Syrian Refugees? NO!!!!!

Governor Walker is about to make a mistake.  He is appeasing his liberal masters in DC by forcing upon Alaskans Syrian Muslim migrant workers who are pretending to be “refugees”.  However, the Obama Administration has only allowed in 53 Christians out of over 2,500 Syrians.  Yet, it is the Christians in the Middle East who are being slaughtered by the Muslim majority. .
Governor Walker wants to bring in these Muslims fully aware that they will not assimilate. This is about money and changing demographics in favor of the Democrats by creating another dependant class to be exploited by the left.  Unfortunately, as in Europe, this strategy will blow up in the faces of the Democrats and those seeking cheap labor to undermine our wage standards.
Islam does not allow Muslims to  assimilate.  When their numbers grow sufficiently large enough that they have the influence, Islam will demand the submission of all that is not Islam in their new land.  Shari’a will be instituted as the law.  Under Islam, women are worth ½ the value of a man, and are chattel, property of their husband.
Islam is here to conquer, not to co-exist, Islam is at war with anything not Islam.  The West, including the U.S., is dar al-Harb, land of war, to Islam.
What happened in France should come as no surprise to anyone.  Islam, like communism, is completely alien to Western democracy.  Especially, to the U.S., which is a constitutional republic having a rule of law.  Or, at least we used to, before the Obama Administration.  Now, we are an oligarchy, ruled by a few elites who hold influence in Washington, D.C.  (Testing “Theories of American Politics”, Gilens and Page, “Perspectives on Politics”, Sept., 2014, Vol. 12/No.3, pp564-581)
All of Europe has paid with increasing rates of crime, particularly rape against infidel women.  Sweden’s rate of rape by Muslim males against Swedish women is 1,472% greater today than in 1974. (Sweden: Rape capital of the West, Carlqvist and Hedegaard, Gatestone Institute.org, Feb. 14, 2015)
95% of the influx of migrant workers pretending to be “Syrian refugees” into Europe are unaccompanied males of military age.  By the end of 2016, the number of military age single Muslim males will equal the total number of native German males of military age.
Islam is like communism in that it is all things to the Muslim.  Under communism, the state is all powerful and owns everything, but under Islam, it is Allah that makes the rules, which the Imam’s interpret.  Islam sets forth the social conventions and the rules under which man is governed by Allah.  An Islamic state is goal of Islam.
Wherever there is Islam, there are death, intolerance, war and slavery.  Only under Islam is outright slavery still practiced in this century.
Islam means submission.  To a Muslim, the imperative is to submit to Islam in all things.   Where there is Islam, there is death, war, destruction, slavery, and intolerance.
The elitist leadership in Europe and in the U.S. has both eyes open in their insane acquiescence to invasion by migration.  They believe that they will be sacrosanct and that Islam will cleanse the country of the right and usher in a new globalist government without borders–a communist goal–and solve the declining population problem caused by abortion and the assault on traditional marriage.  These elitists believe that Islam will submit to their enlightened leadership.  They believe that what happened in France and the rapes, assaults and killings all over Europe and in the U.S. are a necessary trial and sacrifice for native populations to achieve their socialist utopia.
Islam abhors the atheist, apostate, animist and pagan.  The homosexuals and atheist left would be literally committing suicide by allowing Islam to gain a foothold here.
All Muslims are obligated to take the Quran  literally.  Islam is one of the few religions that demands death for apostasy.
Islam destroys the history, culture, language, values and traditions of any nation it conquers.  Slavery in this day and age exists only under Islam.  And, our Governor is allowing Muslims into Alaska who are not refugees by any definition so that the State will get a few bucks from the Obama Administration’s  attempt to change demographics in favor of the Democrats.
For Walker, this is about money, the safety of Alaskans has no standing in the matter.

What did NO on Prop 1 do for Alaska . . . NOTHING.

SB21 brought industry commitments.
So say T.J. Presley and Nick Moe, the two who pushed the SB21 Prop 1 NO campaign.
Industry commitments?
 What industry commitments?
 What did Alaska trade with SB21? Another one-way deal brokered by Hawker and Chennault, Conoco's boys.
BP is laying people off.
The work being done is maintenance that was ignored for many years. Now, maybe, in 2016, there will be a favorable Congress elected and a President who just might open ANWR and allow offshore oil and gas development. Makes sense to spend the money, just in case.
How will offshore development help or benefit Alaska? Alaska does not get a cut of those royalties. Aside from whatever village becomes the staging area, there is no benefit.
Then, there is the idea of upping production in a time of 'glut'. How many tankers from Valdez full of Alaska crude are turned away from West Coast refineries, because of the wealth of shale oil being produced?
Is our oil wanted in the market right now?  No.  There is an excess of oil, with surpluses being produced in the Middle East as a hedge against any crisis that might cause a spike in demand.  
Saudi Arabia is trying to produce sufficient surplus oil to cause a downturn below $80/bbl as part of a plan between the Saudis and the Obama Administration to create financial stress on Putin's Russia.  At $80/bbl, Russia can pay for government, at $79.99/bbl, it cannot.  Now, you know why the price of oil has been declining lately.
What happened to the NG from Qatar that was supposed to supply the U.S. domestic needs for 25 years? The first LNG tanker was turned around and sent to Asia last May. That gas now supplies 60% of the Japanese LNG market.
Even though the Japanese are looking for new suppliers, Alaska's governor and Legislature are not interested.
 Our governor and Legislature could have cared less about the Japanese delegations that came to Alaska to secure LNG post the Fukishima meltdown.  The Gov and the Legislature evidently work for Conoco and Exxon. That is clear, otherwise, why would $3B in potential investment into an Alaska natural gas pipeline and LNG train have been allowed to walk to Kitimat and Chenier in LA? Alaska was not interested in the deal, so the money walked and was invested elsewhere.
What did NO accomplish? More money for the oil companies, less for Alaska.
I am a no tax kind of conservative. I believe that Alaska should have stuck with royalties and never bothered with taxes on the oil industry. We would have been much better off, and the oil industry would have thrived here with a vibrant oil and gas service industry instead of the few companies engaged in oil and gas anything in Alaska--fiscal certainty and all of that. However, we became greedy, allowed our gov't to milk the oil companies and now, we play stupid games. Our Legislature and governor studies and studies and studies and we languish wondering if there will ever be any new development in the oil sector and in the gas sector?
People move to Alaska hoping, only to find an expensive place to live with the economy largely being fueled by gov't money.  Eventually, those taillights will be headed south--sooner the better.
The oil companies promised nothing and that's what we received with SB21. Nothing.
There is no leadership in Juneau. The increasing spending is a demonstration that we have devolved from building infrastructure with our oil royalties largess to maintaining and keeping the plebes happy with social entitlements. No leadership, no direction, no commitment to do other than kiss the oil companies' corporate posteriors in the vein hope that they will pull the rabbit of economic prosperity out of the declining oil revenue hat before we use the entire PF to keep the illusion of fiscal solvency alive. That is the problem, has been the problem ever since Sarah Palin was elected, left Alaska, and the boy wonder, otherwise known as Captain Zero, became Governor six years ago. Yeah, six years, we've been blessed with . . . nothing.
Now, we have a $7M per day deficit spending with Governor Parnell's spending excesses.
 SB21 is still the law, meaning less money to the State.
Fine.
Now what?
November will be the 'what'. The Legislature will not change. The same "me toos" will be back in Juneau to do what Hawker and Chennault say.
Hopefully, Bill Walker and Craig Fleener will have their shot at running the State. At least we will have a governor who has a plan to move forward with economic prosperity and fiscal responsibility as the goals.




http://www.adn.com/article/20140825/defeat-oil-tax-referendum-puts-alaska-win-win-territory

Alaska's eggs are all in the oil basket, like Norway, we have screwed up

Alaska’s Legislature and Governor like to point to Norway’s success with its savings account from Norway’s oil development. Over the last 50 years, Norway has managed to sock away $740 billion in the Norwegian Oil Fund (NOF), Norway’s savings account from oil development royalties. Is Norway’s fund truly the outstanding example of sound fiscal management pointed to by our politicians?

Jerome Vitenburg, an international political analyst, citing a 2011 study by Michael Hudson of the University of Missori, in the Washington Times says no, Norway has not been a good steward of the incredible wealth afforded by the oil boom. Bad investments, a rapidly expanding welfare state, and the failure to invest in Norway’s industry and infrastructure raise serious doubts about Norway’s financial future. Like Alaska, Norway has failed to invest wisely in itself.

Norway has failed to improve its non-oil related industrial infrastructure. Norway has invested heavily outside of Norway. Alaska has done the same.

There is no requirement under Alaska statutes for a percentage of Alaska’s Permanent Fund to be invested into Alaska. (AS 37.13)

Increased production threatens Norway’s oil revenues as oil prices are expected to fall with new production coming on-line in the U.S. and elsewhere from shale deposits and new technologies improving recovery. Alaska faces the same potentially draconian economic future.

Alaska is also particularly vulnerable to such a decrease in oil revenue. This year is expected to be the first year of deficits between spending and revenue, by -$500,000,000, since the precipitous drop in the price of oil in the 1980s and in 1999, when oil dropped to $20 per barrel. Delays in building a natural gas pipeline to tidewater further accelerates Alaska’s coming fiscal collapse, because of the failure of the Legislature to understand the LNG market and Governor Sean Parnell’s insistence in adhering to Sarah Palin’s failed AGIA policy until very recently.

