From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage --

The energy council, a group whose annual spring gatherings in Washington D.C. shut down Alaska's legislative sessions because so many lawmakers go, is bringing its show to Anchorage this week.

The energy council is holding a meeting at the Captain Cook Hotel that’s expected to include legislators from around the country, coming to talk about oil and gas and see what the state is about.

The energy council is a group based in Dallas Texas that’s a bit mysterious in the fact that it chooses not have a website of any sort. The group is described as a legislative organization of 11-energy producing states in the U.S., as well as five Canadian provinces and Venezuela.

Alaska joined the council in 1988, paying $32,000 in annual dues for its legislators to be members.

The agenda of the Alaska event is handled by the national organization and the meetings are typically open just to members and not the general public. Meetings, other than the annual Washington D.C. event, rotate between member states.

The Alaska meeting opens Thursday at noon with remarks from Mississippi state Sen. Tom Moffatt, chairman of the energy council. Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell is to give the keynote address.

Sitka Sen. Bert Stedman is moderating a Friday breakfast panel on ”Northwest Energy Resources in a Global Market,” with the premier of the Northwest Territories and Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. President Tom Barrett among those who are scheduled to participate in it.

Other panels include “Oil outlook for North America” and “Arctic Energy Future.” The meeting runs until noon Saturday with a “working dinner” that night before attendees leave town.