Energy “101”, for Sarah and Everybody Else Left Behind!
A March “Chinook” is causing heavy breathing over Anchorage today. I think I heard the faint sounds of paper being shred, a sound that normally means somebody is trying to hide the evidence. And it is coming from a southerly direction. Hey, that is from Juneau. But that sound seemed old, and was just making its way this way – propagation delay. So it probably originated when Frank was vacating his office. To bad, as I hope the good stuff was archived, so someday the residents of this state – a state that supposedly has an open-records statute – could see what kind of deal Frank had put together with a little help from his friends – namely “Big Oil”. It is my firm belief that if Frank couldn’t get a stick of gas-line pipe in the ground, forget about another boom! Now I am sure had the deal gone through – if Ben wasn’t in hiding – it was most likely a one sided deal, because Frank is a business man over a working man and most likely gave away the hen-house, during his secret lock stock and barrel bottom basement sell-out negotiations. Just the way “Big Oil” likes it. But that is how “Big Oil” has maintained control over this state’s resources for some 30-years now. It is a complicated affair. No love loss here, just pure manipulation. In a nutshell, “Big Oil” gets away with rape. If you don’t believe me, you have no idea how they operate. And answer me this if you don’t believe it. How come this state is the biggest welfare state – with reference to Federal pork – when we also have the largest oil fields in North America? Gotcha! But Frank has vanished, so has his “Big Gas” proposal. And lets face it. This state has been dreaming about a gas pipeline as long as the “doom and gloom” Cyclops has been predicting “Armageddon”! But this morning, low and behold, we have before us another “Big Gas” proposal, from Sarah. I had heard faint rumors about this deal the other night, on the Santa Claus reunion broadcast – Anchorage Edition. It seems everybody present was already laughing up a storm, at Sarah’s proposal. I am not laughing. Let’s face the facts of discrimination, as it is alive and well here in Alaska, the “Lost Resource” state. I mean Todd let us down. Hey, would you have your picture pasted on the front page of the Daily Stool, as the spouse that had to leave a rough and tough oil field union worker’s job for a desk job? Gag me with a spoon! Now I hope for the best, for both of them. Hey Todd, how’s the broom sweeping? Now I am glad that Sarah hit the trail directed by the compass, as I was not about to read the official proposal. I have better things to do then read something that is in reality just a tabloid of untrue and unreasonable goals. So Sarah used the Compass to list the important aspects of her “Big Gas” proposal. It goes like this. Her so-called GIA can be whittled down to four important aspects. First on the list, timetables. Second, jobs for Alaskans. Third, gas for Alaskans and fourth and final, low tariffs. That must be a typo. As an exercise in impotence, lets cover each one in detail to see if this thing has wings. Timetables? Damn, there isn’t any steel available, so making pipe for this project is like asking the Grand Wizard to give the straw-man an out when the fields are ablaze. And it is usually permits and lawsuits, both unpredictable, that makes bench-marking and timetables only good for the day the plan was dreamed up. Unpredictable because such endeavors to proceed involves the bureaucracy. Think back Alaskan, how long and how many times was construction on the oil pipeline halted? It would be nice, but nice try Sarah! Jobs for Alaskans? Right now as we speak, there is nowhere near enough qualified help to build even a fish tank here in Alaska. Welders can’t be found, not even in the Bayou. So unless we begin a rigorous training program right away, forget about jobbing Alaskans. Plus, most Alaskans that have trades that could support building a pipeline are already gainfully employed. There is so much work going on up North in Prudhoe Bay, it is even hard to find a vacant bed. And an eighteen-hour day on the time clock seems to be the norm! Again, nice try Sarah. Gas for Alaskans? We already own the gas. And if you are talking gas for heating, how is that gas going to get from the interior to Anchorage? Now Fairbanks may benefit, but whoopee-dodo. No way in hell is Enstar in financial good standing to build a pipeline to transport gas from Fairbanks proper to Anchorage. And if they or anybody else did, it would cause a major headache for the gas owners. So having five take off points doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Case in point. When the oil pipeline was designed, at the bottom of Thompson’s Pass there was designated a take-off point to install a power turbine. As the oil comes crashing down through the pass, it is basically “free” energy. But after thirty years, there is no turbine, one that could if it were turning generate enough electricity to power Valdez and Glenallen. Why? Once again, who owns the oil? If the oil companies had decided to invest and sell power, it would have opened up the books of evidence to just how much it costs them to do business. And if ever there was a need to tap into the gas line, if