Nabor's Drilling - Good Neighbor

Seal Die-Off

Finally, an expert witness journey that reveals what may be causing the bearded seals off Alaska's North Slope to die off in record numbers – the Natchiq are threatened! Is it from near-shore oil development toxic waste dumping, illegally discharged into the waters of Harrison Bay? Are the regulators being held off, by a “Drill Baby Drill” mandate? This is a True Story, with some of the names changed to protect the innocent. Due out April 1^st on this site. Documentary film to follow.

Watch Oooguruk Island Drill Site under attack!
Note: This "attack" that wasn't supposed to happen left its scar, an environmental nightmare. What happened to all the drilling chemicals?
 www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxcxOEiGboY

More Alaskan Comic Relief

I guess we change with age. So instead of getting excited about the upcoming addition of Mad Magazine, like already blogged upon the significance this read, I have found a substitute – Alaskan style comic relief at its best. Once again, it is called the Petroleum News. I don’t know if this is a national publication, but for sure the Alaskan edition is primed with laughable materials galore and in the running to win the coveted Uncle Eddie Award, for doing dumb things with a smile. Just how many gas pipeline export projects are wasting away this state’s future? Look, read Lincoln’s lips: Chapter 15C – Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Act, §719J – EXPORT LIMITATIONS: Any exports of Alaska natural gas shall be subject to the requirements of the Natural Gas Act[15 U.S.C. 717 et seq.] and section 103 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act[42 U.S.C. 6212], except that in addition to the requirements of such Acts, before any Alaska natural gas in excess of 1,000 Mcf per day may be exported to any nation other than Canada or Mexico, the President must make and publish an express finding that such exports will not diminish the total quantity or quality nor increase the total price of energy available to the United States.” Get it Paul Jenkins! Confused this one man attack? Well Paul at one time was Bill Allen’s side kick for Voice of the Times, another comic. But the Petroleum News comic relief goes into boring detail in almost every edition about this state’s pie in the sky pipe-dream wet-dreams, about a big pipeline idea that has about as much credibility for success as did Bill Sheffield’s train depot. And they placed him in charge of the Anchorage Port? I guess having a failed project named in your honor is vogue here in the “Lost Frontier”. Yes Don Young can boast this fame and lost fortune, for the failed Pt. McKenzie wood chip export run amuk project along with the M.V. Susitna. It appears that in Alaska incompetence with respect to useless projects breeds a lucrative future for some. “Well son, I had a job for life with no responsibilities”! And it is easy to realize that these “Big” pipe wet-dreams will always remain just that, as instead of hiring engineers, most stalled projects are hiring lawyers! I wonder what may be hiding in the shadows. See they gladly excepted the money and have nothing to show for it. So far, all the money wasted could have purchased pipe and shovels and gas would be on its way! So when the Petroleum News goes overboard and tries to instill some semblance of accomplishment such projects, when in reality the only “mission accomplished” is wasted resources, it is nothing short a joke. And it is laugh after laugh, publication after publication from the Petroleum News, with respect to Pioneer Natural Resources’ predicament. This “Independent” seems to be going under with production declines averaging a negative 40% for this year alone, and they just started this venture! Glad I am not a shareholder holding nothing. It's a new oil field. Not really, as the majors walked away from these reservoirs a long time ago realizing it was not worth the risk. There is something to be said about the “Majors” and their thinking! At that rate of lost production, Pioneer cannot even pay for the daily costs of the drilling rig. So instead of sending 20,000 barrels each day to market, the target goal, it is losing ground and daily production is declining - down to a pathetic 4,000 barrels each losing day. And the royalty relief COO wants to place blame on Conoco, for shying Pioneer on water injection? Maybe that is why HailBurton is teaming up with the biggest pipe dream of them all, Great Bear, an outfit that thinks it can punch 200 wells a year into the permafrost to reach shale bearing reservoirs. And all that hoopla in efforts to produce about 5,000 barrels a day? Let’s just ask Phineas J. Whoopee for help, assisted by his 3D Magical Board to access if this pie-in-the-sky pipe-dream risk is worth it, or maybe the possibility it is all a smoke screen to woo the politicians – those that continue to get a failing grade on “Resource Economics 101”. It would cost about $2-billion just to poke the holes. And with the price of crude less production costs, royalty and fines for having to ship it down the only pipeline available, it will take about 1000 days to break even, or about three years, but by that time the production will most likely die down, less income. So we have before us just another “pipe-dream” romance which is in reality a “ridiculous” endeavor. And Yukon Pacific finally released its ownership of the Trans-Alaska-Pipeline ROW, as the original corridor was designed for two pipelines. See YP held the Right-of-Way along the Trans-Alaska-Pipeline for many years, in hopes that one of the major’s would become interested in a natural gas pipeline, that was 30-years ago, still just a pipe-dream. Look, as it was once explained, natural gas is the enemy to “Oil” companies, as it is a marketable commodity out of the ground. Take a Coleman stove to a gas producing well and in no time flat you can boil water, which means this commodity has very little hidden cost opportunities. On the other hand, crude oil has many, many loophole adjustments, so convoluted that when this stuff finally makes its way to a refinery then cooked, manipulated and regurgitated to motor gasoline, it fetches in excess of $230 dollars for a single barrel of the raw product, which is fetching about $100 dollars per barrel on the open market. So the “Big Oil” guys do give a rat's ass about a gas pipeline, as any gas taken away from the field, it hurts the bottom-line, that of crude oil exploitation. So don’t hold your breath waiting to hear something positive about any of the so-far failed Alaskan Natural Gas pipeline projects. Now Great Bear’s Duncan is quoted; “Our objective is not to waste the molecules. Not one BTU, actually, will be thrown away”? Dam, I’m laughing so hard the air molecules are reacting and out of control, akin to crude oil about to flow out of ENI's flare stack. Sorry migrating whales – it will only hurt a little, just shy away from that dead “krill”! But getting back to the “Alaska Natural Gas” export limitations, or ban. It's a show-stopping reality and not a single politician has made even a whisper over it. I guess with these scoundrels, the last laugh is on us! So if you are interested in some humor, about what is going on with all the fruitcakes thinking we need to extend U.S.A. Route 1 from Prudhoe Bay to Norway, read on the Petroleum News. But the true bottom-line, it is not a joke! These projects were blessed with failure from inception. And the other sad fact of the matter, the individuals behind keeping these things alive and well and furnished with cash, they should know better. But why spill the beans, as it may mean it is time to find gainful employment, instead of a cushion like job that wastes away this state’s future, has “zero” responsibilities assigned and most likely a Christmas bonus is an automatic, for the camaraderie and more importantly, the demonstration of Silence! Shoot the messenger? How about paying for the truth to be sequestered!

