The thawing of the arctic shelf and surrounding ice is the main focus of a gathering today of NATO commanders and other lawmakers from alliance nations. Of particular concern is the risks to security that the thawing ice proposes. The main concern is that the area may see a standoff between the various nations who are all laying claim to a piece of the Arctic. The melting of the ice making travel to the area easier coupled with the gas and oil reserves has many thinking that a conflict will be inevitable. more »

On Tuesday Alaska state Commissioner of Natural Resources, Tom Irwin, announce that that Exxon Mobil Corp and its partners will be issued two key permits to allow for the drilling of wells at Point Thomson. The leases were previously granted and then revoked due to non-performance. Point Thomson has an estimated 8tcf of gas along with 200 million barrels of liquid condensates. These were discovered back in the 1960s and 1970s but were left undeveloped because of the lack of a gas pipeline and also due to some technical issues with the gas reservoir. more »

Over the past few days, all eyes and ears in Alaska have once again been on the environment, but for once it has nothing to do with global warming and the melting ice shelf. Alaska has seen an earthquake and is gearing up for a possible volcanic eruption. more »

On Tuesday of last week, the only company still actively drilling in the MacKenzie Delta released information stating that it had discovered its first natural gas in the Arctic. Tiny MGM Energy Corp. stated in a news release that its Ellice J-27 well has been discovered to have several zones containing natural gas. more »

In light of the recent downward spiral of oil prices, Alaska officials are rethinking last month’s fiscal forecast, which predicted that North Slope crude would go for above $70 a barrel through to 2010.  According to Alaska Revenue Commissioner Pat Gavin, the volatile state of the oil market and the American economy have nullified last month’s prediction that oil would sell for an average of $77.66 a barrel this fiscal year and $74.41 a barrel in 2010. more »

In the wake of several Alaska Senate scandals, the 26th Alaska State Legislature convened amidst smiles and hugs all around. Almost all wore blue and yellow boutonnieres and in the air was the feeling of camaraderie and a new start.

And indeed, that seemed to be the overall tone of the gathering, with the newly elected house speaker, Mike Chenault,R-Nikisi starting things off by offer up the pledge to put  “pride, integrity and respect back to this institution.” more »

According to a new World Wildlife Fund report, “International Governance and Regulation of the Marine Arctic: Overview and Gap Analysis”, there are not enough legal regulations in place to protect the Arctic, leaving the area wide open to the harm that could be seen from the increasing race for resources, such as natural gas and oil.  And findings presented at yesterday’s Arctic conference have come to the same conclusion. more »

On Monday, the Canadian government offered $13 billion dollars in support money to the proposed Arctic gas pipeline in a bid to help bolster the Canadian economy.

While Canadian Environment minister Jim Prentice declined to give details about the overall value of the deal to help the backers of the Mackenzie Gas Project, he did say that the money offered to Imperial Oil LTD. and other companies involved would help with the infrastructure of the proposed project, including the building of roads and airstrips.  The money would also go to helping with pre-construction costs. more »