built, that is what a “hot tap” is designed to do. So take-off points as part of the contract, what the hell for?. Again, nice try Sarah. Now the fourth “carrot” is really interesting. If this “low tariff” thing is not a mistake, then kiss this entire proposal “DOA”. Advertising a “low tariff” is like giving away your 2nd Amendment rights. This proposal is auguring in! See, there is no such thing as a “low tariff” in this state. Not when it comes to “Big Oil”. And remember one basic fact, “Big Oil” owns the “gas”. Even though the state’s Constitution stipulates that the resources belong to the people, it is theirs - “Big Oink Oil” - by virtue of the leases they sit on year after year after year. All we will get out of it is a pettily royalty. That is the key to Sarah gaining success over this type of venture. All she had to say was read my lips, no “new” taxes, just a 50% royalty. So let us take a look at what this tariff thing is all about. First there is a basic element of surprise that Energy “101” must emphasize upon. When crude oil comes up out of the ground, what is it good for? Nothing. It can’t be used for anything except polluting. So it must be sent somewhere to be refined. During the voyage, it takes on a nasty disposition. What I mean, since it doesn’t have a worth at the well-head, being unrefined, it takes on all these bogus freight charges along the way. Most of the time, unaccounted for charges. This is why “crude oil” is like gold. A few pennies here there and everywhere, you get the jest. Now with respect to the oil pipeline, it is the “Big Oil” that finds the oil, extracts the oil, pumps the oil, spills the oil, so who will help them profit from the oil? 2nd verse, NOT the same as the first. See, natural gas is a whole different board game. I can walk up to a well in Prudhoe Bay and attach my natural gas Coleman stove and in no time flat be brewing tea. What I am getting at, it is already useable. It is marketable out of the ground. There exists very little secret costs that can be negotiated with it, accept an inflated tariff. So the only way that “Big Oil” will be interested in a gas pipeline if it is “their” pipeline, just like the oil pipeline. In fact, the Trans-Alaska-Pipeline works entirely different then any other pipeline in the world. See, it utilizes a “decreasing” tariff. You will not find this kind of madness in any pipeline accounting books. It just doesn’t make sense, unless there is an ulterior motive. Of course there is. “MONEY, money, money, money, MONEY”. See, by owning the oil and the pipeline, they can charge themselves a “tariff”, which acts as a bottom-line write-off to the profits. It is perfectly legal, as nobody gets economically disadvantaged over this accept the State of Alaska and any independent that wants to pump oil in “their” pipeline. Think about it. How many “independents” have packed up and moved away? Sure they found oil, but when it came to shipping it down the monopolized dipstick, there was no way a profit could be made. See, the tariff is artificially inflated for the purpose of a write-off. But an independent cannot take full advantage of it, not like Alaskan style “Big Oil”. Don’t believe me? Just bore yourself with the archived and current lawsuits over this so-called “tariff”. So a low tariff doesn’t make “bean-sense”. Unless “Big Oil” has figured out some other way to fatten the hog. Which reminds me. How come the rest of the world is placing emphasis on “White Crude” instead of just pumping or liquefying natural gas? Really, there is more money being invested in this technology, now proven reliable and economically feasible with the current price of crude oil. It is outpacing all other technologies with regards to getting the biggest bang out of the world’s natural gas reserves. See, this is a proven process that takes natural gas and turns it into what is commonly referred to as “white crude” oil. From gas to liquid and stable at standard conditions – the ambient temperature and pressures typical of a crude oil pipeline. So what is the advantage of this kind of process, even if it is more expensive then just compressing and transporting natural gas in its “natural” state? Because it is still considered “crude oil”, so it can rely on all of the “extra” curricular penny pinching that makes sending this commodity to markets worldwide worthwhile. Getting Alaskan natural gas to markets in the lower 48 has nothing to do with energy needs. As far as the “Big Oil” is concerned, if it isn’t sent to markets now, maybe someday it will be needed at any cost and the secret cost-for-profit additions will not be a bother like it is now. Creative manipulations, yes indeed. In my younger days, when smoking was still an accepted past-time, when those hooked on the habit needed a fix, all one would have to do is mention the word “tariff” during an “Owner Company” meeting dealing with the Trans-Alaskan-Pipeline System – TAPS. It had to do with “anti-trust”. “Big Oil” was scared stiff-less over somebody claiming “anti-trust”, which would have allowed litigation and the Fed.’s would then have had the opportunity to subpoena the goods. And that is why these so-called take off points don’t make a damn bit of sense except nonsense! Say a local investor wanted to take gas from Fairbanks to