Oil

Shell's Arctic oil exploration stands to open new frontier

Shortly before Thanksgiving in 2010, the leaders of the commission President Barack Obama had appointed to investigate the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico sat down in the Oval Office to brief him.

Appeals court backs decision giving Shell OK to drill in Arctic

An appeals court has sided with the federal government in giving the go-ahead to Shell Oil Co. to move forward with drilling in the Alaska Arctic this year, according to a ruling issued Friday night.

Refinery woes, mountain range keep Northwest gas price high

A lot has come down the economic pike since the summer of 2008, which for many Americans may already feel like the closed chapter of an old book. But in Western Washington there is an unhappy echo: high gasoline prices that won't go down.

Prudhoe Bay spill of 4,200 gallons of oil, water contained

A tank at a Prudhoe Bay processing center operated by BP overflowed Monday, spilling an estimated 4,200 gallons of crude oil and oily water, the state Department of Environmental Conservation said in a report Tuesday.

Hilcorp looks to resume oil storage in shadow of volcano

Hilcorp Alaska plans to resume storing oil at the Drift River tank farm on the west side of Cook Inlet. In fact, the company already has obtained interim permission to fill one of the enormous tanks at Drift River.

DNR terminates North Slope unit after long delays

After an Superior Court ruling in its favor last fall, the Department of Natural Resources is terminating the Arctic Fortitude oil exploration unit on the North Slope.

Alyeska announces pipeline maintenance shutdowns

The operator of the trans-Alaska pipeline plans five shutdowns this summer for maintenance work.

Groups appeal air quality permit for Shell Arctic drilling

Environmental and Alaska Native groups on Wednesday appealed an air permit granted by the Environmental Protection Agency to a Shell Oil drilling ship that could be used this summer in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska's northern shore.

Cook Inlet oil, gas lease sale draws $6.8 million in bids

Three main players in Cook Inlet's oil fields today won the right in the annual Cook Inlet lease sale to explore for and develop oil and gas resources on 44 new tracts.

Group to evaluate how to advance oil tax cuts

Supporters of changes to Alaska's oil production tax structure have called for a meeting to discuss how best to advance the debate after another legislative defeat.

North Dakota passes Alaska to become No. 2 US oil producer

North Dakota, which just six years ago was the ninth-largest oil-producing state, has passed Alaska to become the second-leading oil-producing state in the nation, trailing only Texas.

Shell trains helicopter passengers in survival

Like other oil companies, Shell relies heavily on helicopters to transport its crews and contractors to offshore oil platforms. While most helicopter flights go smoothly, Shell is investing big in training and equipment to reduce the chance of disaster and boost the odds of survival in a crash over the cold, open sea.

Video: Helicopter Underwater Egress Training

Photos: Coldwater Survival Egress Training

Tankers return to Valdez laden with crude oil

Normally Alaska North Slope crude oil flows one way -- south, toward refineries on the West Coast. But in recent weeks, something odd has happened. Tankers have returned to the terminal at Valdez still partially laden with Alaska oil. Usually, they come back empty.

Pioneer says test drilling yields 50 million barrel discovery

Pioneer Natural Resources Alaska has announced a 50-million-barrel oil discovery at its budding Nuna development. The find was based on exploration drilling completed this last winter.

Drilling rig back on site in Cook Inlet

After being dry-docked for the winter at Port Graham on the Kenai Peninsula, the Spartan 151 jack-up drilling rig is back on location in Cook Inlet for the re-entry of an oil and gas well it began last year in Furie Operating Alaska's Kitchen Lights unit.

Shell asks judge to uphold drill permits ahead of lawsuits

Subsidiaries of Royal Dutch Shell PLC are making "improper use of the judicial system" by suing to head off challenges to permits that put them closer to exploratory drilling off Alaska's northern shores, an attorney for a conservation group said Friday.

Jobs report sends oil to lowest price in 6 months

The price of oil plunged to its lowest level in nearly six months Friday, falling below $100 per barrel for the first time since February. A drop in gasoline prices can't be far behind.

Gas hydrate extraction methods to be tested in Alaska

Ongoing research in Alaska may help determine whether tapping methane hydrates deep in the permafrost and off the edges of continents will be viable in the decades to come.

Federal testing shows vast gas hydrates potential on Slope

Greenpeace activists arrested in Sweden after Shell drilling protest

Swedish police on Thursday arrested six Greenpeace activists after they boarded an icebreaker off Sweden's southeast coast, forcing authorities to tow it back to land.

If built, natural gas pipeline will terminate in Southcentral

A plan for a pipeline bringing North Slope natural gas to major commercial markets officially shifted Wednesday to one that would end in Southcentral Alaska, where the gas would be liquefied for export.

TransCanada will still pitch both pipeline options

Federal testing shows vast gas hydrates potential on Slope

The U.S. Department of Energy has completed an unprecedented successful test of harvesting the vast storehouse of methane hydrates -- natural gas trapped in permafrost -- on Alaska's North Slope.