Alaska Gasline Inducement Act

by Channel 2 News staff Saturday, October 25, 2008 ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Gov. Sarah Palin's plan to build an Alaska natural gas pipeline is under national scrutiny. According to an Associated Press investigation , Palin's bidding process was not only flawed, her administration has ties to TransCanada, the company awarded the contract through the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act. Prior to the AGIA bill, the leader of Palin's pipeline team, Marty Rutherford, had been a partner at a lobbying firm where she worked on behalf of a TransCanada subsidiary.

by Ted Land Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008 ANCHORAGE, Alaska-- The Alaska Gas pipeline project is taking a big step forward.  Gov. Sarah Palin officially awarded the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act license to TransCanada. The Canadian pipeline company may now start building the pipeline, which will ultimately stretch more than 1,700 miles, from Prudhoe Bay to Alberta. Pipeline construction will employ about 15,000 workers at its peak, according to the governor.

A Senate Finance Committee co-chair says he’d like to know by next summer if the state should back out of the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act . Sen. Bert Stedman (R - Sitka) expressed doubt last week and again today that the state payments to Transcanada would amount to a real gasline. “At some point it is useless for the state to continue to expend hundreds of millions of dollars on a project that’s most likely not going to go forward,” said Sen. Stedman.

Alaska’s in-state natural gas pipeline planning team will report to lawmakers Tuesday on what needs to be done to bring North Slope gas to markets in Fairbanks and Southcentral. The Alaska Gasline Development Corp. was formed during the 2010 legislative session to explore the state’s options for building and financing a smaller gas pipeline to serve Alaskans. The company was given a few years to research the proposal and then report back to the Legislature. House Speaker Mike Chenault (R-Nikiski)

Ethan Berkowitz's opposition to the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, the state's strategy to build a natural gas pipeline, seem to resonate with voters in the Democratic primary for governor. At the end of the night, Berkowitz had a strong lead of 48 percent. State Sen. Hollis French, a staunch support of AGIA, was in second place with 41 percent. Berkowitz wasted no time in going after his apparent Republican opponent in the November general election, incumbent Gov. Sean Parnell.

The Pt. Thomson natural gas reservoir, the so-called holy grail of North Slope gas development, was the focal point of a legislative hearing in Anchorage Tuesday morning. Lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee questioned the state's role in reaching a recent settlement with Exxon and other producers over the development of Pt. Thomson's gas leases. The Pt. Thomson field is 60 miles east of Prudhoe Bay, with an estimated 8 trillion cubic feet of gas, nearly a quarter of the known gas reserves on the North Slope.

It's still unclear just how much progress is being made behind the scenes on TransCanada's plan to build a massive gasline from the North Slope through Canada, with millions of Alaska state dollars. Lawmakers once again peppered company vice president Tony Palmer with questions, Tuesday, and he once again emphasized that here's a lot he just cannot share. First the good news -- TransCanada says on the technical and regulatory side of things, they're on-schedule. Palmer said there have been significant advances in the past year with planning and environmental work.

There are encouraging new findings for supporters of an in-state gasline, which they hope will someday bring North Slope energy right to homes and businesses in Alaska’s most populated communities. A new report shows the state could build its own pipe and have it running within the decade. The estimated price tag is about $7.5 billion and the recommendation from the group behind the report is that the state shell out money to build it itself. The legislature a few years ago directed numerous state agencies, like the Dept.

Gov. Sean Parnell's office has been served a records request regarding TransCanada's natural gas pipeline. Bill Walker, one of Parnell's opponents in the Republican gubernatorial primary, submitted a letter Thursday at the governor's office in Anchorage, requesting documents related to TransCanada's open season negotiations, which began on April 30. During the three-month period, producers are trying to strike deals with TransCanada to ship...

One federal program comes into the New Year very much scaled down. The budget for the Alaska natural gas pipeline coordinator's office was slashed by $3 million. In the appropriations bill that President Obama signed last month, the office received only a million dollars for the 2012 fiscal year - about a 75 percent cut in funding.  In the last two budget cycles, the office received $4 million each year. This follows Governor Sean Parnell's announcement in October, that he's shifting his administration's emphasis from a pipeline to the Lower 48 - to a line that would move liquefied natural gas from the North Slope to a port in Alaska for export to Asia.  Larry Persily, the federal coordinator, cautions against reading too much into the federal budget cut. “Whether the federal coordinator's office has a million, two million, or three million; whether we have eight or nine or ten employees, it isn't going to matter,” said Persily.