Anchorage, by building a trunk pipeline from Sarah’s GIA line south. Well, since it would be a pipeline for the consumers, all the data that was used to determine the transportation tariff would be available for scrutiny. Running a pipeline is not very difficult to comprehend. It is manpower and materials. So having a third-party entity involved in a sideline business that opened up the door to reality is not what “Big Oil” would be friendly towards. As it could affect how they establish the inflated tariff for their own benefit. So I say goodbye yellow brick road, as the time to build a gas line is over with. We missed the opportunity, for the time being. And I wonder about this tidbit? Rumor has it that the “Big Oil” is ready to take the state to court, if the new GIA isn’t as lucrative as what Frank and “themselves” worked out behind closed doors, like it was already a negotiated contract. You know Frank will side with “Big Oil”, as far as what he agreed upon, as he had the ultimate authority to do what he thought was necessary to create a legacy. And you thought buying a jet was a joke. So, don’t hold your breath that come next summer the campgrounds and hiring halls around this state will be crowded. All in all, the “white crude” is the only way forward from here on out. And to emphasize it over and over again, “white crude” is the preferred method these days. As it is a commodity that has a market, along with multiple end users. It is economically positioned as the only way to go. And answer me this. Why is British Petroleum going Beyond Petroleum by spending millions to study the “white crude” technology developed by the Germans during WWII? And testing it right here in our own backyard, down on the Kenai, with a pilot plant project that works with the age-old technology? And why not have an interest? They have the gas, they have the pipeline. Why build another line when the oil line is only running at 42% capacity. It just doesn’t make sense to look or think otherwise. So if the state wants to play with money to entice getting the natural gas to markets, go with the existing infrastructure, as this state is not really all that interested in another “pipeline” boom. Remember the bumper sticker, wherein “Happiness is a Texan returning home with an Okie under each arm”! The bottom line, with the four challenges put forward by Sarah’s GIA, the excluded “white crude” process seems to be the most lucrative and at the same time the most sensitive. So, Alaska should remain a “one” pipeline state. It is the best we can ask for and with the quickest of returns. A rip-off, but workable all around!
A March “Chinook” is causing heavy breathing over Anchorage today. I think I heard the faint sounds of paper being shred, a sound that normally means somebody is trying to hide the evidence. And it is coming from a southerly direction. Hey, that is from Juneau. But that sound seemed old, and was just making its way this way – propagation delay. So it probably originated when Frank was vacating his office. To bad, as I hope the good stuff was archived, so someday the residents of this state – a state that supposedly has an open-records statute – could see what kind of deal Frank had put together with a little help from his friends – namely “Big Oil”. It is my firm belief that if Frank couldn’t get a stick of gas-line pipe in the ground, forget about another boom! Now I am sure had the deal gone through – if Ben wasn’t in hiding – it was most likely a one sided deal, because Frank is a business man over a working man and most likely gave away the hen-house, during his secret lock stock and barrel bottom basement sell-out negotiations. Just the way “Big Oil” likes it. But that is how “Big Oil” has maintained control over this state’s resources for some 30-years now. It is a complicated affair. No love loss here, just pure manipulation. In a nutshell, “Big Oil” gets away with rape. If you don’t believe me, you have no idea how they operate. And answer me this if you don’t believe it. How come this state is the biggest welfare state – with reference to Federal pork – when we also have the largest oil fields in North America? Gotcha! But Frank has vanished, so has his “Big Gas” proposal. And lets face it. This state has been dreaming about a gas pipeline as long as the “doom and gloom” Cyclops has been predicting “Armageddon”! But this morning, low and behold, we have before us another “Big Gas” proposal, from Sarah. I had heard faint rumors about this deal the other night, on the Santa Claus reunion broadcast – Anchorage Edition. It seems everybody present was already laughing up a storm, at Sarah’s proposal. I am not laughing. Let’s face the facts of discrimination, as it is alive and well here in Alaska, the “Lost Resource” state. I mean Todd let us down. Hey, would you have your picture pasted on the front page of the Daily Stool, as the spouse that had to leave a rough and tough oil field union worker’s job for a desk job? Gag me with a spoon! Now I hope for the best, for both of them. Hey Todd, how’s the broom sweeping? Now I am glad that Sarah hit the trail directed by the compass, as I was not about to read the official proposal. I have better things to do then read something that is in reality just a tabloid of untrue and unreasonable