Governor Parnell has finally closed the Alaska Gasline Incentive Act (AGIA) office. Prior to his Natural Resources Commissioner recently announcing that the State would consider a direct investment to secure 20% of the project ownership, Parnell steadfastly stood by Sarah Palin’s Alaska Gas Inducement Act (AGIA) guidelines. Now, it looks as if the Parnell Administration has realized that Bill Walker was correct in his promoting the State’s involvement in a major natural gas infrastructure investment.

Unfortunately for Alaska, Parnell has yet to ask the Legislature to provide the legislative authority to make such an investment and to set a time table for construction. Governor Parnell continues to wait for the oil companies to make that decision. Something that they have been extremely reluctant to do, as they do not want Alaska’s North Slope gas doing other than pressurizing the North Slope oil fields until technology can allow the recovery of most of the 20 billion barrels of oil from oil sands deposits under the surface of the North Slope. The "money" for the oil companies is in oil production, not natural gas production. They have plenty of natural gas from foreign sources and shale plays in the lower-48. They do not need nor want Alaska’s natural gas in the world market competing with these other interests.

There are serious conflicts of interest on the part of the oil companies with their foreign developments, which would compete with Alaska LNG for market share in Asia. TransCanda also has a conflict of interest with its contract with Shell for a natural gas pipeline to Kitmat, B.C., Alaska’s competition as an LNG export terminus. Unfortunately, the AGIA legislation and subsequent contract with TransCanada never required "conflict of interest" as a condition to justify cancellation by the State of Alaska. Only economic conditions are stated as a basis for cancellation by the State. An example of poor business judgement on the part of former Governor Sarah Palin.

Meanwhile, Japanese LNG customers are paying $16 per million British thermal units (MMbtus) for delivered LNG. In 2010, a study by Woodward MacKenzie demonstrated delivery of Alaska LNG to Japan could be done for approximately $8.50/MMbtus. Yet, in the intervening time period since the 2010 elections, the Parnell Administration failed to move any natural gas pipeline proposal forward, preferring instead to seemingly ignore the natural gas issues altogether, putting any lack of progress into the lap of the oil companies. The Legislature was given free reign by this governor to establish policy and direction. Parnell did manage to reduce the oil companies’ production taxes in a modification of Sarah Palin’s Alaska Clear and Equitable Share Act (ACES) of 2007.

What progress has been made on a pipeline proposal has been in favor of the Alaska Stand Alone Pipeline (ASAP), which is the former bullet line. In late 2012, Congress authorized a 7 mile right of way through Denali National Park using the Parks Highway right of way. This surprise on the part of the Obama Administration coincided with the oil companies (Exxon, Conoco and British Petroleum) decision to "study" a pipeline terminus at Nikkiski, rather than use the established TAPS corridor to Valdez for any natural gas pipeline to move North Slope natural gas to tidewater. The economic viability of the ASAP line has been debated since first proposed as the bullet line under then pipeline coordinator Harry Noah appointed by then Governor Sarah Palin. AGIA limits the volume to no more than 500 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/da), making the ASAP pipeline, like the bullet line, uneconomical. The interesting aspect is that the State would have to fully finance the construction.

Bill Walker was heavily criticized during the 2010 gubernatorial primary for suggesting even a partial State buy-in as part of his all-Alaska natural gas pipeline plan. Such a buy-in to control management and to set time lines was termed "socialism", even by Ralph Samuels who was a proponent of the to be 100% State financed bullet line scheme concocted under then Gov. Sarah Palin.

By contrast to Alaska’s lack of measurable new oil and gas exploration/development since the 2010 elections, Texas is now back up to 2 million barrels a day of oil production from shale deposits, doubling its production of two years ago. Texas expects to exceed that production and to see production rise to the levels of the 1960s and 1970s when oil production was well over 2 million barrels per day. As of December, 2012, oil production in North Dakota reached 770,000 barrels per day. North Dakota’s oil production now exceeds Alaska’s oil production. Alaska’s oil production is declining rapidly and is presently at 549,936 barrels of oil and natural gas liquids per day.

Improvements in production technology is resulting in the ability to recover more and more oil from shale plays and oil sands deposits. New technology is also allowing recovery from wells where production was reduced to the point of being uneconomical, because of paraffin impeding the oil flow. Increasing domestic U.S. oil production has led to demands by the oil companies for legislation allowing the export of crude oil from domestic U.S. production for the first time since the 1960s. For the first time in decades, energy independence is being spoken of with certainty in the U.S. The increasing supply should lead to a decline in oil prices.

Norway’s oil fund is limited to investing no more than 4% of its NOF in Norway. The bankers and accountants who consulted to the Norwegian government applied a model of immediate return. Ignored by this economic investment model are the major government-level investments that are designed to facilitate growth in industry, to insure an educated and motivated work force, and to provide the transportation infrastructure needed to support commercial growth. However, the bankers and accountants won out with the argument that to invest in Norway’s small economy beyond 4% would cause inflation that would eventually devastate the local economy. The Alaska Permanent Fund was set up using a similar, shortsighted philosophy.

This same mentality of a quick turn around for money, investment in financial schemes rather than creation of equity through manufacturing and building, resulted in the ponzi schemes of the 80s and 90s of the ".com" stock failures and the sub-prime mortgage disaster, leading to the current recession with the bailouts, quantitative easing by the Fed, and the incredible spending of our Congress and President to no good end.

Europe was doing its own version, and the economic fall out is continuing there like it is here, with high unemployment, currency inflation, and an ongoing recession. Asia, mainly the PRC, is feeling the pinch as well, as the West is the primary beneficiary of its cheap labor and communist controlled economy.

Yet, the historical precedent for the growth of the Western economies was based upon the idea that government facilitated such growth by investing in the public sectors of utilities, transportation, and education to give the private sector the tools necessary to grow the country’s economy. The Tennessee Valley Power Authority is a prime example of a national initiative to increase power production in the U.S. in the 30s.

Instead of growing Alaska, Alaska’s leaders of the time, as had Norway’s leaders previously, decided to grow government as the means of giving the greatest benefit to the people of Alaska. A government that soon tired of public projects, and devoted itself to keeping the ‘hands out’ crowd happy and complacent by increasing welfare gratuities and growing government to do so, thereby directly benefitting fewer and fewer people, largely government employees. "Can’t" has become the new Alaska State Government policy to excuse the continuing lack of infrastructure. The only thing created these days is more welfare spending programs and a bigger bureaucracy at every level of government.

There are people who worked in Alaska for a city government, vested, then vested with a borough government, then did the same with the State, as some local subdivisions required vestments of only five years. Once they retired from the State, they left the State with multiple retirement vestments from three levels of government, full life-time medical, and great retirement benefits. In other words, they raped us, and they are still doing this today.

Former Governor Jay Hammond, the father of Alaska’s Permanent Fund and Permanent Fund Dividend program, never intended that the PFD become an entitlement. It was always intended that either the PFD would be offset by an income tax, or discontinued when the oil production declined beyond a sustainable level for government to justify the payment to the people. The PF was to be used as a ‘rainy day’ fund, similar to the intent for the Norwegian Oil Fund. This flawed strategy is now coming home to Alaska’s current Legislature and Governor Sean Parnell. Neither is doing anything to prepare this State for a post oil economy.

In a 2011 analysis "What Does Norway Get Out of its Oil Fund, if Not More Strategic Infrastructure Investment", economist Michael Hudson warned of impending problems with the Norwegian Oil Fund investment strategy. Norway has been investing its National Oil Fund in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and in questionable real estate in Europe and the U.S. The investments in China, Brazil and India being used to create industry and infrastructure that will compete with Norway’s indigenous industries.

In the current world economic recession, such investments are questionable in the long term, given the economic uncertainties and the current penchant for currency inflation to make products more competitive by the aforementioned countries. The infrastructure investments that are the responsibility of government to keep Norway competitive in a changing global economy remain underdeveloped and ignored, while the social welfare burden continues to increase in the face of declining oil revenues. Even in the face of $740 billion in its NOF, Norway has managed to accrue $657 billion in foreign debt. Norway has borrowed money even with the NOF.

The United States became the economic power house that it did, because the government invested in the infrastructure to facilitate the growth of business and to access natural resources through roads, airports, harbors, schools, utilities, and regulatory oversight. Regulatory oversight at the time was designed to facilitate, not to impede growth. Part of the infrastructure created being necessary to the national defense. The U.S. interstate highway system is a good example of military necessity also serving the needs of commerce.

Mr. Hudson opined that 60% of the Norwegian Oil Fund should have been invested in Norway to build non-oil industry infrastructure to hedge against the competing oil production increases resulting from the U.S. and other foreign shale and normal production and improvements in recovery technologies. With the increased supply in the market, oil prices should decline. Norway’s investment in foreign growth is now paying a negative dividend to the future of the Norwegian economy.

Hudson gave the following example of the shortsightedness of the use of Norway’s oil fund money by comparing how those countries that benefitted from Norway’s investments are using their funds:

"While investing at home to improve their quality of life, China, Singapore and other nations manage their Sovereign Wealth Funds with an eye to shaping their economies for the next twenty, thirty or even fifty years. They are buying control of the key foreign technologies and raw materials deemed most critical to their long-term growth. This broad scope invests export earnings directly to make their economies more competitive while raising living standards."

Norway’s oil wealth has gone to the benefit of other countries through investment in business and in direct investment in infrastructure projects, all of which serves to build their economies at no direct benefit to Norway’s economic future. Foreign investment makes it easier for those governments to make the needed investments in their infrastructure, and to procure foreign raw materials sources for future growth, because the Western investor is paying for the growth of their companies, both private and state owned enterprises, without consideration of the long term impact upon their home countries’ economies.

