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.
An unexpected agency weighs in on offshore Arctic oil drilling: NASA
NASA says a proposed oil lease sale in the Beaufort Sea could impact rocket launches from the Poker Flat Research Range near Fairbanks.
Trump administration moves to open environmentally sensitive National Petroleum Reserve land to oil drilling
The Interior department on Tuesday announced it is beginning the environmental review process to re-do the management plan for NPR-A, which is west of Prudhoe Bay.
Shrugging off lawsuit, Trump administration forges ahead with offshore Arctic drilling proposal
If the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is going to hold an oil lease sale in the Beaufort Sea in 2019, the environmental review process needs to start now.
Dunleavy selects Corri Feige as natural resources commissioner
Corri Feige is not new to the agency she will now lead — she was previously the head of DNR’s Division of Oil and Gas under Gov. Bill Walker.
Court hears arguments in case that could curtail Arctic Ocean oil drilling
The U.S. District Court in Anchorage heard arguments in a case that could determine whether millions of acres of Arctic waters should be closed to oil development. Listen now
Trump administration downsizes NPR-A lease sale after little interest last year
At its annual oil and gas lease sale, the Bureau of Land Management will offer 254 tracts for bid. Last year, the Trump administration put 900 tracts up for bid. Listen now
With salmon ballot measure’s defeat, Pebble celebrates
In an interview Wednesday, Pebble CEO Tom Collier said even though his company’s mine proposal wasn’t always at the forefront of the debate, the salmon habitat initiative was, in some ways, all about Pebble.
Alaska voters strike down ‘Stand for Salmon’ ballot initiative
"No” voters are leading by a wide margin. Ballot Measure 1 is down 63 percent to 37 percent. If approved, the ballot initiative would add new protections for Alaska’s salmon habitat. Listen now
A warming Arctic means a change of plans for offshore drilling project
As the Arctic warms, Hilcorp is already having to tweak its proposal to accommodate climate change. And future companies looking to drill offshore in the Arctic may have additional changes to plan for. Listen now
To carry out salmon habitat measure, Alaska must decide what ‘significant’ means
Part of the uncertainty on how the salmon habitat initiative could affect things like small-scale hydro projects or mom-and-pop placer mines hinges on a single phrase in the ballot measure: "significant adverse effects." Listen now
ConocoPhillips to begin work on $1 billion North Slope oil development this winter
ConocoPhillips today announced the company has made the final decision to build a new, roughly $1 billion drill site on the North Slope. Listen now
Trump administration approves first oil production in federal Arctic waters
Called the Liberty Project, Hilcorp aims to build a 24-acre gravel island in shallow waters about five miles from shore and drill for oil from there. Listen now
Feds approve second Conoco oil project in National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska
According to Conoco, the Greater Mooses Tooth 2 drill site could produce up to 40,000 barrels of oil per day. The company aims to begin construction this winter, and complete the project by 2021.
Q&A: ConocoPhillips Alaska president discusses his prediction for a ‘North Slope Renaissance’
In a presentation to an Anchorage business group on Monday, Marushack said Conoco’s projects are part of a new wave of oil production in Alaska, something he called a “North Slope Renaissance.”
Campaign complaint filed against salmon ballot backers
Stand for Alaska claims Stand for Salmon, Yes for Salmon and the Alaska Center are improperly reporting how they are coordinating the campaign, underplaying the Alaska Center's role. Stand for Alaska also alleges they aren't properly disclosing campaign contribution sources. Stand for Alaska denies the allegations. Listen now
Opponents pack Anchorage hearing on salmon habitat ballot measure
A ballot initiative aimed at protecting salmon habitat is facing stiff opposition from industry groups, unions and Native corporations in Alaska. That opposition was on full display at an Anchorage hearing on the measure this week. Listen now
As administration pursues ANWR drilling, Trump official accuses federal employees of creating ‘road bumps’
In an interview last month, Balash describee what he called a “really difficult management challenge” with Fish and Wildlife Service employees. He said during a recent meeting with the agency in Alaska, he felt employees weren’t eager to carry out the new law. Listen now
State fines group opposing salmon habitat initiative for violating naming rule
The Alaska Public Offices Commission says the group violated a rule that requires an organization fighting an initiative to clearly state its opposition in its name. Listen now
As climate change looms large for the oil industry, what could that mean for Alaska?
In Alaska, oil companies are already seeing the consequences of climate change. But the industry is also grappling with the issue on a much higher level — in a way that could eventually affect whether or not they pursue projects in the Arctic. Listen now
The Culprits | The Big Thaw: Ep. 5
Climate change is now an undeniable reality for the oil industry. It threatens their reputations, their business models - and in some cases, the actual physical infrastructure they’ve built to extract all that oil in the first place.