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Gold/Mining/Energy : Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dennis Roth who wrote (88)	9/28/2005 12:28:29 PM
From: Dennis Roth	Respond to of 570

Bowles: Producers, state working around the clock By R.A. DILLON, Staff Writer Article Published: Wednesday, September 28, 2005 news-miner.com North Slope producers and the state are getting closer to reaching an agreement on building a natural gas pipeline, ConocoPhillips president Jim Bowles said Tuesday. Bowles said the producers are negotiating around the clock to come up with a contract that meets the six points Gov. Frank Murkowski has said are central to the state's proposal. Bowles made the comments at a meeting of the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce. Chamber officials said ConocoPhillips set up the appearance two months ago. Bowles stopped short of identifying a specific date that a contract would be available for public review, but said the producers group--ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil and BP--were committed to bringing Alaska's 35 trillion cubic feet of known reserves to market. "We're as motivated as we can be," he said. "There will be a project. It's just a matter of getting to the finish line." Chuck Logsdon, spokesman for the state negotiating team, said an agreement was expected soon, but would not elaborate on an exact date. The producers responded to the state's latest proposal at the beginning of the week, Logsdon said. The state is in the process of evaluating that response. "The two sides have gotten quite a bit closer," he said. Both sides said a number of complex issues remained to be worked out in the negotiations, including some of the financial details of the contract. The producers have proposed a 2,100-mile pipeline through Canada to markets in the Midwest, which is expected to cost $20 billion. Bowles declined to elaborate further, citing the confidentiality of the negotiations. The state has proposed a 30-year contract that includes partial state ownership in the pipeline and the ability to take gas off at access points along the pipeline route for in-state use. The state has asked for 20 percent ownership in the line with a $4 billion investment, but Bowles declined to comment on how much the producers would agree to. "ConocoPhillips is a very strong supporter of state ownership in the project," he said. The producers have been negotiating as a group with the state for more than a year. An Alaska natural gas project could supply up to 7 percent of the country's natural gas needs once it comes online. The state estimates a pipeline project could be completed by 2014. Staff writer R.A. Dillon can be reached at 459-7503 or rdillon@newsminer.com .