Unfortunately, for Alaska and Alaskans, our Permanent Fund is largely doing the same: investing outside of Alaska without benefit other than a check once year to each Alaskan, the continued expansion of a bloated self-serving government, and an increasingly demanding welfare state that will collapse with the decrease in oil production in the very near future.

Alaska’s Regional Native Corporations follow the same strategy, which benefits a few, and pays off the many to keep them quiet with respect to seeing any benefit locally. However, they can sell their losses to solvent companies as a tax break to that company.

Norway, like Alaska is a literal one-trick pony, almost completely reliant upon oil for its revenue to run its government, and to meet its growing social welfare state obligations.

Alaska’s Permanent Fund (PF) does not invest in Alaska. Anywhere but Alaska seems to be the strategy. The PF investment goal is an increase of Fund assets by 5% per annum. Our Legislature and Governors have concluded that Alaska is a bad investment: do not use the PF to build roads into the Bush, to improve harbors and airstrips in Alaska to reduce the cost of living and to provide for the defense of Alaska, or to access our natural resources for development, to increase the exploration and development of our hydrocarbon resources, or to provide for the basic services that government is charged to do for all Alaskans. Our budget, State and Federal funds last year was over $10B. Yet, not one mile of new road was built, nor were the current roads improved or repaired. Meanwhile, the PF continues to invest in the stock market, which is literally gambling with Alaska’s oil wealth. As of this year, Alaska’s public indebtedness was $8.2 billion.

Norway is not the standard to be followed. The debt structure alone is enough to dissuade the prudent man from believing that Norway’s government has been a good steward of the benefits of its oil reserves. Norway’s debt of $657 billion is foreign held debt. Meaning, Norway has borrowed money in the face of their oil fund’s wealth.

Alaska is again issuing bonds to finance purchases.

Without diversification of Norway’s economy by government investment to build the infrastructure to support non-oil related industry, Norway is ill prepared to compete in a world market once the oil is gone. Norway will have to compete with those very economies in which Norway’s oil wealth has been invested. China, Russia, India and Brazil continue to garner more and more world market share across industry sectors, while Norway is frozen in the belief that it can continue to expand its welfare state without investing in its economic future.

Sadly, Alaska follows this shortsighted course by our Governors’ (primarily Palin and Parnell) and the Legislature’s refusal to recognize the hydrocarbon market trends and act accordingly to invest in the infrastructure necessary to access and to support development of the tremendous resource wealth of this State. Instead of investing in Alaska, we have invested in our competitors’ economies, and in policies and regulations by a distant federal government through federal bonds that serve only to further restrict Alaska’s ability of self-determination. Alaska’s debt structure is not as far along as Norway’s, but our lack of a viable transportation infrastructure makes much of Alaska as remote and our resources as unreachable as in most of the third world. Only there, they do not have a hostile and interfering federal oversight that serves other interests to deny Alaska its rightful self-determination as a State in the Union of States.

Given Alaska’s $10B budgets of late, $8.2B in indebtedness, how long will our $50B in the PF last? The trend is ever larger State budgets in the face of an average 6% loss of North Slope oil production each year. If there is a drop in the price of oil below $80 a barrel, Alaska will be in serious financial straits. Further, it is doubtful that the TAPS can deliver oil when production reaches 300,000 barrels per day or less. That day is not long off, given the 549,936 barrel per day level of production at present.

The Parnell Administration has continued to ignore the construction of a natural gas pipeline to tidewater that would, with the right governor at the helm, increase State revenues slightly, but have the potential to do much more. The long term benefit of such a project would be to provide any remaining gas liquids for use in Alaska to create a petrochemical industry for the Interior, and use part of the gas transported with the export volume to provide cheap heat and power for Alaska’s communities in the Interior and in South Central Alaska. Such in-state use of North Slope natural gas would impact industry across the board, and enable kilns for timber, refridgeration for agriculture, and the creation of jobs across industry to provide opportunity beyond just building and maintaining a pipeline. There is the true benefit of our resources, not in a mere export scheme to feed a bloated and inefficient State government that benefits a few, and not the many.

Such an in-state energy infrastructure project would further enable increasing the available gas in Cook Inlet, until exploration and development could catch up with increasing demand. The LNG terminal at Nikkiski would continue to export Cook Inlet LNG to Japan, as is still being done after 43+ years, without concerns about shortfalls in supplies for home heating.

A good indication that increasing natural gas supplies will positively impact the State is the December, 2012 air quality permit by Agrium to restart the fertilizer plant at Nikkiski on the Kenai Penninsula. Agrium shut down its Nikkiski plant in November, 2005 resulting in the loss of 230 local jobs.

Long term, well paying jobs would be the benefit of the correct application of governmental responsibility and involvement in large scale infrastructure projects, the natural gas pipeline being such an example of potential State participation. 30% of Alaska’s private sector jobs are oil industry related. Such State support would increase the size of the private sector beyond just the oil/gas industry support and services. The all-Alaska natural gas pipeline proposed by the Alaska Gas Port Authority during Sarah Palin’s campaign of 2006, and again in 2010 during Bill Walker’s run for governor in the Republican Primary was such a project.

High oil prices have kept the wolves of recession away. This keeps a private sector that largely serves government from facing the reality of the current world recession. However, the fires of growth are cooling, contrary to our federal government’s protestations to the contrary. Like Norway, the prospect of lower oil prices, declining production, and an indifferent Governor and Legislature point to uncertain and turbulent times for Alaska’s economy.

In 1999, the price of oil hit $20 a barrel. Today, that would mean the Permanent Fund would have to be used to defray the costs of government until the price of oil returned to sustainable levels. Something that could take longer than the PF would last.

Alaska First must be the only policy on the part of our Legislature and Governor, or Alaska will be the last to the world LNG market party and the loser by virtue of a retiring, reluctant and recalcitrant State government that has failed to see the need to invest in Alaska First. Vision, courage, commitment and leadership must replace the "can’t" in the Governor’s vocabulary. That means a change in governor.

Norway’s example as a steward of its oil wealth for the benefit of its people is not a good example for Alaska. Once again, our leaders have been short sighted in their consideration of Alaska’s future.

For more information:

Alaska Statutes:

AS 37.13.020

http://www.apfc.org/home/Media/investments/20130523InvestmentPolicyD.pdf

Alaska Division of Oil and Gas, Dept. of Natural Resources, SOA

http://dog.dnr.alaska.gov/

Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Risk Vortex:

http://michael-hudson.com/2011/03/norways-sovereign-wealth-risk-vortex/

Alaska Public Debt 2012-2013

http://treasury.dor.alaska.gov/Portals/0/docs/debt_management/debt_book_2013.pdf



Michael Hudson is the President of the Institute for the Study of Long-Term Economic Trends (ISLET), Wall Street Financial analyst, Distinguished Research Professor of Economics at the U. of MO. http://michael-hudson.com/about/

http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/on-numbers/scott-thomas/2012/05/governments-employ-20-percent-of.html

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/may/15/north-dakota-now-no-2-oil-production/

http://homernews.com/stories/010605/news_0106new005.shtml

http://search.peninsulaclarion.com/fast-elements.php?querystring=%22FERTILIZER+PLANT%22&offset=0&hits=10&hc=y&type=standard&profile=kenai&tags=FERTILIZER+PLANT&addListings=true

http://peninsulaclarion.com/news/2013-06-27/agrium-inspecting-equipment-at-its-closed-plant-work-to-continue-through-fall

http://www.alaskajournal.com/Alaska-Journal-of-Commerce/December-Issue-3-2013/Agrium-Inc-applies-for-key-permit-to-allow-plant-restart/

Bill Walker will not hesitate, but Parnell just sits and waits for . . . ?

With the oil and gas conversation in Alaska politics focusing on the upcoming referendum on HB21, the Governor’s recently passed reduction in oil taxes, there has been little news on the natural gas pipeline front since the Producers promised further "studies". The last news from the producers was that they had made a preliminary decision with respect to the port of export. They chose Nikkiski, but were again studying the situation further, meaning no decisions to actually build a pipeline until a time uncertain into the future.

The Producers’ had to know of the impending legislation in Congress that would give a right of way through Denlai National Park. S.157 and H.R. 586 were introduced in June, 2013. This legislation allowed a natural gas pipeline to be built along the 7 miles of existing highway right of way that runs through Denali National Park lands. A take-off to the park facilities through an existing utility corridor would extend from the park entrance to the park facilities to allow the Park Service access to the gas. The Secretary of Interior would be required to issue a permit for the line crossing federal park lands if it meets environmental reviews and meets ANILCA requirements. Per Eric Elam of Young’s office, the legislation passed the House and Senate and was signed into law on September 18, 2013. The bill also provided funding for the Kantishna Micro-Hydro Project, a 50kw hydro-power project to provide power to the Kantishna Roadhouse owned by Doyon RNC.

With the signing of the legislation into law, a major hurdle in the construction of any natural gas pipeline down the Parks corridor using either the Alaska Railroad right of way or the highway right of way has been eliminated. This does not mean that litigation will not ensue on the part of the anti-development forces aligned against any development of Alaska’s resources. These forces have had two major victories to date.

The Pebble Mine project is all but history with Anglo Mining pulling out. Usibelli Coal has not been able to move forward on the Jonesville Coal Mine in the Matanuska Valley for the same reason. Therefore, the likelihood that the greenies will let any natural gas pipeline construction move through Denali, even using the highway right of way, without litigation to extract blood money is unlikely. Alaska’s history is rife with opposition to major resource development by Outside groups who have no other vested interest other than using the courts and Alaska as a revenue source.

The only pipeline corridor that is free of any litigation is the TAPS corridor, which is the choice of Bill Walker in both his 2010 and current gubernatorial campaigns.