The Pt. Thomson natural gas reservoir, the so-called holy grail of North Slope gas development, was the focal point of a legislative hearing in Anchorage Tuesday morning. Lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee questioned the state's role in reaching a recent settlement with Exxon and other producers over the development of Pt. Thomson's gas leases. The Pt. Thomson field is 60 miles east of Prudhoe Bay, with an estimated 8 trillion cubic feet of gas, nearly a quarter of the known gas reserves on the North Slope.

One federal program comes into the New Year very much scaled down. The budget for the Alaska natural gas pipeline coordinator's office was slashed by $3 million. In the appropriations bill that President Obama signed last month, the office received only a million dollars for the 2012 fiscal year - about a 75 percent cut in funding.  In the last two budget cycles, the office received $4 million each year. This follows Governor Sean Parnell's announcement in October, that he's shifting his administration's emphasis from a pipeline to the Lower 48 - to a line that would move liquefied natural gas from the North Slope to a port in Alaska for export to Asia.  Larry Persily, the federal coordinator, cautions against reading too much into the federal budget cut. “Whether the federal coordinator's office has a million, two million, or three million; whether we have eight or nine or ten employees, it isn't going to matter,” said Persily.

By Rhonda McBride Alaska House leaders gathered today to set the record straight.  They say natural gas for Alaskans remains their top priority, despite Governor Sean Parnell's recent announcement that he no longer wants to pursue a gas line to the Lower 48  -- and  instead will focus on an in-state line with enough capacity to serve both Alaskans and markets overseas.  House Speaker Mike Chenault says he will continue to support a...

It's still unclear just how much progress is being made behind the scenes on TransCanada's plan to build a massive gasline from the North Slope through Canada, with millions of Alaska state dollars. Lawmakers once again peppered company vice president Tony Palmer with questions, Tuesday, and he once again emphasized that here's a lot he just cannot share. First the good news -- TransCanada says on the technical and regulatory side of things, they're on-schedule. Palmer said there have been significant advances in the past year with planning and environmental work.

The proposed natural gas pipeline to the Lower 48 got a boost this week from federal regulators. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, put producers and land owners on notice that it is preparing to study the potential environmental impact of the project. “Liken it to building a house. You need a building permit,” says Larry Persily, Alaska's Federal Pipeline Coordinator.  And while you also need the financing, Persily says it won't do you any good  if you don't have the building permits.

In-state gas line managers gave the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce an upbeat report on ASAP - the Alaska Stand Alone Gas Pipeline project. The report follows an announcement earlier this month from the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation that the project is doable.   AGDC is owned by the state and is moving forward with building a 737-mile pipeline that would bring North Slope Gas to Fairbanks and Southcentral Alaska. The project would cost at least 7.5 billion, but AGDC told the chamber that state financing needs to be part of the plan to minimize the risks.

There are encouraging new findings for supporters of an in-state gasline, which they hope will someday bring North Slope energy right to homes and businesses in Alaska’s most populated communities. A new report shows the state could build its own pipe and have it running within the decade. The estimated price tag is about $7.5 billion and the recommendation from the group behind the report is that the state shell out money to build it itself. The legislature a few years ago directed numerous state agencies, like the Dept.

Alaska’s in-state natural gas pipeline planning team will report to lawmakers Tuesday on what needs to be done to bring North Slope gas to markets in Fairbanks and Southcentral. The Alaska Gasline Development Corp. was formed during the 2010 legislative session to explore the state’s options for building and financing a smaller gas pipeline to serve Alaskans. The company was given a few years to research the proposal and then report back to the Legislature. House Speaker Mike Chenault (R-Nikiski)

The planners of the Denali natural gas pipeline project announced an end Tuesday to their quest to build a large-diameter gas line to the Lower 48. "Denali is ending its efforts because of a lack of customer support," said Denali's president, Bud Fackrell, in a press release. The project was estimated to cost $30 billion and would have been a significant engineering feat, capable of delivering North Slope natural gas as far as Chicago. Denali estimates that it's committed at least $165 million and 760,000 man-hours to the project.

A Senate Finance Committee co-chair says he’d like to know by next summer if the state should back out of the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act . Sen. Bert Stedman (R - Sitka) expressed doubt last week and again today that the state payments to Transcanada would amount to a real gasline. “At some point it is useless for the state to continue to expend hundreds of millions of dollars on a project that’s most likely not going to go forward,” said Sen. Stedman.