure. The Permanent Fund was created in 1976 through an … Continue Reading

Jon Iversen: Trials of the Season

In my latest column for State Tax Notes, I provide an update on Alaska’s budget woes, on possible tax hikes and fiscal uncertainty still faced by the state’s taxpayers, and on the state’s ongoing inability to make payment to holders of over $700 million in rebatable oil and gas production tax credits. In 2020, Alaska’s … Continue Reading

Jon Iversen Discusses Alaska Supreme Court Decision Overturning Tax Credit Bond Program

In previous columns for State Tax Notes, I have discussed H.B. 331, which was passed by the Alaska State Legislature to remedy the state’s failure to pay off outstanding rebatable oil and gas production tax credits. However, the Bill faced numerous lawsuits, culminating in a Sept. 2020 Alaska Supreme Court ruling that the financing structure … Continue Reading

Alaska Oil & Gas Conservation Commission Proposes Changes to Bond Regulation

The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (“AOGCC”) is considering revisions to 20 AAC 25.025 of the Alaska Administrative Code.  One revision would “allow a reduction in the requisite bond amount if an operator demonstrates that it has a bond in place with the landowner dedicated exclusively to the plugging and abandonment of a well … Continue Reading

U.S. Supreme Court Holds that Natural Gas Pipeline May Cross Under Appalachian Trail

On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court held in United States Forest Service v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association that the U.S. Forest Service was authorized to issue a special use permit granting a 0.1-mile right of way under the Appalachian Trail (“Trail”) to Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC (“Atlantic”) for a proposed underground natural gas … Continue Reading

Draft North Slope Area Plan Available for Public Review and Comment

Stoel Rives is actively monitoring developments in the North Slope Area Plan (NSAP).  This week, the Public Review Draft of the NSAP was issued for public review and comment. Comments must be received by mail, email, fax, or through the online public comment portal by not later than July 15, 2020. Comments may also be hand delivered to … Continue Reading

AOGCC Implements Electronic Permitting Procedures in Response to Office Shutdowns Caused by COVID-19

Last month, the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) announced that it would be implementing electronic permitting procedures in response to office shutdowns caused by COVID-19. The electronic process will also serve as the initial step in developing a fully electronic permitting and reporting system. The initial system will utilize “AOGCC-designed fillable PDF and … Continue Reading

EPA Proposes Changes to the Multisector General Permit That Will Affect Oil and Gas Extraction Permittees

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a draft Multisector General Permit (MSGP) under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program for stormwater discharges related to industrial activity. In Alaska, EPA has jurisdiction over NPDES permitting on federal property within Denali National Park, in federal waters (three miles or more offshore), and on certain … Continue Reading

Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Proposes Repeal of Certain Alaska Administrative Code Regulations

The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) has proposed a repeal of regulation changes in 20 AAC 25. of the Alaska Administrative Code. Specific regulations proposed for repeal are as follows: 20 AAC 25.037 well control requirements for other drilling and completion operations; 20 AAC 25.047 reserve pits and tankage; 20 AAC 25.225 potential … Continue Reading

The Battle Over the Alaska Oil and Gas Production Tax Credit

Alaska’s oil and gas production tax has been subject to continuing debate and change as lawmakers and policymakers struggle with balancing budgets in times of volatile oil prices while also encouraging the investment necessary to monetize the state’s resources to run its government, create jobs, build and maintain infrastructure, and promote economic activity. In my … Continue Reading

Trump’s BLM Cannot Delay Implementation of Oil and Gas Methane Rules after Effective Date

On October 4, 2017, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California held that the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) cannot postpone implementation of natural gas methane emission rules because such action would violate the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”).  Plaintiffs – the State of California, the State of New Mexico, and a … Continue Reading

Federal Bill Proposes Streamlined Pipeline Permitting, Vesting Authority in FERC

On July 19, 2017, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that grants the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) increased autonomy over pipeline approvals.  The bill, Promoting Interagency Coordination for Review of Natural Gas Pipelines Act (H.R. 2910), is aimed at streamlining the federal permitting process for pipeline approvals. H.R. 2901 would specify … Continue Reading

Reconsidering Helium Production on Federal Lands Amid Privatization of Federal Helium Reserve

On Wednesday the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will auction helium stored in its Cliffside Field underground storage facility in west Texas (aka the Federal Helium Reserve).  This annual auction under the Helium Stewardship Act of 2013 is part of a privatization effort that began back in 1996 and will culminate with the BLM divesting itself … Continue Reading

Senate Proposes Legislation to Modernize Federal Energy Policies

On June 28, 2017, the Senate introduced a bill that aims to revitalize and overhaul various federal energy and natural resources policies.  Senate Bill 1460 (S.1460), sponsored by Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Arkansas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), broadly proposes reform of United States policies on topics such as energy efficiency, supply and conservation.  A key highlight … Continue Reading

North Dakota’s UIC Class VI Primacy Wait is Almost Over

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is poised to approve North Dakota’s application for primary enforcement authority over the underground injection of CO2 for geologic sequestration in that state.  Nearly four years after North Dakota became the first state to seek primacy from EPA over carbon sequestration wells – known as Underground Injection Control (UIC) Class … Continue Reading

Some Not-So-Good News Out of Washington, D.C. for Pipeline Operators – Feds Increase Fines for Pipeline Safety Violations

President Trump’s recent executive orders have benefited the oil pipeline industry in a number of ways, including most notably, giving the final “okay” to the Dakota Access Pipeline.  But some legislative mandates have been out of the reach of the President’s pen.  On April 27, the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”), within … Continue Reading
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