Legislatively, the way is now clear for a pipeline down the Parks or a pipeline down the Richardson highways. The choice is which way, and most importantly when?

Japan is facing a shortfall in LNG due to interruptions from some LNG suppliers, such as Nigeria. Japan will be facing higher gas prices over the winter, because of the necessity of purchasing LNG spot cargoes rather than receiving LNG as part of a long term contract supply. The situation is rife for potential for Alaska’s North Slope gas. December deliveries to Japan is $17/MMbtus. Last year, the average was $13.25/MMbtus. Qattar will not be able to supply additional LNG to Japan over the winter, with supplies contracted to other buyers. Qatter supplied gas to Japan helping to keep the price down to $13.25/MMbtus.

The Wood-MacKenzie Report demonstrated a delivery to Japan of Alaska LNG North Slope gas of approximately $8.50/MMbtus. Using a 10% inflation per annum figure since the report’s release in 2010, gives an estimated delivered cost of approximately $11.31/MMbtus today, without respect to market considerations, and depending upon whether or not one believes the government’s inflation figures or what is experienced in the rising prices of other commodities. 

October Japan LNG market prices are $15.15/MMbtu. By December, the Japan LNG market prices are already contracted at $17.20/MMbtu. China is competing with Japan for LNG, causing increasing prices for existing supplies.

The specter of Alaska LNG competing with LNG from Kitimat is very real with Shell’s planned LNG terminal. Shell let a $4 billion contract to TransCanada to build a 2 bcf-2.5 bcf natural gas pipeline to 700 kilometers from B.C. shale fields Kitimat. (Yes, the TransCanada partnered with Exxon . . . ) Shell has partnered with Korea Gas, Mitsubishi and PetroChina to build its Kitimat LNG terminal.

Meanwhile, Governor Parnell waits, the oil companies study, and Alaska faces an increasingly uncertain fiscal future.

Either Governor Sean Parnell does not want to remain governor, or he is getting some bad advice with respect to his failure to move aggressively into the Japanese market.

His competition for the governor’s job will not be so hesitant. Bill Walker has been a relentless advocate of moving Alaska’s North Slope to market as LNG before the LNG market in Asia is diminished by other suppliers. Japan has been a primary focal point in his marketing of Alaska LNG. Walker and the Alaska Gas Port Authority have been tireless in their promotion of Alaska’s natural gas to Asian markets. Remember, the all-Alaska natural gas pipeline being promoted by AGPA and Bill Walker was the basis for Sarah Palin’s campaign for governor. If Governor Sean Parnell will not make a decision, Bill Walker and his Lt. Gov. candidate Chris Fleener will.

For more information:

LNG Insight: Utility buyers change buying strategy for winter
http://www.platts.com/videos/2013/october/lng-buyers?video_uuid=ngt147ob

http://www.platts.com/podcasts-detail/spotlight/2013/october/lng-prices

http://business.financialpost.com/2013/08/15/shells-kitimat-lng-project-gets-boost-from-asian-partners/?__lsa=128e-8da1

Congressman Young’s press release

http://donyoung.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=348902

NOV 7 MEET AND GREET FOR BILL WALKER AND CRAIG FLEENER

If you cannot read the details in the above graphic, the link below will take you to the website with the announcement.

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=qiugaddab&v=001dXbC6UqaAI5fRUYGv57teBrwJ7cG9Z1nZrcgSMSgNh_gBde_5g0YO56KOq2nr6WjMe8yfwBH1o4VnGRjFryVwvF6T6P1xFeq4otpRkZLd218yGCEqC6niSjqxLc_g88HyS8vReTEWZ5zQ78WgMOudxEkq5dhDBaIGHD3rI6CwfZO1ypSqm9seH3D0sIgfY1oyAfXGcBZZaJSEW1ZiUEGkin6KOs1WnhzRLfzoKMN0hOFstCN5U0xXyiwrHckbZe9VCMSGr8bZLU4Y-mVbn349XVYMQYYnPJdGCPPjdIlBLc%3D

Campaign website:  http://www.billwalkerforgovernor.com/

Bill Walker Valley greet and meet and fundraiser Oct 23, 2013 at Jalapenos in Wasilla

 

Join us for a meet & greet/fundraiser for Bill Walker on October 23rd.  See invitation with details below.  Please forward this on to family and friends.  If you are unable to attend but would like to support Bill, you can donate here.      billwalkerforgovernor.com                                                                 (907) 332-2455                 Paid for by Bill Walker for Governor Campaign 731 N St., Anchorage, Alaska 99501

Bill Walker for Governor announces Chris Fleener as LT GOV running mate

Bill Walker's independent campaign moves forward with announcement of Chris Fleener as LT Gov candidate running mate.

 Fairbanks, AK, October 14, 2013 -- Independent candidate for governor, Bill Walker, announced today his running mate and candidate for Lt. Governor, Craig L. Fleener of Fort Yukon, Alaska.  Fleener is a lifelong Alaskan, military veteran and former Deputy Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish & Game.  He is Gwich’in Athabascan and is a descendent of the Doyon Limited region.  Each candidate will gather 3,017 signatures and appear on the November 2014, ballot.

 

EXPERIENCE: as the Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Fish & Game, Mr. Fleener provided policy and administrative guidance on wildlife and subsistence management, and worked closely with the divisions of Wildlife Conservation, Subsistence, and Habitat on policy, regulatory, management and funding issues.  He also served on the Alaska Board of Game, and also as the Director for the Division of Subsistence.

Prior to joining the Department of Fish & Game, Mr. Fleener served in several capacities for the Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments (“CATG”) in Fort Yukon, including service as Executive Director of that organization. While at CATG, Mr. Fleener served for a number of years as the only U.S. representative on the Gwich’in Council International, a permanent observer organization of the Arctic Council, an international body made up of eight arctic nations which identified problems and created solutions for pollution, international shipping, natural resource development, human dimensions issues and indigenous peoples’ concerns for the arctic region on a global level.

MILITARY: In 1986, Mr. Fleener joined the military and served in the United States Marine Corps.  He is currently a Major in the US Air Force Alaska Air National Guard, where he has served since 1991, and is a senior intelligence officer and recently served a tour of duty in Afghanistan as part of ongoing US operations in the region.  He volunteers as a board member for HAVE Alaska (Helping American Veterans Experience Alaska) providing psychological and physical rehabilitation for wounded veterans.

EDUCATION: Mr. Fleener received his Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resources Management from the University of Alaska – Fairbanks in 1999, and in 2013 graduated with Honors from American Public University with a Master of Arts in Intelligence Studies.  He completed substantial work on a Masters of Science in Resources & Environment from the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada in 2001, but was unable to complete the degree because of military activations.

"I am in this race to help bring all Alaskan voices together," Craig Fleener stated. "I am working to unite Alaskans and my ultimate goal is to bring us together to solve the problems that we face in order to build a stronger Alaska."

Bill Walker stated, "Craig Fleener brings to this Alaska ticket a depth and wealth of experience in fish and game management, military and veterans' affairs, circum-Arctic policy experience and his proud Alaska Native heritage."

 

 

In a press release dated September 5, 2013, No. 13-145, Alaska Governor Sean Parnell demonstrated his outrage over the EPA’s raid on mining operations near Chicken, Alaska in late August. Governor Parnell has called for a special counsel to investigate the EPA’s raid. Governor Parnell’s statement was the strongest of any governor seen by this 59 year resident.

The EPA and one Alaska DEC agent conducted an armed raid in full body armor with POLICE signs in white bold letters velcroed to their black body armor to collect . . . water samples. The raid was to check compliance with water turbidity standards (the amount of particulate--silt in the water column) at the discharge point back into the stream. No citations were issued or arrests made for non-compliance.

In a phone conference with State officials and members of the Alaska congressional delegation, the EPA gave the excuse that the Alaska State Troopers had provided information that Chicken, Alaska was a "hotbed" of drugs and human trafficking.

Senator Lisa Murkowski believes that the EPA "concocted the story as an excuse for the outrageous overreaching.

The full text of the governor’s press release:

"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 13-145

Governor Outraged at Needless Show of Force by EPA, BLM, DEC Agents

Calls for Special Counsel

September 5, 2013, Juneau, Alaska – After a week of internal review into reports of intimidation and needless show of force by federal and state officials, Governor Sean Parnell has ordered an investigation into the practices of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Environmental Crimes Unit and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Criminal Investigations Division. The review comes after the governor learned that a state DEC investigator joined seven enforcement officers from the EPA and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to investigate placer miners in the Fortymile River area near Chicken. The agents, armed and wearing body armor, claimed they were looking for violations of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. No arrests were made and no citations were issued.

"With a mere last minute notification to our DEC commissioner, Alaska’s attorney general, and the Department of Public Safety, the EPA, BLM and a DEC investigator took it upon themselves to swoop in on unsuspecting miners in remote Alaska," Governor Parnell said. "This level of intrusion and intimidation of Alaskans is absolutely unacceptable. I will not tolerate any state agency’s participation in this sort of reckless conduct. There are many unanswered questions and I will seek a special counsel to get to the bottom of this matter and work to ensure it never happens again."

Governor Parnell also called on EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to review and reevaluate how her agency handles Clean Water Act investigations. He also encouraged her to join the State of Alaska in ensuring the use of needless show of force tactics never happens again in Alaska."

The governor’s reaction is refreshing and appropriate.

An Alaska Deptarment of Environmental Conservation (DEC) agent accompanied the EPA on the raids, and was also similarly armed and armored.

The only police agency that should have had any armed presence in a law enforcement action in the State of Alaska is the Alaska State Troopers (AST) or a State Military Police constabulary acting under AS 26.05.070. The AST and a State Military Police Constabulary acting under AS 26.05.070 have law enforcement jurisdiction statewide.

