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

To: Snowshoe who wrote (389)	4/22/2008 6:01:24 PM
From: Snowshoe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 570

Alaska rejects final Exxon plan for giant gas field _______________________________ biz.yahoo.com Tuesday April 22, 5:39 pm ET By Yereth Rosen ANCHORAGE (Reuters) - Alaska on Tuesday rejected Exxon Mobil Corp's (NYSE:XOM - News) latest plan for the giant Point Thomson natural gas field on the North Slope despite warnings from the industry that the move that will deal another lengthy setback to the development of an Alaska gas pipeline. Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX - News), which holds a 25 percent stake in Point Thomson, vowed to sue over the decision, which terminates the Point Thomson development unit and could lead to the cancellation of the field leases. "We are shocked and very disappointed by this decision," said Scott Davis, the Chevron executive overseeing its Alaska business, in a statement. "With this decision the state has taken a giant step backward in bringing North Slope gas to market." Point Thomson, which was discovered in 1977, is thought to hold at least 8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves and 200 million barrels of liquids and would be a vital source of supply for any Alaska natural gas pipeline project. The state has accused the oil companies of deliberately delaying the development of Point Thomson, a charge rejected by the majors who say the giant gas field cannot be put into production until a pipeline to ship Alaska gas to the rest of the United States is constructed. Field operator Exxon, which owns about 36 percent of Point Thomson, and BP Plc, (LSE:BP.L - News) which owns 32 percent of the field, were not available to comment. The Alaska Department of Natural Resources said in its ruling that Exxon's failure to develop the field under 22 previously submitted development plans compromised the credibility of its latest proposal. "The history of this unit and the evidence offered by the Appellants have convinced me that approving the (development plan) will not result in timely development of these valuable state lands," DNR Commissioner Tom Irwin wrote. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a strong critic of the oil industry, welcomed the decision. "I support the commissioner's decision because I want development and Alaskans are ready to see real progress at Point Thomson, finally, after 30 years," she said in a statement. Alaska and the companies have been sparring over Point Thomson since late 2005 when the state made the first step to break up the field unit and possibly cancel the leases. The state has so far been successful in early legal battles, but officials concede that a lengthy period of litigation may ensue. ConocoPhillips Inc, which owns 5 percent of Point Thomson and has been spearheading efforts to build a $30 billion Alaska natural gas pipeline, said it was assessing the decision. Exxon has 20 calendar days to appeal the DNR's decision. Following an unsuccessful appeal with the DNR, Exxon would have recourse to state courts under Alaska law. (Additional reporting by Robert Campbell and Michael Erman in New York; Editing by Christian Wiessner