Elizabeth Harball, Alaska's Energy Desk - Anchorage
Elizabeth Harball is a reporter with Alaska's Energy Desk, covering Alaska’s oil and gas industry and environmental policy. She is a contributor to the Energy Desk’s Midnight Oil podcast series. Before moving to Alaska in 2016, Harball worked at E&E News in Washington, D.C., where she covered federal and state climate change policy. Originally from Kalispell, Montana, Harball is a graduate of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Planning for 2019 NPR-A oil lease sale begins as feds pursue opening more Arctic land to drilling
The Interior department is re-evaluating the management plan for the reserve, aiming to open up land that's currently off-limits to oil leasing.
ConocoPhillips picks up another oil prospect west of Prudhoe Bay
ConocoPhillips announced it intends to buy 21,000 acres from Caelus Natural Resources, which includes the Nuna oil discovery.
Interior: Arctic Refuge lease sale still on track for 2019
The Trump administration remains on track to hold an oil lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge this year, a top Interior Department official today confirmed.
Trump administration appeals ruling that blocked Arctic offshore drilling
The Trump administration Tuesday appealed a federal court decision that blocked plans to re-open vast portions of Alaska's Arctic waters to oil drilling.
Major planned North Slope oil project gets key federal permit
Papua New Guinea-based Oil Search today announced it received a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers for its Pikka development, planned west of Prudhoe Bay.
State agencies at odds over new law to address ‘orphan’ oil wells
This month, the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission started requiring oil and gas companies to put up substantially higher bonds to cover the wells they have drilled. But a different state agency -- the Department of Natural Resources -- is criticizing the new law and asking for it to be rescinded.
How a small, Arctic village found itself in the middle of Alaska’s new oil boom
Alaska is on the verge of a new oil boom -- and the village of Nuiqsut is right in the middle. Now the village faces tough choices. How do you maintain a way of life when the oil industry is knocking on your door?
The Neighbors | Midnight Oil
Alaska is on the verge of a new oil boom -- and the village of Nuiqsut is right in the middle.
Murkowski asks for longer Pebble comment period
The current 90-day public comment period ends on May 30. The senator wants the Army Corps of Engineers to give the public an additional 30 days to weigh in.
New York Times reporter discusses story revealing ANWR oil test well was ‘worthless’
This week, the New York Times published a story uncovering a long-held Alaska secret: it revealed that the only exploratory oil well ever drilled in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was "worthess." Alaska's Energy Desk reporter Elizabeth Harball talked to Henry Fountain, one of the New York Times reporters who broke the story.
Pebble backs lawsuit to halt Bristol Bay seafood association’s funding for anti-mine groups
Six Bristol Bay commercial fishermen are suing a regional seafood association they belong to, challenging over $250,000 in contracts it made with groups that advocate against the proposed Pebble Mine.
Seeking hidden ‘pockets of oil’, BP takes on a massive project at Prudhoe Bay
The 3-D seismic survey is part of the effort to keep the oil field alive for decades to come.
Judge blocks Trump administration move to undo Obama ban on Arctic oil leasing
U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason, in an opinion released late Friday, said President Donald Trump exceeded his authority by issuing an executive order in 2017 that reopened large parts of the Beaufort and Chukchi seas to offshore oil leasing. Former President Barack Obama had protected those areas from development in his second term.
Groups say they will sue unless EPA renews effort to restrict oil spill dispersants
The plaintiffs say the federal Environmental Protection Agency is shirking its duty to update its rules so they reflect the latest science on how dispersants affect the environment.
Dunleavy appointee to lead state environmental agency hits back at critics
Jason Brune's appointment is controversial because he worked as the public affairs and government relations manager for mining company Anglo American when it backed the proposed Pebble Mine.
State says BP must prove more Prudhoe Bay wells aren’t at risk of ‘catastrophic failure’
In a recent order, the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, a state oil and gas watchdog agency, said BP "has no evidence that permafrost subsidence will not result in sudden catastrophic failure" at other Prudhoe Bay wells.
North Slope village tribal government sues over ConocoPhillips’ drilling plans
Along with five environmental groups, the Native Village of Nuiqsut is challenging the Bureau of Land Management's approval of ConocoPhillips' exploratory drilling plans this winter in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
Dunleavy fires head of state oil and gas watchdog agency
In a letter sent Tuesday, the governor informed Hollis French he is "immediately" being removed from his position as chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
Findings released regarding governor’s bid to fire head of state oil and gas watchdog agency
The report supports some, but not all, of the governor's charges against the chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, Hollis French. French believes the report exonerates him from what he calls "the most serious charges."
Alaska Native issues feature prominently at hearing on Arctic Refuge oil leasing
At the Anchorage hearing on oil leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska Native voices provided passionate testimony on both sides of the issue.