AS 01.10.060(a)(7)(A-F) defines a peace officer under Alaska Statutes:

"(a) In the laws of the state, unless the context otherwise requires,

(7) "peace officer" means

(A) an officer of the state troopers;

(B) a member of the police force of a municipality;

(C) a village public safety officer;

(D) a regional public safety officer;

(E) a United States marshal or deputy marshal; and

(F) an officer whose duty it is to enforce and preserve the public peace;"

An EPA water quality technician armed or not, is hardly charged to ‘enforce and preserve the public peace’. Same for the DEC. Only actual law enforcement agencies should be wearing "POLICE" signs on their uniforms or equipment.

Alaska’s DEC’s commissioner may be in hot water.

Under Alaska’s Statehood Compact, the State of Alaska is given full law enforcement jurisdication over all lands in Alaska, including federal lands. The raid by the EPA was an outrageous assault not only endangering needlessly the miners affected but violated the State’s 10^th Amendment rights and is a breach of Alaska’s Statehood Compact. A regulatory agency’s enforcement action does not comply with AS 01.10.060(a)(7)(A-F). Were law enforcement action required, an Alaska State Trooper should have accompanied the EPA and DEC water technicians to effect any arrest or to keep the peace.

Alaska’s Congressman Don Young issued the following statement regarding the EPA raid:


"I am deeply troubled by the aggressive show of force and tactics employed by the EPA and other agencies, whose agents descended on the Fortymile Mining District late last month to enforce provisions of the Clean Water Act.

Rather than focusing on compliance with common practices and assisting in education, this sweeping operation was heavy handed, cast a wide net, and brought intimidation to unsuspecting and many undeserving miners. Particularly concerning is the level of misinformation and lack of coordination with State law enforcement agencies, a detail that was illuminated earlier by Governor Parnell. As a result, I stand with him in support of his call for an investigation and I too demand that Administrator McCarthy review her agency’s actions.

Despite the creation of meddlesome federal agencies like the EPA, safe and responsible mining in this area of Alaska has occurred for well over 120 years, and it is my intention to see that activity continues as the time honored Alaskan tradition that it is. However, I’m afraid this latest incident is simply another example of a coordinated harassment strategy from federal agencies who don’t view placer activity as compatible in and around an area designated as a Wild and Scenic River.

Finally, I join the request of the Fortymile miners, and call on the EPA and other agencies involved in these recent actions to meet in Chicken, Alaska next week to discuss the operation."

This raid is a dangerous precedent and it is encouraging to have Governor Parnell act aggressively to stop this egregious affront by the federal government.

The federal government is arming its regulatory agencies and training them to conduct armed raids, as if taking a water sample to check compliance with the Clean Water Act rises to the level of a raid on an Al Qaeda cell in a combat zone. Federal "law enforcement", including strictly heretofore unarmed regulatory agencies, has increased from 60,000 to 180,000 to date under the Obama Administration. President Obama stated during the 2008 campaign that he wanted a civilian armed force equal to the U.S. military for domestic policing.


　

The EPA now takes water samples from Alaska mines with a SWAT Team

The EPA is now part of an Alaska Environmental Crimes Task Force that is armed to the hilt to investigate "environmental crimes" by Alaska miners. Apparently, a dirty water discharge has now risen to the level of the use of deadly force against the offending miner.

Miners in Chicken were surprised during late August by groups comprising four to eight armed EPA agents carrying Glock .40 S&W cal side arms in full battle rattle with signs in big letters loudly proclaiming POLICE who stormed into several mines near Chicken in a full out assault to . . . take water samples. The EPA gestapo, and that’s all one can term such a heavy handed goon squad were there to take water samples to see if the miners were in compliance with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Something in past years that was done by one or two unarmed State of Alaska DEC personnel along with a representative of the EPA without rancor.

If the situation were not so serious, and the threat to the miners so real, this could almost be laughed off as a joke. However, armed goons with .40 cal Glocks in full battle rattle are not a joke. This event marks a new level of federal oversight on Alaska’s federal lands. Lands which the management of were supposed to be the responsibility of the State of Alaska under the terms of Alaska’s Statehood Compact. This event is an outrage and sets an extremely dangerous precedent for future regulation activities by the various federal agencies in Alaska.

Why were they there?

In a conference call with State officials including members of Alaska’s congressional delegation, the EPA stated that they had received information from the Alaska State Troopers that there was rampant drug and human trafficking in . . . Chicken, Alaska. Now, that is funny.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski opined that the situation was made up to allow the EPA (and DEC) to act as they did.

The AST’s spokesperson Megan Peters basically denied the EPA’s allegations as to receiving any information from the Troopers regarding anything at Chicken.

Why was there no court involved to protect the miners, if the EPA felt armed force was justified?

A member of the Alaska DEC was along to intimidate the locals at Chicken. The DEC agent was also armed. Now, DEC personnel are armed?!

What is going on here, Governor Sean Parnell?

The only police agency that should have had any armed presence was the Alaska State Troopers. They have jurisdiction statewide. Why were no Troopers part of that armed affront to Alaska’s sovereignty?

Chicken, Alaska is a historic mining town off the Taylor Highway has a resident population of 17 that grows to several dozen seasonally with the mining season. The mines are accessible by road, making it easy for the federal wanna be cold stone killer infantry wanna be Gestapo goon squad. Had this been a "raid" conducted at off the road, remote mines, there is a likelihood that they would have been met with armed resistance, as many mines maintain arms for self-defense and predators–both two legged and four.

The Alaska Environmental Crimes Task Force is made up of members of the Alaska State Troopers, the EPA, the FBI, the Coast Guard, the Department of Defense, and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.

Only one mine checked had a water sample that "looked" over the particulate limit.

Where is Governor Parnell on this issue?

As with the Jim Wilde incident on the Yukon River in 2010, silent.

What next, armored personnel carriers and machine guns to make certain your garbage sack is tied?

Better watch out for the Apache gun ships and Predator drones with Hellfire missiles if your car is running a bit rich and there is any smoke out the tail pipe.

We need a governor who will stand up for Alaskans and Alaska against the heavy hand of the Obama Administration.

Sen. Begich certainly will certainly not act to curtail this danger to the citizens of Alaska.

Bill Walker is running for governor, and Mead Treadwell is running for the U.S. Senate. Maybe, they will work to protect Alaska’s sovereignty and Alaskans from a DC mentality that clearly believes in armed force rather than a rule of law and due process.

For more information:

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/20130903/gold-miners-near-chicken-cry-foul-over-heavy-handed-epa-raids

JBER CO orders Chaplain to remove religious message

Tod Starnes of Fox News reported today that COL Brian P. Duffy, the base commander of Joint Base Elmendorf-Ft. Richardson, Alaska, ordered chaplain LTCOL Kenneth Reyes to remove a message titled "No Atheists in Foxholes: Chaplains gave all in WWII" in a column he had written for the "Chaplain’s Corner" on the base website. The reason: "out of respect for those who considered its title offensive . . . " The column was removed within five hours after publication.

As reported by Breitbart’s Ken Klukowski, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) had contacted COL Duffy about what they described as Reyes’ ". . . use of bigoted, religious supremacist phrase" meaning "no atheists in foxholes" attributed to Catholic Father William Cummings at Bataan during WWII.

In 1954, during a speech, then President Dwight D. Eisenhower confirmed Father Cumming’s comment: " "I am delighted that our veterans are sponsoring a movement to increase our awareness of God in our daily lives. In battle, they learned a great truth that there are no atheists in the foxholes."

Allegedly, 41 airmen at JBER complained about the title to Chaplain Reyes’s column, leading to the attack by the MRFF. COL Duffy has "profusely" apologized to the MRFF for what the MRFF described as LTCOL Reyes’s "anti-secular diatribe."

MRFF is now demanding that LTCOL be punished: "Faith based hate, is hate all the same . . . LTCOL Reyes must be appropriately punished."

MRFF is atheist activist Mikey Weinstein’s creation. Weinstein has been emphatic in his hatred of Christianity. He has deemed Christians "fundamentalist monsters" who seek to impose a reign of "theocratic terror" and the gospel as "spirtual rape". He has stated publically that Christians are enemies of the Constitution and their beliefs constitute sedition and treason. This is the man that SECDEF Hodges has met with and with whom the Obama DOD has consulted with over the last four years who has further stated that there is no legal bar to suppressing religious free speech in the military.

Congress has responded with a bill providing free practice of religion in the military. The Obama Administration is diametrically opposed to such legislation.

This is an incredible assault on the 1^st Amendment and upon the faith of the majority of the troops who serve this country. LTCOL Reyes column is accessed by all who served at JBER and any who may visit the site from anywhere in the world. To believe that the title is an affront when the title plainly states it is about chaplains, military religious leaders, is simply outrageous. Apparently, COL Duffy has little understanding of the 1^st Amendment.

The current Chaplain’s corner has a piece on keeping one’s financial house in order by Army CPT James Duran: http://www.jber.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123355549

COL Brian Duffy should be sacked and transferred to Shemya Is. where his primary duty should be to stand at attention each morning, noon, and at 1700 and to shout the Bill of Rights in his best command voice to the world. Then, he should be given a brush and a bucket and told to remove the sea gull excrement from the rocks. A sentence of six months of such duty would be appropriate. This man absolutely does not understand his soldiers nor his responsibilities as base commander. He is a puppet who puts his political masters above his oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

Atheists and homosexuals are the root of this malignancy in our military. This is the outcome of the liberal experiment: "sit down and shut up, if you believe in God, are a patriot, are believe in heterosexual marriage and family, believe in the sanctity of life and of the unborn, and believe that our national borders should be inviolate, that our sovereignty and our culture are to be respected.