Please Deliver this Petition

Dear Mr. President Barack Obama;

15C §719J “Export Limitations” was in-acted as law to protect this nation’s interest. Please do not allow any dereliction upon this “Law” or changes that would allow Alaskan North Slope natural gas to be exported. As the present “Law” dictates, you must see to it that any exports “will not diminish the total quantity or quality nor increase the total price of energy available to the United States.” By allowing exports, in time that loss can only amount to higher prices – due lose of a commodity. Alaskan natural gas from the “North Slope” should remain “Stranded” until such time it is piped through Canada, as that country is exempt from the “Export Limitations” realizing that gas will fuel America’s needs. We should not allow exports outside the “Law”. Please take this under consideration should you be asked to lift the “Export Limitation” by Alaska’s delegation, or through “Special Interests” or through any request by the Governor of Alaska.

Respectfully Submitted, B. Dawg

info@messages.whitehouse.gov

Alaska Sell-Out

Dear Fellow Americans;

I bring this concern to all true Americans’ attention, as help is needed and only you can provide that help by taking a stand with me upon this dire concern. The state of Alaska is desperate for cash, which has alarmed the sitting governor – Sean Parnell – to the point that he wants to give away the farm. The fallout of this pursuit fostered by desperation will have devastating consequences upon this nation – unless we resort to “We the People” power to intervene. When natural gas reserves were losing ground on the supply side of the well known “Supply & Demand” equation down in the lower-48 states, the Presidential leadership looked towards Alaska as a saving grace option, as Alaska has stored away a treasure chest of what is defined as “Stranded Gas”. Basically speaking, since oil started traveling down the Trans-Alaska-Pipeline back in the late 70’s, the natural gas that comes topside with crude oil extraction has been re-injected for future endeavors – like bailing out the states when energy woes cause havoc. Now during those 30-years of oil development and exploitation, the state of Alaska has enjoyed a decent share of the profits from oil feeding the states, income for supplying the valuable feedstock to many refineries up and down the West Coast. At one time, Alaska supplied 25% of America’s daily energy needs. Over 30-billion barrels have traveled south from Prudhoe Bay, which has allowed the state of Alaska to realize a dividend giveaway for its residents, plus money to do just about anything - like proposing “Bridges to No Where”. But at the same time this wealth was filling the coffers and fueling corruption in politics – a.k.a. Alaska’s “Corrupt Bastards Club” - the state spenders went foolish and spent a whole lot of loot on ridiculous type projects that did nothing in efforts to help develop a sustainable jobs infrastructure. So that is where the desperation stems from, as the “sky is falling” with respect to income as oil production is slowing down and the present leadership has not read the writing on the wall. And during these years wherein Alaska was the top oil producing state, it still relied on hefty Federal handouts that were way above and beyond any other state of the Union – that is what happens when a state has powerful Senators and Congressmen writing the appropriations legislation. So with so much “pork” heading from the U.S. Treasury to Alaska, to fuel foolish projects, with the debt crisis upon “All America”, Alaska has become desperate and realizes the only way to keep it going like the “good old days” is by selling out America’s future. So I call on all Americans concerned, as Alaska is more concerned about the bottom-line then the future of America. It is time to voice a concern to President Obama. And herein exists the problem that provokes this concern. As it stands, there are laws, rules and regulations that prohibit exporting Alaska’s North Slope natural gas to foreign markets until such time the President “publishes an express finding that such exports will not diminish the total quantity or quality nor increase the total price of energy available to the United States”. 15C §719J “Export Limitations” was in-acted as law to protect this nation’s interest. But now that the state of Alaska legislators fear the honeymoon is over with, to what was for a long time unlimited loot from oil production taxation, they have called on the governor to sell out the resource to foreign interests - like China maybe. This sell-out is being accomplished without regards to the law that prohibits such transactions abroad. And to make matters worse off, the agencies involved in this secret endeavor, they understand it all too well but are hoping to find some way to skirt the “Export Limitation”. This gas from Alaska’s North Slope should remain “Stranded” and used only for America – that is the “LAW”. Some day this gas will be needed, and to sell it abroad just so Alaska can continue to bask in wealth and still see a pathetic jobs infrastructure unfold, it isn’t worth the effort. America needs to wake up and call on Obama or the next sitting President to never allow Alaska’s North Slope Gas to find permission to leave us behind. Now is the time for all “True Americans” to voice a concern over Alaska’s attempt to sell out this nation’s future. Write the President or use the below enclosed letter to help stop the Alaska sell-out!

Dear Mr. President Barack Obama;

15C §719J “Export Limitations” was in-acted as law to protect this nation’s interest. Please do not allow any dereliction upon this “Law” or changes that would allow Alaskan North Slope natural gas to be exported. As the present “Law” dictates, you must see to it that any exports “will not diminish the total quantity or quality nor increase the total price of energy available to the United States.” By allowing exports, in time that loss can only amount to higher prices – due lose of a commodity. Alaskan natural gas from the “North Slope” should remain “Stranded” until such time it is piped through Canada, as that country is exempt from the “Export Limitations” with the realization that gas will fuel America’s needs. We should not allow exports outside the “Law”. Please take this under consideration should you be asked to lift the “Export Limitation” by Alaska’s state or Congressional delegation, or through “Special Interests” or through any request by the Governor of Alaska.

Respectfully Submitted, American Citizen John Doe

Alaska – The “Great Cesspool”