goals. So Sarah used the Compass to list the important aspects of her “Big Gas” proposal. It goes like this. Her so-called GIA can be whittled down to four important aspects. First on the list, timetables. Second, jobs for Alaskans. Third, gas for Alaskans and fourth and final, low tariffs. That must be a typo. As an exercise in impotence, lets cover each one in detail to see if this thing has wings. Timetables? Damn, there isn’t any steel available, so making pipe for this project is like asking the Grand Wizard to give the straw-man an out when the fields are ablaze. And it is usually permits and lawsuits, both unpredictable, that makes bench-marking and timetables only good for the day the plan was dreamed up. Unpredictable because such endeavors to proceed involves the bureaucracy. Think back Alaskan, how long and how many times was construction on the oil pipeline halted? It would be nice, but nice try Sarah! Jobs for Alaskans? Right now as we speak, there is nowhere near enough qualified help to build even a fish tank here in Alaska. Welders can’t be found, not even in the Bayou. So unless we begin a rigorous training program right away, forget about jobbing Alaskans. Plus, most Alaskans that have trades that could support building a pipeline are already gainfully employed. There is so much work going on up North in Prudhoe Bay, it is even hard to find a vacant bed. And an eighteen-hour day on the time clock seems to be the norm! Again, nice try Sarah. Gas for Alaskans? We already own the gas. And if you are talking gas for heating, how is that gas going to get from the interior to Anchorage? Now Fairbanks may benefit, but whoopee-dodo. No way in hell is Enstar in financial good standing to build a pipeline to transport gas from Fairbanks proper to Anchorage. And if they or anybody else did, it would cause a major headache for the gas owners. So having five take off points doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Case in point. When the oil pipeline was designed, at the bottom of Thompson’s Pass there was designated a take-off point to install a power turbine. As the oil comes crashing down through the pass, it is basically “free” energy. But after thirty years, there is no turbine, one that could if it were turning generate enough electricity to power Valdez and Glenallen. Why? Once again, who owns the oil? If the oil companies had decided to invest and sell power, it would have opened up the books of evidence to just how much it costs them to do business. And if ever there was a need to tap into the gas line, if built, that is what a “hot tap” is designed to do. So take-off points as part of the contract, what the hell for?. Again, nice try Sarah. Now the fourth “carrot” is really interesting. If this “low tariff” thing is not a mistake, then kiss this entire proposal “DOA”. Advertising a “low tariff” is like giving away your 2nd Amendment rights. This proposal is auguring in! See, there is no such thing as a “low tariff” in this state. Not when it comes to “Big Oil”. And remember one basic fact, “Big Oil” owns the “gas”. Even though the state’s Constitution stipulates that the resources belong to the people, it is theirs - “Big Oink Oil” - by virtue of the leases they sit on year after year after year. All we will get out of it is a pettily royalty. That is the key to Sarah gaining success over this type of venture. All she had to say was read my lips, no “new” taxes, just a 50% royalty. So let us take a look at what this tariff thing is all about. First there is a basic element of surprise that Energy “101” must emphasize upon. When crude oil comes up out of the ground, what is it good for? Nothing. It can’t be used for anything except polluting. So it must be sent somewhere to be refined. During the voyage, it takes on a nasty disposition. What I mean, since it doesn’t have a worth at the well-head, being unrefined, it takes on all these bogus freight charges along the way. Most of the time, unaccounted for charges. This is why “crude oil” is like gold. A few pennies here there and everywhere, you get the jest. Now with respect to the oil pipeline, it is the “Big Oil” that finds the oil, extracts the oil, pumps the oil, spills the oil, so who will help them profit from the oil? 2nd verse, NOT the same as the first. See, natural gas is a whole different board game. I can walk up to a well in Prudhoe Bay and attach my natural gas Coleman stove and in no time flat be brewing tea. What I am getting at, it is already useable. It is marketable out of the ground. There exists very little secret costs that can be negotiated with it, accept an inflated tariff. So the only way that “Big Oil” will be interested in a gas pipeline if it is “their” pipeline, just like the oil pipeline. In fact, the Trans-Alaska-Pipeline works entirely different then any other pipeline in the world. See, it utilizes a “decreasing” tariff. You will not find this kind of madness in any pipeline accounting books. It just doesn’t make sense, unless there is an ulterior motive. Of course there is. “MONEY, money, money, money, MONEY”. See, by owning the oil and the pipeline, they can charge themselves a “tariff”, which acts as a bottom-line write-off to the profits. It is perfectly legal, as nobody gets economically disadvantaged over