For more information:

http://www.jber.af.mil/index.asp

http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/chaplain-ordered-to-remove-religious-essay-from-military-website.html

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2013/07/24/Military-Censors-Christian-Chaplain-Atheists-Call-for-Punishment

http://www.frcblog.com/

Senator Begich responds to my letter about S. 744 Illegal Alien Amnesty

Follows is Senator Mark Begich's response to my letter regarding my opposition to S.744.
Read his letter, then read my post in this blog which follows post.  I believe our Congress suffers a complete disconnect with the desires of the American people.  Begich is up for reelection in 2014.  He is trying to rebrand himself as a blue dog Dem.  He is not a conservative anything.  His response shows an absolute disregard for the law, the federal government's constitutional obligations regarding border security and national security.--LDW

"July 11, 2013

 

Dear Mr. Wood:

Thank you for contacting me about S.744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act. 

As you may know, S.744 passed the Senate on June 27 with strong bipartisan support. I know we disagree, but I voted for this bill because it includes the right mix of increased border security, enforcement on employers, and a clear path to citizenship for immigrants who have played by the rules. 

There is a lot of misinformation out there about what this bill would do, and I appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight. This bill does not provide amnesty to illegal aliens, which is automatic citizenship for people who are in our country illegally.  This bill is far from a free pass.  To begin with, potential immigrants must pass a background check, pay any back taxes, and pay penalty fees. The bill also contains specific triggers which ensure that illegal immigrants cannot receive green cards until at least 10 years after the enactment of the bill and clear measures on border security are in place, making the total pathway to citizenship at least 13 years. 

S.744 takes unprecedented steps to secure our border and make sure illegal immigrants can't get jobs.  This bill contains funding for more fencing and security equipment, along with an additional 20,000 Border Patrol agents.  This surge more than doubles the current force and allows the Border Patrol access to the tools they need to do their jobs more effectively.  In addition, S.744 will keep illegal immigrants from getting jobs in the first place by requiring employers to use an employment verification system known as E-Verify.

Finally, this legislation cracks down on those who overstay their welcome in our country.  With 40 percent of illegal immigrants resulting from visa overstays, the bill requires the federal government to begin the removal process for 90 percent of visa overstays and will hold the Department of Homeland Security accountable for failing to enforce the law. 

Thank you again for contacting me on immigration reform.  Please feel free to contact me again on this or any other subject. 

Sincerely,
Mark Begich
U.S. Senator"

Subject: S. 744 Amnesty for illegals

Senator Murkowski and Senator Begich:

Illegal: not according to or authorized by law; not sanctioned by official rules; unlawful, illicit.

Senator Begich and Senator Murkowski, would you let me crap on your lawn, leave garbage strewn about your property, pee on your flowerbed, use your property as a corridor to run drugs into the neighborhood?

Would you allow me to kick down your door anytime of the day or night, enter your house unannounced and take up residence in a bedroom, vacant or not?

Would you like it if you were forced to feed me, to provide for my medical care, to educate my kids by edict from an elected body that decided to use your tax monies contrary to the uses set forth in the Constitution?

Would you like it if you were required to stand idly by and to allow me to take jobs away from your children.

Would you stand idly by and allow me to commit crimes of violence in your house without fear of repercussion?

How do you think those who have been complying with our laws and awaiting years for their turn for citizenship feel? You and the other 66 so called senators of the United States Senate have slapped them in the face.

Against the testimony opposing this literal illegal amnesty by the Border Patrol and ICE, you have voted to allow criminals into this country.

With S. 744, you, like this President, have chosen to allow the violent criminal free reign.

You have violated your oaths by compromising the borders and sovereignty of the United States.

You have violated your oaths of by imparting privilege to those who have broken our laws, who have come into our house without our permission, some of whom have repeatedly harmed, maimed, killed our citizens, who have taken the jobs of Americans, who now demand the benefits of citizenship, who fill our prisons, because of their violence and disrespect for our law.

We are a nation of laws. You have chosen to ignore that fact.

You both owe a very public explanation to the people of Alaska as to why you voted the way that you did.

The solution to the illegal immigrant problem was so easy, it is incredible that so many allegedly intelligent people could be so wrong in their putting special interests above the interests of the country at large. Illegals need jobs. They come here for jobs. They work to send money back to their home country. They are not here to become citizens, they are here as migrant workers. If the jobs dry up, they go home.

The way that the illegal problem can be dealt with effectively is simple. Make it a felony to hire an illegal. Simply enforce the law. The illegals will go home, because of no work.

Oh, wait. Such a solution implies that the federal government would enforce such a law when it refuses to do its constitutional mandate to secure our borders.

Yet, the federal government that collects every conversation and e-mail in the U.S. cannot come up with a simply system to allow migrant workers into the U.S. and to track them while here. Just too hard for you all. Maybe, you should seek help from Russia. I guarantee they know where their people are at any time of the day and night. Or, the Israelis whose migrant workers are hostile to Israel.

Abortion created this problem, that and the liberal desire to pit one group against another so that they can pander and stay in power. RINOs have allowed this paradox to continue. The paradox is the fact that illegals are migrants, and here only because we have allowed 53 million Americans to be killed in the womb and after birth–creating a need for labor. Labor which the third world was all too willing to provide.

Instead of opening immigration to persecuted Christians in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Nigeria, Sudan, Mali, wherever there is Islam, there is persecution and death for Christians. Even in the West, Christians are persecuted. However, the last thing you liberals want is more people of European or even African origins who believe in God in this country.

What is the sector with the greatest increase in single parent families and abortion? Hispanics. Not those who are citizens, either.

Most of the Hispanic illegals are largely Catholic, hard working, good people. However, that does not forgive or excuse that they broke our laws.

Do you not realize what their cheap labor does to the economy? How wages are driven down, how legitimate companies are put at a disadvantage? You think that situation will change of the House adopts the tenets of S.744?

Given their average level of education, do you think that their ability to be successful in the U.S. will be enhanced by citizenship, or is this going to be a generational drag on the U.S. economy? Will one generation, forced on welfare to supplement low income will continue in that vein until the entire family are welfare recipients, as happened with the Hmong and other immigrant groups brought in legally?

Do you think that they will just become Americans, and set their loyalty to Mexico or wherever aside? Do they now? No, they do not. They are whatever first. Otherwise, why would there be any argument over the American flag flying over an American school on Cinco de Mayo?

On the one hand one can see why the Senate tried to deal with this issue. Unfortunately, the Senate ignored the impact of not making the border secure and creating a workable migrant worker program as part and parcel of S.744. Without secure borders and a workable, secure migrant worker program, we would either have to close the borders, or eventually cede the southwestern U.S. to Mexico.

How can our young get entry level jobs to build a resume and work to achieve a better life?

Illegals send money home, about $26 billion every year. If that was the only impact, that would be one thing. However, illegals suck up benefits and impose an unreasonable and costly burden upon the people and economy of this country. They can go home. They cost Alaska at least $35 million every year.

Have you noticed? There is now a Mexican Consulate in Anchorage on C Street. Wonder why? Just wander around the malls or the Valley stores and you know.

My company has worked Outside and I have seen the illegals by the thousands.

Leaving the border open is treason. Migrant workers are not the only ones coming across the border, jihadis have been passed through without concern by you in D.C.

Yes, we are all immigrants.

My family were immigrants. Wood came in 1748. My mother’s family in 1656. My mother’s maiden name was Washington. They earned their citizenship by blood in the Great American Revolution. George Washington is an uncle and great-step grandfather.

The Apache and Cherokee in my line were also immigrants of a different sort, and, they, too fought to preserve their way of life. As will we all, if this insanity and disconnect in D.C. with We the People is not corrected.

In voting for S. 744, you are not in tune with the majority of Alaskans or Americans. We understand the threat. These illegals do not act as Americans, they fly foreign flags, celebrate foreign holidays, they speak their native language, and they do not assimilate. They mock our law.

Your votes mock our law.

In 2014 and 2016 we have elections.

We still have a rule of law. For now, no thanks to your pandering and failure to live up to your oaths.

S.744 is treason.

　

Home invasion . . . it happens anywhere, anytime, are you prepared?

On June 23, 2013 at approximately 10:30 am, a nanny cam video from a home surveillance system demonstrates just what happens when a robber decides to kick your door down . . . in broad daylight.

The community was Millburn, NJ. A liberal town in a liberal state with strict gun control laws that protect the criminal.

Video link:
http://www.myfoxny.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=9025554

A young woman with two small children was watching cartoons on TV in living room when a black male 5 ft 11 in, 210 lbs with a salt and pepper beard kicked in the front door and began beating her demanding to know where her valuables were. The video speaks for itself.

Liberal gun control advocates who believe that her beating was deserved, because she was white and middle class, probably applaud the fact that criminal was not harmed.

President Obama is probably pleased that the woman took the beating like a woman and survived. In 2005, as an Illinois state senator he voted to bar the use of a firearm for self defense, even in the case of the threat of death. Incredibly, in the face of this record of no sympathy for those women, men, and children who have been killed, maimed, injured and traumatized in criminal home invasions, over 80% of women 18-26 years of age voted for Obama’s reelection.
NJ is a liberal state with gun control laws that discourage the Second Amendment right of self-protection with a firearm in violation of the Second Amendment and the SCOTUS rulings in Heller
and McDonald, and the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Moore.

What you see in the video could have been much, much worse.

