A Citizen’s Guide

JUNEAU—Democrats are striking out at an oil industry advertising campaign opposing increases to the state’s tax system. The ads by ConocoPhillips and BP claim increased taxes will stifle oil industry investment in Alaska and damage the state’s economy.

Rep. Les Gara and Sen. Hollis French, Democrats from Anchorage, said a state Department of Revenue report on oil company profits contradicts the oil companies’ assertion.

The report released Monday shows the oil industry on track to earn $7 billion in profits this year from existing fields at oil prices of $60 a barrel—a 43 percent profit margin. The industry would earn $3.9 billion if the price of oil drops to $40 a barrel, according to the Revenue Department projections. Read the rest of this entry »

The latest talk in the halls of the Capitol is about which version of the governor’s proposed oil tax reform will be considered by the full Legislature.

Both the House and Senate have been working on separate versions of the tax proposal for the past month. The House has been faster on its feet, but many insiders argue that’s because it’s done shoddy work. Read the rest of this entry »

PETRO CASH: The deliberations in the Legislature will require a judgment call, one worth hundreds of millions a year, about the connection between oil taxes and future oil company investments in Alaska.

Some lawmakers want to follow the advice of legislative consultants in setting tax rates, while others believe a lower rate would be better for Alaska in the long run. The way some people see it, the dispute is about finding the right combination of taxes and incentives necessary to entice the companies to spend more money in Alaska, which could slow the production decline on the North Slope. Read the rest of this entry »

To the editor:

BP placed an interesting and highly informative ad in the News-Miner on March 25, 2006. It states, “And we estimate it will require $100 billion in industry investment to produce the 17 billion barrels of recoverable resource remaining on the Slope.” Read the rest of this entry »

After two weeks of hospital food and daytime TV, I’m happy to be back at work in the Capital covering the oil tax and natural gas pipeline negotiations. Now, on with the latest…

House Speaker John Harris, R-Valdez, told reporters today that he expected there would be two back-to-back special sessions following the end of the regular session on May 9.

Gov. Frank Murkowski has long said he plans to call a special session of the Legislature to consider a deal with the major oil producers for a $25 billion natural gas pipeline, but a firm date for when that might occur has never been nailed down. Read the rest of this entry »

To the editor:

Rep. Kohring’s response to the recent opinion piece by Lori Backes apparently missed the point; did he forget who he works for? Read the rest of this entry »