A Conference on Investment in Alaska …

Joe Perkins of Stoel Rives and I have been working with Law Seminars International over the last couple of months to put together a conference on oil, gas and mining investment in Alaska.  With the passage of SB 21, oil & gas investors once again are giving Alaska projects a hard look.  While dipping recently, long term increases in prices have done the same on the mining side.

The conference is an effort to provide a forum for discussing the issues surrounding investment in Alaska.  The goal is to help current and potential investors better understand the current investment climate in these sectors, and to provide a forum to discuss the gains made to date, and the additional work that remains to be done, to help bring additional focus to Alaskan opportunities.

Speakers include members of the Administration, key legislators, experts in various areas affecting investment and current and potential investors.  Topics include:

• The current competitive position of Alaska’s resource industries
• Recent legislative developments in Alaska that affect Alaska’s competitiveness for oil and gas production and mining
• Oil and gas tax reform
• Statewide permitting reform
• The state of Alaska’s effort to become the primary agency for 404 permits
• Hydraulic fracturing and other operational regulations and issues
• The impact of Section 7(i) Native Claims Settlement Act; special issues for development of Native Corporation resources
• How the markets view prospects in Alaska

I am proud of having helped bring this conference together, to serve as a founding co-chair and view it as a significant opportunity to bring key stakeholders together to discuss a topic critical to Alaska’s future.  Keithley Consulting, LLC is a co-host of the reception following the first day of the conference.  I am appreciative of Law Seminars International for approaching with the idea and applying their know how and resources in making the conference a reality.

The conference is September 26 -27 in Anchorage, at the Dena’ina Center.  The full agenda is available by clicking on the graphic above, or here.  We will continue to write more on these pages about the conference as it approaches.