America, you need to awaken and understand that the only person in that video who was not under threat of losing their life was the black male beating the woman in the presence of her child . . .
Note that the police did not make an appearance and save the day. They respond to a call, they do not magically appear, and they usually appear . . . after the fact. Worse is the reality of the law concerning police protection. You have no right to police protection. Hence, the Second Amendment right of self-protection with a firearm.

Unfortunately, the May 25, 2013 home invasion in Mt. View in Anchorage showed that bad things happen to good people when they happen, without rhyme or reason. The elderly grandparents had been watching one of the grandchildren while the parents were at a movie with their four year old. The grandfather was killed, the grandmother mother was raped and killed, the great-grandmother who was there was raped, and the two year old child were raped by Jerry Andrew Active who had been released from jail that day. Active was unarmed.

Alaskans, we have solid gun laws that give us the right to self-protection. We do not need to live like a sheep, die like a sheep, as they do in liberal states. Your duty to your loved ones is to protect them, the cops come after the fact. Good locks and a handy firearm that you have trained to use to protect yourself and your family in your home is only common sense.
Americans were endowed with the right to self-protection with a firearm, not making use of the Second Amendment right is simply failing in one's responsibility to family and self.

HB4 is a bad idea and a slap in the voters' faces

HB4 creating the Alaska Gas Development Corporation was passed by the Alaska House on 2 April, 2013 by a vote of 30-9. This bill is the culmination of over 10 years of effort on the part of the Legislature and the Governor to end the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority created by 138,000 votes for Proposition 3 in 2002. HB4 is now before the Alaska Senate, where it will probably pass, given the list of sponsors in the Senate: Senators Dyson, Huggins, Giessel, McGuire, and Micciche. There are only 20 members of the Alaska Senate. Senator Charlie Huggins is the Senate President. Therefore, the likelihood of this legislation failing to pass is nil.

Alaska’s history of attempting to get a natural gas pipeline built to move natural gas from the North Slope to market has been convoluted. HB4 further complicates this confusing and contradictory history.

Prop 3 passed in 2002 mandated the State to create a natural gas development authority (AS 41.41) to build the all-Alaska natural gas pipeline from Prudhoe to Valdez, with a 250 mmcf spur to south central. The capacity of the all-Alaska natural gas pipeline (AANGPV) to be built was approximately 2.5-3.0 bcf/da with most of the gas converted to LNG and then shipped to market in the U.S. or to foreign markets. Proposition 3 created the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority (ANGDA), which was to be have been the vehicle that would oversea the natural gas development potential for Alaska. From the very start, ANGDA was vehemently opposed, disrespected, and diminished by Governor Frank Murkowski, Governor Sarah Palin, Governor Sean Parnell and the Legislature from 2002 forward. With their opposition to ANGDA, the aforementioned belied any intention of respecting the peoples’ will where building a natural gas pipeline was concerned. This disrespect has been amplified in the creation of the Alaska Gas Development Corporation (AGDC) and the Alaska Stand Alone Pipeline (ASAP).

Governor Frank Murkowski rejected the will of the voters with his churlish opposition to ANGDA and the all-Alaska natural gas pipeline (AANGPV). Murkowski funded ANGDA with an initial appropriation of $50,000 and the Legislature gave more money later in 2003. ANGDA’s yearly budgets then and since barely covered the cost of the few positions created. Compare this situation with the $400 million that will be shoveled into the AGDC’s Alaska Stand Alone Pipeline (ASAP) by the Legislature under HB4 and the $214 million previously appropriated for the various iterations of the ASAP line. Today, ANGDA’s website lists four on the ANGDA Board and one employee as Executive Director. Harold Heinze, a former CEO of ARCO, was the previous Chief Executive Director until he stepped down on December 8, 2011.

ANGDA accomplished much during its colored history. ANGDA explored moving gas south by truck to Fairbanks, permitting of the 250 mmcf spur line from Glennallen to Palmer’s Enstar natural gas hub, and building a natural gas pipeline from the Kenai Penninsula north to communities along the Parks Highway, which would have provided an incentive for further exploration and development of the Cook Inlet oil and gas fields. Given the dearth of resources and the failure by the Legislature and the Governors, and their opposition to ANGDA, to provide for bonding capacity, as has been done for the AGDC through Alaska Housing Finance Corporation and the Alaska Rail Road, ANGDA’s accomplishments were not insignificant. Under Harold Heinze and Scott Heyworth, ANGDA moved to meet its statutory mandate as was allowed by hostile administrations and an indifferent and, since the 2009, an increasingly hostile Legislature.

During his term, Governor Frank Murkowski had promised a natural gas pipeline and worked diligently on a 4.0 bcf/da pipeline proposal to make his promise reality. His efforts allegedly culminated in a contract with Exxon, Conoco and British Petroleum Alaska to build his pipe dream. The Palin campaign was able to successfully promote the all-Alaska natural gas pipeline in opposition to Murkowski’s efforts. It was revealed that what Murkowski called a contract was nothing more than an intent on the part of the oil companies to study the viability of building a 4.0 bcf natural gas pipeline to Alberta.

The size of any pipeline has also been an interesting side issue, and one often overlooked in any debate. The natural gas pipeline strategy effected under Murkowski, Palin and Parnell has been for a 4.0 bcf/day natural gas pipeline from the North Slope to Alberta. The theory being that there must be sufficient volume to replace declining revenues produced by the North Slope’s declining oil production. The all-Alaska natural gas pipeline proposed in 2002 was to be a 2.5 bcf with Bill Walker expanding that to 3.0 bcf under his campaign proposal. The AANGPV would terminate at an LNG train to convert the methane to Liquid Natural Gas (LNG).

Bill Walker’s AANGPV proposal would have provided for use of the gas liquids in-state to grow Alaska’s private sector, whereas Palin/Parnell’s AGIA, both the Canadian route and the LNG proposal under consideration to Valdez, and Murkowski’s proposal intended that the gas and gas liquids be shipped out of state for consumption and use elsewhere with little benefit to Alaskans beyond the in-state pipeline and LNG train construction and a direct infusion of cash at the State level.

The Alaska Oil Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) has set a limit on the amount of natural gas that is available for sale in order to maintain sufficient pressure on North Slope legacy fields to allow production of remaining oil reserves. AOGCC has set a limit of 2.5-3.0 bcf available per day to deliver to a pipeline. Over 8 bcf per day is now reinjected back into the oil fields on the North Slope in order to maintain pressurization of the fields to make oil production feasible. AOGCC has been pretty consistent in its requirement that at least 5 bcf of the 8 bcf of gas produced per day be reinjected. The priority is in maintaining the State’s oil revenues.

During her 2006 campaign, Sarah Palin supported the mandate imposed by Proposition 3 and the construction of the AANGPV. Upon taking her oath of office, then Governor Sarah Palin turned her back on her support for that mandate and project, and moved forward with her Alaska Gas Inducement Act, which, to date, has produced nothing. AGIA was almost a mirror of Murkowski’s proposed pipeline plan. Instead of relying upon the Producers (Exxon, BP and Conoco), AGIA granted an exclusive to the winner of the competition promoted by the Palin Administration. Unfortunately, there was only one competitor, and that was TransCanada. Her successor, Governor Sean Parnell has not been able to move the proverbial natural gas pipeline football forward one inch towards a commitment for construction, a timeline to do anything, or even claim a successful open season.

During the 2010 campaign for governor in the Republican Primary, Bill Walker championed the AANGPV in his bid for the Republican nomination for Governor. Walker added a new dimension to the pipeline conversation that has been ignored since Parnell’s victory in the Republican Primary. That new dimension was the idea of value added resource development in the use of some of the gas to provide cheaper energy for the agriculture, timber, and mineral industries. Walker’s proposal would have seen take offs to communities down the Richardson Highway and at Glennallen. There was discussion regarding another spur across the Denali Highway to Cantwell. Fairbanks would have benefitted from the pipeline as the pipeline would have gone through with the gas liquids stripped at Fairbanks. The propane and butane would have been used as alternative fuels, with the ethane, hexane and other components being used to provide the building blocks for a plastics and petrochemical industry, giving a benefit to Alaska’s economy well beyond just the construction of the AANGPV. Walker’s proposal was the only proposal for a natural gas pipeline that went beyond just exporting Alaska’s gas to a foreign or domestic market.

The ASAP proposal was previously known as Harry Noah’s pipeline under Sarah Palin/Sean Parnell. The economics were never viable, but $14 million in State funding was appropriated to Noah’s pipeline study group for what was then known as the Bullet Line. Rep. Mike Hawker and Rep. Mike Chennault brokered deals to create the Alaska Gas Development Corporation by creating a frankenmonster of an entity to end the public’s mandate represented by ANGDA, but doing what the Legislature never did for ANGDA: providing for the ability to bond to finance any gasline projects using the resources of the Alaska Rail Road and the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation.

The Republican Primary in 2010 saw three competing natural gas pipeline projects: former Rep. Ralph Samuels promoted the ‘Bullet Line’ (ASAP), Governor Sean Parnell promoted AGIA, and former Mayor of Valdez Bill Walker promoted the AANGPV.

For some reason, it was fine by the Republican legislative majority and voters to support the Bullet Line, even though it was to be 100% state financed, and limited to a maximum volume of 500 mmcf/da under AGIA, but having the State of Alaska buy into the AANGPV for a 20% interest in order to control the timeline for construction was ‘socialist’ and a subject of great controversy. The estimated cost of the Bullet Line was $4B-$7B at that time, and the estimated cost of the AANGPV was $20B-$24B. Since, the ‘Bullet Line’ cost estimates have grown to almost $8B, but the AGIA version of the AANGPV costs have increased from the 2010 AANGPV estimates to $45B-$65B according to the October 1, 2012 letter to Governor Sean Parnell from Exxon, BP and Conoco.

