Alaska Style Beheading

Come next summer, Alaska will witness a chain-saw “beheading” like never witnessed before! Yes, as four huge crude oil storage tanks at the Trans-Alaska-Pipeline's terminus in Valdez gets a face-lift. Which means that 2-million barrels of storage is no longer necessary for holding the oil coming down the 800-mile pipeline. This is the beginning of the “END”! Originally, the storage capacity was 9-million total. But due many reason, one being an aging oil field on the decline, well the owners of the pipeline want to behead these tanks, following an excuse it doesn't want to deal with massive snow removal efforts in the winter. So yes, approval has been granted to chop off the tanks' head – making these steel monstrosities forever unusable. This is something Alaskans need to take note of, along with the doom & gloom coming from the Governor Walker House, about this state's deficit due low oil prices and a reduction in oil coming out of the ground. See, Parnell wanted his legacy to be “1-Million” in that pipeline, like how a “Million Man” march finds popularity, in this case the “man” has been replaced by a bucket. Many of us remember the good old “Glory Be” days, when well over 2-million came rambling down that pipeline, day after day after day for several years. It was the sweet smell of success, as those tanks burped for relief as the state treasury went overflowing in dough. Yes, Alaskan North Slope oil has a “sweet” smell to it! So why did Parnell fail, as today we see an average of maybe ¼ the design limit coming down that pipeline, half of what Parnell promised with tax breaks and incentives to entice more production? It is called lobbying the wrong target! See, “Big Oil” was ready to accept Parnell's challenge, if there was a benefit. But the breaks that came out of Juneau short-circuited “Big Oil” and provided the “Independents” relief unequal to what was afforded the “Mainstay”, and that seems to be the interest even today. If I were “Big Oil” surely I would be pissed. It started down this path of “No Return” with Frank MurCowpie, a damaging “mission” that was reinforced by Sarah Palin and then a carryover with Parnell – wherein Podunk oil operators were enticed into trying to squeeze out what was left behind by the “Big Bangers”. But “Big Oil” here in Alaska knows what to do and after 35-years in control of our oil wealth's destiny, it is very hard to change horses in midstream – in fact it is dangerous! Since “Big Oil” went short-circuited, so did Parnell's plan get sabotaged. His legacy will be “Even Less Oil”! Alaskan oil is totally different then what goes on everywhere else, globally speaking. No, there is no “Alaskan Oil 101” that actually finds credibility into how “Big Alaskan Oil” thinks and operates, as it has been kept a secret – the reason the “Independents” have and will continue towards failure some more. It is stupidity, to think one can challenge “Big Oil” as eminent domain takes on a different meaning and obligation above the North 65 degree parallel – Prudhoe Bay. Look, it was not the state that invested $billion$ in effort to get this oil out of the ground, it was money from private industry that had already made it big in the crude oil markets, like EXXON, ARCO and SOHIO. And they are not about to let it slip away – even with those today still in existence under a different namesake! Hey, what's in a name anyway? Now of all the Independents that crawled up Palin's ass, it was Pioneer Natural Resources that demonstrated the best possibility of success! That outfit has packed up and moved back to Texas, what does that tell outside investors? I would hate to be a shareholder of that outfit, as it is estimated it lost close to half a billion down-hole in Alaska. Talk about blowing good dough out an anal hole! Sad, but like already eluded upon, they should have known better – to stay home! Not even this state's experts have any idea of what goes on behind closed doors, in those Anchorage based “Towers” coveted by “Big Oils” presence that influences what the state gets in return for oil development up north. OK, if I were asked to write a book called “Alaskan Oil 101 for the Alaska Legislature & Kindergärtners”, page 1 – Don't Be Stupid! And law suits have proven to be unrealistic when the state frowned upon attempts by “Big Oil” to allow “Confidentiality” during litigation – hey it's our sovereign domain and our resources, yet time and time again it appears that “Big Oil” hires the best and brightest of attorneys – and it doesn't hurt that time and money is on their side. And one would have to had worked for all the “Majors” and stolen away trade secrets in efforts to have an understanding of what actually went on to allow the North Slope to be considered the “Mother of Cash Cows”, a name coined by powerful representatives of the U.S. Congress during hearings on the Hill. See, those in the know had a hard time understanding what was going on in Alaska, but realized it was a profit making venture – but even our very own Congress that was still somewhat unscathed by the “Lobby” back many eyasr ago, they could not even get the “Big Oil” CEOs to speak up, wherein the 5th Amendment proved its worth. Even during the aftermath hearing of Joe's wreck, do you think were learned anything else about how EXXON operates here in Alaska? Hell NO, as the attorneys were quick to caution it had nothing to do with EXXON's “onshore” business dealings. And remember when then Governor Cowpie threatened to shut down the pipeline, we never heard a peek from him after that! And even if an individual did have the opportunity to be able to claim a working relationship with the “Majors” and stood to understand something about the way business is directed, one would have to be in a position that allowed this secret information to be readily available. Some 17-Billion barrels of oil has come down that pipeline, for a project that was supposed to be short-lived, like maybe 10-years at the most. It has been in operation long enough for retirement time jobs, both within the industry and for state workers involved in the oil boom. Yes, it is still a “Boom” in some respects. Look, the infrastructure held as an asset by “Big Oil” in Prudhoe Bay is totally