Just a few short months ago, we would have thought that COVID-19 was almost behind us and that it was only a matter of time before mine operators would no longer have to worry about the spread of the disease…

In my latest column for State Tax Notes, I provide an update on Alaska’s budget woes, on possible tax hikes and fiscal uncertainty still faced by the state’s taxpayers, and on the state’s ongoing inability to make payment to holders…

In previous columns for State Tax Notes, I have discussed H.B. 331, which was passed by the Alaska State Legislature to remedy the state’s failure to pay off outstanding rebatable oil and gas production tax credits. However, the Bill faced…

In my latest column for State Tax Notes, I look at the challenges that Alaska, and particularly the state’s oil and gas industry, has faced in 2020 thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, low oil prices and the threat of a…

The Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources has issued an Order granting a one year extension for mining payments due under Alaska Statute 38.05.210 (Annual Labor) and Alaska Statute 38.05.211 (Annual Rental).

In response to COVID-19, and in an…

Of interest to mineral projects, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) continues to attempt to revise some of its Endangered Species Act (ESA) implementing regulations to align with the relatively recent decision from the Supreme Court in Weyerhaeuser Co.…

The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (“AOGCC”) is considering revisions to 20 AAC 25.025 of the Alaska Administrative Code.  One revision would “allow a reduction in the requisite bond amount if an operator demonstrates that it has a bond…