Note the disparity in cost increases between the two pipelines. Does it make sense that the estimated costs of the AANGPV should increase by three times over the cost factors of the ‘Bullet Line’/ASAP pipeline? Is this a case of TransCanada/Exxon, BP and Conoco inflating the AANGPV to reinforce their reluctance towards moving North Slope natural gas to market?

The upswing in shale gas production has eliminated the domestic U.S. natural gas. A projected 200 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves in continental U.S. shale deposits made the idea of shipping Alaska natural gas to a U.S. market moot. Now, Alaska natural gas will have to compete with domestically produced U.S. shale gas on the world market, given the export permits applied for to move shale gas as LNG to Asian markets.

One of the greatest errors on the part of the Parnell Administration was ignoring the needs of Japan after the 2011 earth quake. A delegation came to Alaska seeking an audience with our governor. They did not meet with him. Another delegation came last year in June and met with DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan. After leaving Alaska, the delegation comprising four Japanese companies, including Mitsubishi, travelled to British Columbia and Louisiana where they invested almost $4 billion between Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass LNG export expansion project and in Shell’s LNG export facility at Kitimat, B.C.

Alaska has a long term (43 years) relationship with Japan with respect to LNG exports. Conoco’s LNG train at Nikiski has been producing LNG for export to Japan since before the completion of the TAPS.

It certainly appears that AGIA has cost Alaska in lost business opportunities.

The ASAP’s primary purpose is no longer just the idea of supplementing Cook Inlet/Kenai gas production until storage and new exploration and development activities eliminate the specter of natural gas shortages that saw the closure of the Agrium ammonium nitrate fertilizer plant in Nikiski several years ago with the loss of 65 jobs. The ASAP will provide natural gas for Conoco’s LNG train at Nikiski for export to Asia. Given that the ASAP will be constructed at State of Alaska expense and its operation subsidized by the State, that is a very good deal for Conoco. At lease some of Alaska’s natural gas will make it Asia’s LNG market.

Cook Inlet has approximately 19 trillion cubic feet of estimated reserves remaining to be discovered. Exploration and development has picked up over the last two years, with more drilling planned this year. Unfortunately, there needs to be an upgrade in transportation infrastructure and storage to get the natural gas from the producing field to sufficient storage to carry south central’s demand through increasingly colder winters. It is not a declining production that is the issue, it is the lack of a suitable intra-field pipeline system to get the gas to the storage facility. As a result, Alaska may see the first importation of natural gas from Russia later this Spring.

With the 2014 gubernatorial elections looming, Governor Sean Parnell is in much the same situation as former Governor Frank Murkowski was at the time of his reelection bid against Sarah Palin. Under Parnell, the AGIA 4.0 bcf pipeline option to Canada is dead. The only viable option is the AGIA LNG option similar in size and scope to the AANGPV, excepting for no spur to Palmer and no in-state use of the gas liquids. Given the conflicts of interest on the part of Exxon, BP, Conoco and TransCanada, LNG from Alaska is unwelcome in the Asian market, because of competing developments on the part of the aforementioned.

Given that his administration cannot state any firm date for the construction of a pipeline, could it be that Governor Sean Parnell is exploring the possibility of running against Senator Mark Begich with the intent of bailing from the Governor’s office before the house of cards that is AGIA falls in on itself?

Such could be inferred from the remarks made by Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell today. Treadwell commented on the recent upheavals in the Alaska Republican Party and its ability to promote and support the campaign against Democrate Senator Mark Begich. Treadwell stated that it may not be him running against Begich, but possibly Governor Sean Parnell. Treadwell had previously announced his intent to explore a run against Senator Mark Begich on November 30, 2012. If so, Treadwell will certainly run for governor in Parnell’s stead.

Bill Walker may have another shot at the Governor’s mansion if Parnell runs for the U.S. Senate. Under Parnell, Treadwell has not been terribly prominent in the public eye.

It should be noted that Governor Sean Parnell has not opposed theAGDC/ASAP proposal of Rep. Mike Hawker and Rep. Mike Chennault as demonstrated by HB4, nor did he oppose the previous iteration of that project proposed by Harry Noah under then Governor Sarah Palin. This lack of opposition leaves him in a position of being able to claim some degree of success with respect to moving Alaska’s North Slope natural gas to market. Ignoring of course, the fact that the ASAP project is limited to 500mmcf under AGIA, meaning the cost of transport to market will have to be subsidized by the State for the life of the pipeline. The cost of constructing the pipeline would also be borne by the State of Alaska.

Bill Walker’s AANGPV was the best option to date, as his plan provided for instate use of the gas liquids and natural gas to provide for cheap energy for agriculture and industry, alternative fuels for the Bush, and a petrochemical industry for Alaska. TransCanada and Exxon will send the gas and the gas liquids to Asia, if they bother to build a pipeline at all. Further, the AANGPV provided for a 250 mmcf/da spur into the Enstar Hub at Palmer to help mitigate the anticipated storage shortfalls from Cook Inlet natural gas production. A spur from Paxon west to Cantwell was also anticipated providing for a spur feeding to Nenana and connecting to any ANGDA pipeline from Nikiski north to Cantwell.

Competing with any potential Alaska LNG exports, Exxon has several large scale natural gas development LNG projects in the Pacific (Australia, Indonesia, New Guinea), and also needs a market for its portion of Qatar gas with the loss of the U.S. domestic natural gas market to domestically produced shale gas.

TransCanada is part of the Foothills Pipeline Company, which is involved in the Kitimat LNG port project. TransCanada was recently awarded a contract by Shell for a 2.4bcf pipeline to Kitimat, B.C.

Conoco has its portion of Qatar natural gas to move to market, now in Asia, because of the loss of the domestic U.S. market to shale gas. Conoco also has two Australia LNG projects that will compete with Alaska LNG for the Asian market.

Given the conflicts of interest on the part of Exxon Mobil, Conoco Phillips and TransCanada, is it any wonder why there has been no forward movement on AGIA?

Given the conflicts of interest on the part of Exxon and TransCanada, Governor Parnell has to be either totally brain dead, or simply ignoring reality, given his insistence on pursuing AGIA in the face of competing projects on the part of the TransCanada, Exxon, Conoco and BP. There is no provision under AGIA to declare breach of contract based upon a conflict of interest.

Given the increasing availability of natural gas in the world market, it may be better for the State to pay $500 million to $1.5 billion in penalties get out of AGIA. The lost opportunities will cost the state several orders of magnitude of any penalty under AGIA.

What are the differences between the ASAP natural gas pipeline and the all-Alaska natural gas pipeline option to Valdez?

Cost of construction is borne by the State: ASAP–100%; AANGPV–20% State ownership interest

Capacity: ASAP–500 mmcf/da; AANGPV–2.5-3.0 bcf/da

Benefits: ASAP will increase south central consumer gas costs by up to 13%; AANGVP will reduce or maintain present consumer costs, provide for growth in the private sector, because of in-state use of gas liquids, benefit beyond Alaska for growth in Asian customer’s economies

Cost of construction: ASAP–$8B; AANGPV–up to $45B-$65B (oil companies’ estimate) with LNG train and harbor improvements

Route: ASAP–North Slope to Nikiski across several salmon streams, Denali National Park and Denali State Park, but will not go through Fairbanks with no spur for consumers down the Richardson Highway south to Valdez; AANGVP–TAPS corridor from Prudhoe to Valdez covering all communities along the route through Fairbanks, with a 250 mmcf/da spur from Glennallen to Palmer and passing through Fairbanks down the Richardson Highway with a potential spur across the Denali Highway, LNG route--Valdez to Asia

Permitting status: ASAP–no permits issued; AANGVP–existing permits from Yukon Pacific Corp.

Estimated completion: ASAP–2019; AANGVP–two-three years from funding

Cost of gas to delivery per million cubic feet: ASAP–$9-$11.25/mmcf for Anchorage consumers (p13 of ASAP Project Plan); AANGVP–<$10/mmcf from the North Slope to Japan, including TAPS, LNG conversion costs, and LNG tanker costs (p15 of Wood-Mac study)

Gas liquids: ASAP–stripped at North Slope and reinjected; AANGVP–stripped at Fairbanks for use in Alaska

Testimony on HB4 was heard before the Senate Finance Committee today. HB4 is expected to pass out of the committee.

For more information:

ASAP Project Plan, Dec. 20, 2011–Joint In-state Gas Caucus

http://housemajority.org/neuman/pdfs/27/Gas_Caucus_New_Scenario_20121220.pdf

Wood MacKenzie Alaskan LNG Exports Competitiveness Study

http://www.arcticgas.gov/sites/default/files/documents/11-07-alaska-lng-competitiveness-study.pdf

Exxon Mobil LNG:

http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/energy_production_lng.aspx

Conoco Phillips LNG:

http://lnglicensing.conocophillips.com/EN/lngprojects/Pages/index.aspx

British Petroleum LNG:

http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9015376&contentId=7028020

http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9015513&contentId=7043288

TransCanada:

http://www.transcanada.com/coastal-gaslink.html

Other related articles:

http://www.examiner.com/article/agia-transcanada-s-conflict-of-interest

http://www.examiner.com/article/agia-exxon-s-conflict-of-interest

http://www.examiner.com/article/senator-lisa-murkowski-is-selling-lng-to-japan-when-parnell-will-not

http://www.examiner.com/article/support-for-the-all-alaska-natural-gas-pipeline-appears-local-campaigns

http://www.examiner.com/article/the-legislature-and-the-governor-neither-of-whom-can-make-a-decision

 

http://www.examiner.com/article/denali-is-dead-now-what