Alaska's BIZ SENSE by yourDragonXi Δ 3rd of January 2014 Ω 12:01 AM

ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ
~ The Office of Governor ~ Elections ~ Anchorage Daily News	~ KTUU.COM ~ University of Alaska ~ Travel Alaska	~ ENERGY ~ Alaska Business Monthly ~ Bioenergy
~ Alaska Alliance ~ Alaska Journal of Commerce ~ Mining	~ UAS test site ~ sense for Ξ ~ Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson	~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ
~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ	~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ	~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ
~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ	~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ	~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ
~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ	~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ	~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ
~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ	~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ	~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ
~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ	~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ	~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ
~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ	~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ ~ sense for Ξ	~ sense for Ξ ξ ξ
«U.S. BIZ Sensing	Θ	Θ
ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ The Office of Governor

»The Office of Governor

select: ~[Σ] ~[Δ]!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Elections

»Elections

select: ~[Σ] ~[Ω] ~[Δ]!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Anchorage Daily News

»Anchorage Daily News

select: ~[Σ] ~[Ω] ~[Δ]!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ KTUU.COM

»KTUU.COM

select: ~[Σ] ~[Ω] ~[Δ]!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ University of Alaska

»University of Alaska

select: ~[Σ] ~[Ω] ~[Δ]!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Travel Alaska

»Travel Alaska

select: ~[Σ] ~[Ω] ~[Δ]!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ ENERGY

Alaska
ξ enduring the coldest temperatures of any state in the U.S.
ξ Alaskans consume more energy per capita than anywhere else in country
ξ is the second-ranking oil-producing state - second only to Texas -
ξ remains a leading U.S. source of crude oil
ξ ranking third in both crude oil reserves and production The North Slope contains roughly ten billion barrels of oil,
ξ while the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska is the largest oil field in North America

select: ~[Σ] ~[Ω] ~[Δ]!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Alaska Business Monthly

»Alaska Business Monthly

select: ~[Σ] ~[Ω] ~[Δ]!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Bioenergy

»Bioenergy
ξ to improve biomass to be grown for biofuels-including selected trees and grasses
ξ by increasing their yield, quality and ability to adapt to extreme environments
ξ researchers will rely on the most advanced techniques of modern genomics
ξ to develop breeding and other strategies to improve the crops
ξ the research will be conducted on switchgrass, poplar and pine, among other plants

select: ~[Σ] ~[Ω] ~[Δ]!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Alaska Alliance

»Alaska Alliance

select: ~[Σ] ~[Ω] ~[Δ]!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Alaska Journal of Commerce

»Alaska Journal of Commerce

Oil & Gas

North Slope producers and TransCanada

ξ open the commercial alignment to proceed with the big North Slope gas pipeline and LNG project
ξ will North Slope producers and explorers quicken the tempo of new development
ξ enough to convince Alaskans that Senate Bill 21, the oil tax reform bill passed by state legislators

Shell Chukchi Sea exploration

ξ the company has at least $5 billion sunk in its Arctic offshore exploration since 2005,
ξ when leases were first acquired, and has nothing to show for it except two partially-drilled holes done in 2012
ξ lawsuits, changes in government rules and operational mishaps,
ξ mainly the loss of the Kulluk drillship in a 2012 New Year�s Eve Gulf of Alaska storm, have dogged Shell�s efforts
ξ Shell has filed an exploration plan for 2014 with the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM,
ξ that lays out a strengthened program for renewed drilling in the Chukchi Sea

Cook Inlet development led by independents Hilcorp Energy, Buccaneer Energy and Furie Operating Alaska

ξ Hilcorp�s activity is centered on redevelopment of mature producing fields in the Inlet
ξ it is highly likely this will continue, unless oil prices crash
ξ Furie is planning the installation of a gas production platform
ξ Buccaneer�s work will depend on pending release of new resource estimates for its Cosmopolitan gas discovery
ξ and on its ability to resume exploration drilling on other offshore projects with a jack-up rig

