Third group wants into gas line
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NEGOTIATIONS: Murkowski says it will be difficult to meet the Legislature's deadline.
By KRISTEN NELSON
Petroleum News
Published: April 6th, 2005
Last Modified: April 6th, 2005 at 05:23 AM
The Alaska Gasline Port Authority is the third group to apply to the state to negotiate taxation and other financial terms of building a multibillion-dollar natural gas pipeline, Gov. Frank Murkowski said last week.
The state is currently negotiating separately with the North Slope producers on their application and also with TransCanada, a large gas pipeline business based in Canada.
There has been interest in whether negotiations could be completed in time to get a contract to the Legislature before its May adjournment, and the governor acknowledged that this third application would affect the administration's negotiation schedule.
"I might say with the introduction of this particular addition, why, clearly we're going to have a hard time meeting the legislative deadline," Murkowski said.
The governor said he hopes to make an announcement in a couple of weeks, with the Legislature, on the time schedule for a contract.
The North Slope producers -- Conoco Phillips, Exxon Mobil and BP -- and TransCanada are discussing a pipeline to Canada to deliver natural gas to Lower 48 markets.
The port authority's pipeline proposal includes construction of an 800-mile gas pipeline from the North Slope to Valdez, where the gas would be chilled into a liquid and loaded on special tankers for shipment to the West Coast or for export.
In December the port authority announced it had signed a development agreement with Sempra LNG, a unit of San Diego-based Sempra Energy, to assist in the development of the authority's project and to market the related LNG. The port authority also said in December that it has an option to purchase rights of way and associated permits from Yukon Pacific Corp. for building the gas pipeline, which would parallel the 800-mile trans-Alaska oil pipeline. |