paid for, as is the pipeline. Basically speaking, take away the cost to feed the workers prime rib and lobster, and it is all “Cream”. Back in the 90s when oil dropped to $7.50 after market pricing and drilling rigs were sent to the rust bucket yard – at that time it was cheaper to get oil out of the ground in Prudhoe Bay then what the Saudis were accustomed with. Yes, how about $2.50, which meant still a generous return of 5-bucks, when 2-million a day was the throughput. You do the math! And getting back to that 17-billion barrels so far, let me do you the honors of the math for that – how about in excess of a $Trillion$, in net profits! The golden un-sworn rule is $70-dollars profit per barrel, once it is refined and delivered through the supply chain – regardless if oil is $10-dollars a barrel or upwards $100, as this target offers a cushion for the lows and the highs. Ever wonder why Alaska has been blessed with an oil pipeline and not a natural gas pipeline, for all that “Stranded Gas”? It is simple, and what many of the “Oil Company” executives will entertain audiences of workers with, especially here in Alaska. I can take a Coleman stove out to any producing well up north and hook it up and in no time boiling water. It's a finished product, it is already “marketable” out of the ground. But with the “Black Gold”, it ain't worth nothing until such time it is, well it's a long story but along the way there exists all kinds of opportunity to add a penny here and another penny there – get the point. By purposely making it “unmarketable” until such time that definition fits the “profit portfolio”, well that is why we have in Alaska “Oil Companies”, not “Natural Gas Companies”! It should be starting to jell, as to what “Oil” in Alaska is all about. And yes, I for one had the opportunity to move around in the oil patch as I worked for the pipeline, worked for BP as a contractor, and worked for an “Independent”. So I learned an awful lot about what goes on that remains a secret today. See, the state can contract out with “outside” experts, with economic specialist from our own university that have followed “Big Oil” since day one, but with the secrecy that surrounds the “Equation of Greed”, it is still a long shot and these guys come close, but not close enough to render a reason as too why it is what it is – beside coming to the conclusion, it is “Lucrative”, for some. And being an IT guy, I had access to information that was very secretive. Hey, I was the guy that was called on to install “encryption” equipment when an exploration well went “tight”, which meant in reality, silence is golden so shut up or else find another job. So I was privy too some very interesting data, that paints a very good picture of what “Big Oil” was up too and still up too, with control over our resources. And due my association with an Independent, I was made privy into how “Big Oil” despises the “Independents, with “Shared Services” agreements, which gets down to the mitty-gritty of what it actually takes, in dollars to the penny, to get oil out of the ground and conditioned as marketable, that is where the value sign gets attached – after all kinds of reductions then some and totally controlled by the “Big Oil”. Look, if Parnell wanted his legacy of “1-Million” to become a reality, a simple “Executive Order” would have sent that line into overdrive overnight. How, it is called “Royalty Relief”. And Walker can perform the same magic, instead of just talking up a good storm. We cannot fight “Big Oil”, they own us, but that has not been a “Bad” thing – think about it! Yes, but “Big Oil” must realize that a so-called “friendly” business climate that is equitable all around, that opportunity has diminished for any such “equitable” relief and maybe decided it is time to start moving out and on. With the way BP is selling out and with indications that the infrastructure is no longer needed, it will be a little at a time and this is wherein we must start to realize, it's over with! And look at the most recent “Lease Bid” results, WHO? I doubt if some of them outside outfits that threw down good “Shareholder” loot know anything about Prudhoe Bay, except what they see on “Ice Road Truckers”. There will be and continue to be a steady stream of oil, but we best get prepared for spending cuts and a natural gas pipeline is not the answer. So what is? First and foremost, stop giving away that welfare check, stop feeding the fringe that is moving here to screw up what we were hoping to save for the next generation, and hope that many pack up and leave, just like Pioneer did – as when things gets tough, these are the cry babies that have not and cannot contribute anything worthwhile in efforts to maintain what Alaska was “Once” all about. Maybe Alaska will get back to be a state it was before we found cowards at the helm, when “Independence” ruled, wherein those taking the gamble to live here was for a reason of “Independence” over that of a dependent mindset. The best thing the state could do today, is make “Big Oil” an offer it cannot refuse - buy it out outright. And it appears the time is ripe for such a drastic undertaking and we still have the “loot” to make such an offer, else the cowards may spend that money, then what? Yes, takeover and allow a state controlled industry, yes a state run oil company. Pay them a royalty for the gas left behind, and pay them a handsome settlement and buy their going away plane ticket. Which means we finally have control for what is left. Sure it will mean limited job opportunities, but when it is said and done with – we will have before us a battleship of an opportunity that could maintain a state budget that meets the expectations of services needed, instead of expectations of a legislature that has failed, time and time again at reigning in the excessive spending that has provided “zero” towards a sustainable jobs infrastructure! It is still not too late, but time is running out as is the oil – and that amounts to our freedoms! But we can continue to spend “$millions$ trying to figure it out, but good luck as “Big Oil” has many years behind itself figuring out ways to lead us astray, as too how they really conduct business as that secret has been “Golden”!