This section lists and provides links to the major research reports on petroleum development issues prepared by Richard Fineberg since 1990. Some of these reports can be accessed from this web site by clicking on their title; an asterisk (*) indicates that hard copies of the report can be accessed through the University of Alaska library catalogue system. If you are interested in a listed document that is not readily accessible, please contact the author using the contact page at the back of this web site.

Alaska: Oil and Gas Production and Revenue Issues

The Reduced Oil Imports Report: Recent Conservation Gains Outperform Arctic Refuge Region Oil Potential between 2012 and 2030 by a Twenty-Five to One (25:1) Ratio, Alaska Wilderness League and Northern Alaska Environmental Center (November 26, 2011).

Establishing a Rational Foundation for Review, Formulation and Implementation of Alaska's Oil and Gas Fiscal Policy (April 7-10, 2011).

Senator Murkowski's Arctic Refuge Directional Drilling Production Claims Exceed Generally Recognized Estimates of Arctic Refuge Production Potential, But Lack Credible Geotechnical Support Potential, Alaska Wilderness League (March 31, 2009).

Conservation Gains Far Outweigh Petroleum Potential of Exploration on Alaska's Outer Continental Shelf, Alaska Wilderness League, The Wilderness Society and World Wildlife Fund (March 23, 2009).

Economic Perspectives on Oil and Gas Drilling in the North Aleutian Basin: Recent EIA Data Show Dramatic Decline in Actual and Forecast Oil Imports; Conservation Gains Far Outweigh North Aleutian Basin (Bristol Bay) Oil Production Potential, World Wildlife Fund (Feb. 12, 2009).

Oil Drilling on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Coastal Plain: Economic Perspectives on a Misguided Distraction from the Nation's Energy Crisis - Recent EIA Data Show Actual and Forecast Oil Imports Are Declining; Conservation Gains Far Outweigh Arctic Refuge Production Potential, Alaska Wilderness League (Jan. 22, 2009).

Unaddressed Questions: Critical Questions about the State's Findings on the TransCanada AGIA Proposal to Deliver North Slope Natural Gas to Commercial Markets, Alaska Public Interest Research Group (July 22, 2008).

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Independent Analysis of
CBO’s Federal Revenue Projections and Related National Energy Issues, U.S. House of Representatives (September 14, 2005).

The Profitability and Economic Viability of Alaska North Slope and Associate Pipeline Operations, Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council (April 27, 2005).

Projected Bonus Payments from Proposed Leasing on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Coastal Plain Greatly Exceed North Slope Historical Trends, Alaska Wilderness League (January 15, 2005 [revised]).

How Much Is Enough? Estimated Industry Profits from Alaska North Slope Production and Associated Pipeline Operations, 1993 - 1998 (Preliminary Report), Oilwatch Alaska (Dec. 9, 1998).*

Alaska North Slope Production Prospects: Preliminary Analysis, for the Northern Alaska Environmental Center (February 22, 1995).*

Alaska North Slope Oil Profits and Proposed Environmental Mitigation Measures, for presentation to the N. American Conference, International Association for Energy Economics (1993; updated August 1994).*

Current and Future Cook Inlet Production Profits: A Preliminary Assessment, Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council (1994).*

North Slope Profits and Production Prospects, Alaska State Legislature (1992).*

North Slope Production Prospects, 1990-2010, Alaska State Legislature (1990).*

Oil and Gas Revenue Disputes: Status Report and Recommendations, Alaska State Legislature (1990).*

Trans-Alaska Pipeline System: Economics

Difference Between RCA's 2002 TAPS Tariff Order and State's 1985 Pipeline Tariff Agreement Costs State More Than $400 per Minute, Alaska Budget Report (Feb. 28, 2007).

Trans-Alaska Pipeline System Dismantling, Removal and Restoration (DR&R): Background Report and Recommendations, prepared for the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council (June 24, 2004).

The Big Squeeze: TAPS and the Departure of Major Oil Companies Who Found Oil on Alaska's North Slope, Oilwatch Alaska (October 1997).*

Hidden Billions: The TAPS DR&R Provision, under contract to Stan Stephens, Valdez, Alaska (1992).*

The 1985 TAPS Tariff Settlement: A Case Study in the Effects of Confidentiality on Information Available to Decision Makers (supplemental report to "Oil and Gas Revenue Disputes"), Alaska State Legislature (1990).*

Trans-Alaska Pipeline System: Environmental

Trans-Alaska Pipeline System Strategic Reconfiguration: A Narrative Case Study, Alaska Forum for Environmental Responsibility and the Alaska Wilderness League (June 4, 2009).

The Emperor's New Hose: How Big Oil Gets Rich Gambling with Alaska's Environment, Alaska Forum for Environmental Responsibility (June 2002).*

Pipeline in Peril: A Status Report on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, Alaska Forum for Environmental Responsibility (September 1996).*

Pipeline in Peril: Alaska At Risk on the 20th Anniversary of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, Alaska Forum for Environmental Responsibility (update report, June 5, 1997).*

Oil Spills

BP's Problems: Chronology of Events Affecting Alaska's Petroleum Operations Since September 2006 Hearings, Alaska Forum for Environmental Responsibility and Alaska Wilderness League (May 15, 2007). (Update to March 15, 2006 and Sept. 3, 2006 reports.).

"Shocking?" Evidence Mounts from Alaska and Elsewhere that BP's Inadequate North Slope Performance Should Have Been No Surprise to Public Officials or Monitors - North Slope Corrosion Problems Fit Industry Pattern: Substandard Performance on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and Elsewhere in Alaska Places Workers, Environment and Nation's Oil Supply at Undue Risk, Alaska Forum for Environmental Responsibility (Sept. 3, 2006). (Update to March 15, 2006 report.).

BP North Slope Spill Reveals A History of Substandard Environmental Performance, Alaska Forum for Environmental Responsibility (March 15, 2006).

ExxonMobil Corporation, Its Alaska Operations and the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: Background Report, prepared for the Alaska Wilderness League (March 2004).

Praise the Pipe and Pass the Money: Facts and Reflections on Big Oil in Alaska Ten Years after the Exxon Valdez Spill, by Research Associates, Ester, Alaska (March 1999).*

Sakhalin

Seismic Risk and the Onshore Pipeline Portion of Sakhalin Energy Investment Company's Sakhalin-II Phase 2 Project: Unanswered Questions, World Wildlife Fund - Russia and Pacific Environment (Feb. 5, 2004).

"A Global Perspective on Sakhalin Energy Investment Corporation (SEIC) and the Sakahlin II Project" and "A Global Perspective on Sakhalin II, Part II: Insuring Sakhalin's Fair Share," prepared for Sakhalin Environment Watch (December 1997).

"Pipelines and the Petroleum Revenue 'Take:' Alaska's Experience and Implications for Kazakhstan," prepared for NGO Green Salvation of Kazakhstan (July 2003).

"Securing the Take: Petroleum Litigation in Alaska," in Caspian Oil Windfalls: Who Will Benefit? (New York: Open Society Institute, 2003), pp. 53-69 (download whole book).

Belize Petroleum Economics: A Preliminary Inquiry into An Unusual Situation, Belize Coalition to Save Our Natural Heritage (July 25, 2011).