Shell Beaufort on hold while Chukchi active

ξ although Shell is drilling on two prospects where discoveries were previously made,
ξ Burger in the Chukchi Sea and Siivuk in the Beaufort,
ξ the prospects for major finds in the Chukchi are considered greater,
ξ causing the company to focus its available resources there
ξ exploration plan calls for a fleet of 29 vessels and
ξ aerial support from a support base in Barrow and
ξ an alternative base in Wainwright
ξ oil spill response equipment would be kept on hand near Kotzebue Sound
ξ and a standby rig, the Polar Pioneer, will be in Dutch Harbor
ξ drillship Noble Discoverer would be used for drilling,
ξ but it will have had considerable overhauls and upgrades to resolve problems encountered in 2012

Arctic offshore drilling

ξ considered to have the best prospects for halting, or even reversing,
ξ the decline of oil flowing through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System
ξ offshore prospects are large while
ξ onshore prospects on the North Slope are more modest

Oil tax reform

ξ if passed by the Legislature, the North Slope producers have announced new drilling and new projects
ξ that total about $4.6 billion in new investment, and
ξ that could add about 55,000 barrels per day more oil production by 2018,
ξ although about 18,000 barrels per day of this will come from CD-5,
ξ a project by ConocoPhillips that was planned and approved before the Legislature�s passage of SB 21 last April.

ConocoPhillips and Anadarko Petroleum project

ξ GMT-1 in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska
ξ eight miles west of CD-5, which is also within the petroleum reserve although barely
ξ because it is near the Colville River, the eastern boundary of NPR-A

Mustang field project by Brooks Range Petroleum

ξ an Alaska-based company

Nuna

ξ a satellite of the small Oooguruk field previously owned by Pioneer Natural Resources,
ξ which sold its North Slope assets for $550 million to Caelus, another Texas-based independent in September 2013.

Repsol

ξ made three oil discoveries in three exploration wells drilled last winter,
ξ two of them that could be commercially viable
ξ more test drilling is planned this winter to delineate the two most attractive discoveries

Linc Energy

ξ is in the second winter of test drilling at the small Umiat oil field in the far southeast NPR-A
ξ Umiat is where early U.S.-government sponsored drilling found oil in shallow formations,
ξ but the find was uneconomic at the time
ξ Linc hopes to harness new technology, like horizontal production wells, to produce up to 50,000 barrels per day

select: ~[Σ] ~[Ω] ~[Δ]!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Mining

»Graphite One Resources
ξ a mineral exploration company focused on graphite
ξ and specifically the development of the world class Graphite Creek Project located on the Seward Peninsula of Alaska
ξ Graphite Creek has the potential to be the world�s largest known large flake graphite deposit
ξ based on first year drilling of 2.2km of an 18km strike length,
ξ Graphite Creek has a 43-101 inferred resource of 164.5Mt at 4.61% Cg,
ξ including an at surface high grade zone of 7.8Mt at 13.5% Cg.
ξ te fundamentals for success of this project include:
ξ stable pro-mining jurisdiction, excellent shipping location to the world�s major markets,
ξ excellent grades and scalable production potential, low capex and operating cost, very low strip ratio,
ξ high percentage large flake graphite, increasing market demand for graphite and an experienced management team

ξ In the coming years Alaska may have the country�s only producing graphite mine.
ξ Graphite One Resources, a Vancouver-based exploration company, has begun permitting on 129 graphite claims
ξ at its Graphite Creek prospect on the Seward Peninsula
ξ the mineral deposit is on the northern slope of the Kigluaik Mountains
ξ about 40 miles north of Nome and about 10 miles from spur-road access off of the Taylor Highway
ξ the company conducted a $5.5 million drilling campaign in 2012
ξ that showed great promise for the prospect from its 18 drill-core sites
ξ the company is in the early stages of an expected three-year permitting process and
ξ hopes to start developing the site as soon as late 2016
ξ the estimated development cost of the mine could be from $120 million to $150 million
ξ at that price it could have as little as a 1.5-year initial payback window
ξ the graphite deposit has inferred resources totaling 23.4 million short tons
ξ a highlight of the deposit is 8.6 million tons of near-surface material with a 13.5 percent mineralization
ξ another subsurface portion of 27.9 million tons of base has a 9.7 percent flake graphite base
ξ the near-surface deposit runs for approximately 1.3 miles along the base of the mountain range,
ξ and the entire host formation is continuous over about 10 miles
ξ at an average long-term production rate of 20,000 tons of graphite per year,
ξ the mine would almost certainly have a 50-year life, but additional finds could extend that out to 100-plus years
ξ a final drill season is needed to pin down exactly where to start site development
ξ the 8.6 million-ton, high-density deposit would equate to more than 1 million ounces of gold
ξ at current gold prices of about $1,300 per ounce and a conservative flake graphite price of $1,200 per ton
ξ the large flake graphite present at Graphite Creek makes the prospect especially promising has traded at $1,400 to $1,500 per ton
ξ after hitting a near-term bottom of about $1,200
ξ because of the relatively high concentration of graphite necessary to make a deposit viable
ξ when compared to copper or precious metals, less ore needs to be processed in graphite mining
ξ the Graphite Creek mine will have a much smaller footprint than some of the other surface mines in the state
ξ ore processing projected to be at 200,000 tons to 400,000 tons per year
ξ graphite operations don�t use chemicals such as cyanide like some metal mines do to leach material from the ore