this accept the State of Alaska and any independent that wants to pump oil in “their” pipeline. Think about it. How many “independents” have packed up and moved away? Sure they found oil, but when it came to shipping it down the monopolized dipstick, there was no way a profit could be made. See, the tariff is artificially inflated for the purpose of a write-off. But an independent cannot take full advantage of it, not like Alaskan style “Big Oil”. Don’t believe me? Just bore yourself with the archived and current lawsuits over this so-called “tariff”. So a low tariff doesn’t make “bean-sense”. Unless “Big Oil” has figured out some other way to fatten the hog. Which reminds me. How come the rest of the world is placing emphasis on “White Crude” instead of just pumping or liquefying natural gas? Really, there is more money being invested in this technology, now proven reliable and economically feasible with the current price of crude oil. It is outpacing all other technologies with regards to getting the biggest bang out of the world’s natural gas reserves. See, this is a proven process that takes natural gas and turns it into what is commonly referred to as “white crude” oil. From gas to liquid and stable at standard conditions – the ambient temperature and pressures typical of a crude oil pipeline. So what is the advantage of this kind of process, even if it is more expensive then just compressing and transporting natural gas in its “natural” state? Because it is still considered “crude oil”, so it can rely on all of the “extra” curricular penny pinching that makes sending this commodity to markets worldwide worthwhile. Getting Alaskan natural gas to markets in the lower 48 has nothing to do with energy needs. As far as the “Big Oil” is concerned, if it isn’t sent to markets now, maybe someday it will be needed at any cost and the secret cost-for-profit additions will not be a bother like it is now. Creative manipulations, yes indeed. In my younger days, when smoking was still an accepted past-time, when those hooked on the habit needed a fix, all one would have to do is mention the word “tariff” during an “Owner Company” meeting dealing with the Trans-Alaskan-Pipeline System – TAPS. It had to do with “anti-trust”. “Big Oil” was scared stiff-less over somebody claiming “anti-trust”, which would have allowed litigation and the Fed.’s would then have had the opportunity to subpoena the goods. And that is why these so-called take off points don’t make a damn bit of sense except nonsense! Say a local investor wanted to take gas from Fairbanks to Anchorage, by building a trunk pipeline from Sarah’s GIA line south. Well, since it would be a pipeline for the consumers, all the data that was used to determine the transportation tariff would be available for scrutiny. Running a pipeline is not very difficult to comprehend. It is manpower and materials. So having a third-party entity involved in a sideline business that opened up the door to reality is not what “Big Oil” would be friendly towards. As it could affect how they establish the inflated tariff for their own benefit. So I say goodbye yellow brick road, as the time to build a gas line is over with. We missed the opportunity, for the time being. And I wonder about this tidbit? Rumor has it that the “Big Oil” is ready to take the state to court, if the new GIA isn’t as lucrative as what Frank and “themselves” worked out behind closed doors, like it was already a negotiated contract. You know Frank will side with “Big Oil”, as far as what he agreed upon, as he had the ultimate authority to do what he thought was necessary to create a legacy. And you thought buying a jet was a joke. So, don’t hold your breath that come next summer the campgrounds and hiring halls around this state will be crowded. All in all, the “white crude” is the only way forward from here on out. And to emphasize it over and over again, “white crude” is the preferred method these days. As it is a commodity that has a market, along with multiple end users. It is economically positioned as the only way to go. And answer me this. Why is British Petroleum going Beyond Petroleum by spending millions to study the “white crude” technology developed by the Germans during WWII? And testing it right here in our own backyard, down on the Kenai, with a pilot plant project that works with the age-old technology? And why not have an interest? They have the gas, they have the pipeline. Why build another line when the oil line is only running at 42% capacity. It just doesn’t make sense to look or think otherwise. So if the state wants to play with money to entice getting the natural gas to markets, go with the existing infrastructure, as this state is not really all that interested in another “pipeline” boom. Remember the bumper sticker, wherein “Happiness is a Texan returning home with an Okie under each arm”! The bottom line, with the four challenges put forward by Sarah’s GIA, the excluded “white crude” process seems to be the most lucrative and at the same time the most sensitive. So, Alaska should remain a “one” pipeline state. It is the best we can ask for and with the quickest of returns. A rip-off, but workable all around!
CopyRight 2007 MSK Media/Eagle Rock Press
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