So North Dakota is about to surpass California as 3^rd in command with respect to oil development. Alaska may also fall behind once again this race. This state at one time in history not too long ago enjoyed the kingpin position, but the good old days are behind us. Texas stole away the “kingpin” status from the “Last Frontier” and since then it appears there in no retreat. In my book, that is OK, as what is on the horizon with future development if continued unchecked may turn Alaska into a giant “Cesspool” - it stinks! Gone are the days when 2-million barrels of oil rolled down the Trans-Alaska-Pipeline towards Valdez. And the trend will continue, the downward spiral with Alaska loosing out as 2^nd on the elite list, then down and down and down. Now the state regulators went stupid when oil throughput started declining drastically in early 2007 and put up an “Open for Business” sign accompanied alongside Her Governess Sarah Palin's hugshot - embracing schizophrenia - in efforts to entice novice like oil investors to come north and develop where no decent oil company had developed before. Believe it or not, this state was lucky when the oil fields were monopolized by “Big Oil” and the little guys knew best to stay away. But good things come to an end, even after 30-years of little to no competition. At least there was some environmental stewardship towards the “foot-print” we leave upon the fragile tundra and ecosystem during our ways and means to extract resources. Nowadays, there is a push on to turn this state into a “Cesspool”. Case in point is the history behind Pioneer Natural Resources, the 1^st “Independent” to brave the North Slope of Alaska, in efforts to waste away the shareholders future. So if this company cares not about its investment members, why should they care about what they leave behind in Alaska? The Oooguruk oil exploration and exploitation project located in the once pristine waters of Harrison Bay on the Colville River delta, it is not panning out anywhere close to what the executive board would like to happen, that is why a management change is occurring. Good thing for this Texas based oil company that the price of oil has remained so high, as when it tanks, so will this company's stock. And the sooner they leave, the better. Maybe with this management change taking place it means packing up already. Let's hope so. Unless we want to see this state turn into a real “Cesspool”. Just recently, Pioneer sanctioned the AOGCC regulators to allow drilling for oil in the “Torok” reservoir, because the oil development from two other formations already permitted was not panning out as expected, maybe flakes instead of nuggets. By this time in the project, Pioneer was supposed to be producing about 20,000 barrels per day of low grade crude oil. See, early on the company's down-hole geology gurus said to drill into the Kuparuk and Nuiqsut formations, as the Torok formation was messy. Now in efforts to perform oil development, it takes a “disposal well” approved by the EPA to get rid of oil field waste, which includes all kinds of things, from nasty chemicals to human crap. So Pioneer choose the “Torok” formation as its disposal site, getting approval from the state and Fed.'s as this formation was at a shallower depth then the Kupauk and Nuiqsut formations along with the fact that there was available a “clay and shale” buffer zone, so the permitted disposal well's effluent was to stay out of harms way, from any communication with neighboring formations. All was good! But with Pioneer sanctioning the regulators to drill for oil in the “Torok”, it is basically getting permission to drill into A “CESSPOOL”. Pioneer created the underground “cesspool” and now they want to tap into it. And this disposal area has become a human waste “cesspool”. Look, on a small man-made island with about 120-workers, with food available 24/7, there is a whole lot of crap to contend with. And with running water at a limit, the crap must be collected in a giant tank and pumped under high pressure down-hole to this well designated as an EPA certified waste disposal well. Yes indeed, it takes a permit from the state and EPA to send crap into the underground. So when the Kuparuk and Nuiqsut formations started to peter out, Pioneer went desperate and sought approval to develop the Torok formation, which is the “crap” field. They never should have been allowed to mess with this messy formation, now that crap has been injected down-hole for the last 4-years, along with other oil field wastes. One bad “Frac” shot in the “Torok” formation, if not already contaminated from natural fractures and the fact that the “crap” is injected at very high pressures above and beyond any documented formation pressures, it means “contamination” of “OUR” natural resources. And this is what the AOGCC should be looking at, instead of being pressured into letting the “Independents” operate under what amounts to be “blind” regulation. It appears that after Sarah sat on the commission's board under Frank Murkowski, regulation went re-defined! Look, I am not a geologist, this is simple dirt mechanics at work this situation. In fact, when Pioneer applied for drilling into the “Torok”, there came no mention of the disposal well in the same general vicinity, like this was an intentional smokescreen “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” manipulatory move. Not to mention that if “communication” takes place and the recoverable crude oil becomes contaminated, it places over 690-million barrels on the “non-acceptable” list, it would amount to a great loss to this state's resource royalty income – defined as lost production! See, if crap gets into the crude oil stream coming topside from the “Torok” formation and enters the Trans-Alaska-Pipeline, the state will have to shut down production, as crap isn't allowed to enter the stream. So the state regulators are once again asleep at the wheel. But do you honestly believe that the state regulators give a rat's ass about worker safety? They live and work about 800-miles from the oil fields and pipeline, where one finds flush toilets instead of having to “crap” in bag – as is the case in some remote oil drilling camps. So from the comfort of their luxurious office, they see no problem with “crap” contamination as the recoverable oil makes money for the state. If I were a worker along the pipeline, I would seek legal advice and advise on any and all contact with the existing crude oil stream, as it is all mixed together once it enters the 1^st pumping station in Prudhoe Bay. See, nobody would have to take responsibility if workers start getting E-coli “gut” sickness. Pipeline workers come in direct contact with crude oil each and everyday of their work routine. From laboratory workers called on to check the crude oil characteristics to maintenance workers who come in direct contact with the crude oil to fix things, like valves and pumps. So now that Pioneer has been granted permission to suck oil from the “Torok” which has already begun production without any increased testing for “crap” contamination, there now comes the possibility that “crap” may be coming down the 800-mile long pipeline, yes fecal matter, because we have regulators missing in action or regulators that don't understand the severity of their actions and inactions, or regulators that fell in love with Sarah's love affair with “Little Oil”, the “Independents”! Yes, these “Independents” are heading North to Alaska and are getting away with shitting on our front lawns and scenic walkways and letting it sit and set for someone else to pick up. Alaska, once the “Last Frontier”, now maybe the “Great Cesspool” state, Sarah Palin's Alaskan legacy!