ξ the deposit�s location along the continuous mountain slope would make for a �bench� mine along the slope
ξ as opposed to an open-pit dug on levels beneath the surface
ξ without an operating graphite mine, the United States imports all of its graphite
ξ Canada currently has two small graphite mines and a third scheduled to begin production sometime in 2014

ξ China has produced about 70 percent of the world�s graphite,
ξ but depletion of the country�s flake deposits has hurt its quality,
ξ while demand for flake graphite has doubled since 2000

ξ aside from being a popular lubricant, graphite is increasingly used in lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells, when in flake form
ξ it is also considered one of the best-know thermal conductors.
ξ it�s those technical applications, that will continue to grow demand and price particularly for flake graphite

select: ~[Σ] ~[Ω] ~[Δ]!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ UAS test site

»UAS test site
ξ UAF to head one of six FAA unmanned aircraft system test sites
ξ the Pan-Pacific UAS Test Range Complex will be managed by the University of Alaska Fairbanks
ξ it includes key partners in Oregon and Hawaii
ξ the complex, with its geographic diversity in landscapes spanning seven climatic zones,
ξ will allow UAS manufacturers and potential users the ability to test their equipment in the Arctic,
ξ the tropics and arid environments
ξ the test site will build on the ongoing work of the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration,
ξ which is part of the UAF Geophysical Institute.

ξ the six FAA Unmanned Aircraft System Test Sites are congressionally mandated
ξ and will conduct research into certification and operational requirements
ξ necessary to safely integrate unmanned aircraft into the national airspace over the next several years

ξ �The University of Alaska Fairbanks� reputation as an experienced,
ξ safe and savvy operator using a variety of UAS types 2
ξ in diverse missions and locations all over the globe undoubtedly played a major part in our selection,�
ξ said Ro Bailey, deputy director of ACUASI and the intended Pan-Pacific UAS Test Range Complex director.
ξ �Alaska, Oregon and Hawaii offer exceptional climatic and geographic diversity,
ξ lightly populated airspace and overwater test opportunities that can support the majority of FAA needs.�

ξ The Pan-Pacific UAS Test Range Complex offers 13 test ranges,
ξ six of which are located in Alaska

ξ All of the ranges allow for UAS flight after the aircraft passes rigorous evaluations for safety, reliability and usability
ξ None of the ranges are in or establish new restricted airspace,
ξ but the Pan-Pacific Test Range Complex operators will collaborate with the Alaska National Guard and Alaska Command.
ξ This collaboration will allow for access to restricted airspace for operations that require a greater margin of safety.

select: ~[Σ] ~[Ω] ~[Δ]!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~

select: ~[Σ] ~[Ω] ~[Δ]!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson

»Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson

select: ~[Σ] ~[Ω] ~[Δ]!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~

select: ~[Σ] ~[Ω] ~[Δ]!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~

~[Σ] ~[Ω] ~[Δ]!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~[Σ] ~[Ω] ~[Δ]!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~

~[Σ] ~[Ω] ~[Δ]!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~

~[Σ] ~[Ω] ~[Δ]!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Small & Smart Inc reserves rights to change this document without any notice
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~