Local Hire Issues

Now that the Alaska State Senate Labor & Commerce Commission has convened to study and investigate North Slope labor practices, outsiders verses insiders, I offer testimony. I worked for Pioneer Natural Resources soon after start-up of its Oooguruk oil development project until it was time to hang it up, as it was clear and convincing that this “Independent” was pretty irresponsible, upon the environment and many other areas wherein responsibility was mandatory – but nobody was watching. Maybe being new to the lucrative North Slope oil business and in competition with “Big Oil” made a difference, as I was used to seeing things done right, or at least an attempt to do things right at any expense - including the hiring practices in efforts to draft and retain the most qualified individuals, those with North Slope experience. When I worked for “Big Oil” I had this badge that weighed in at close to a 1/2-pound, with all these credentials for mandatory training, on just about every subject pertaining to doing business up north. At Pioneer's man-made island in the Colville River Delta, gateway to the Beaufort Sea, it was a whole lot different. It was basically like kindergarten, wherein new hires were welcome and made up a majority of the workforce, but without an experienced backbone, it meant a whole lot of trial and error “errors”! This was not a place to test things out. And what was heart-breaking was the fact that a majority of the workers were from outside, as Pioneer did not seek qualified workers from local job fairs. Did you ever see a “PNR Help Wanted” add? And there were factors that fostered this type of dereliction. First and foremost, as an Independent with not so deep pockets the hourly wage offered potential employees was no where near in comparison to what could be realized with a “Big Oil” company, so it usually meant unqualified labor, wherein many hired had no idea what it meant to perform up North – that “responsibility” thing. And what was the sad fact of the matter, there was no excuse for labor rates that disallowed for experienced craftsmen, as Pioneer sought and was awarded “Royalty Relief” by the state early on this venture. In fact the PNR CEO visited your chambers down in Juneau on several occasions when this Texas based oil developer went “Texas Hold'm” gambling for such relief, and talked up a storm about hiring in-state “qualified” help which would require decent wages and with a little help from the legislators with the “relief” would allow for hiring the highest caliper of help money could buy, or something to that effect. So relief was granted, but even though it helped the bottom-line and this CEO made a pretty hefty take-home pay, it didn't help in the worker ranks wage base. It is all based on money. The wage difference is about $15.00 an hour. That equates to an annual benefit of $40,000 a year! So the operation would hire unqualified help and soon after a little experience under the belt, even new hires would find work across the gravel road, at Conoco or British Petroleum. Talk about a pay raise. See, local hire usually meant experienced and qualified individuals as a whole, as a whole bunch of us have been at it for 30-years by now. If you can't pay the prevailing wage, it means “outside” help to fill the vacancies. So if you hear a bunch of hoopla from industry bosses during this session before your committee on “Local Hire”, especially from a company that receives relief, it is all a smokescreen. They asked for relief, you came through, then we were all fooled. Like is required for hazardous waste clean-up crews and many other “mission critical” jobs, Independents should have stricter hiring practices that are policed with respect to “qualifications” and that will cost more as it is the cost of doing business up North. That may not sit well with the shareholders, but so what. I know that is a “Big Brother” syndrome, more control, but if we lose it due irresponsible behavior from inexperienced hands, we loose any chance to develop further into the Beaufort. Bottom line, you get what you pay for. But there is a simple solution. It is called a UNION or in softer tones, “Collective Bargaining” wherein a contract provides a pay that keeps people from looking elsewhere and with that ownership, which equates to “Responsibility”!