Chenault and Walker Sorting It Out LNG Projects –
Alaska House Speaker Mike Chenault introduced a bill Monday morning to stop Gov. Bill Walker from using an existing state corporation to develop a state-controlled, large-diameter gas line from the North Slope.
Walker last month said he wants to scale up the size of the existing state-owned pipeline proposal to compete with another large project being jointly developed by the state, the major North Slope oil producers and a pipeline company. One state agency, the Alaska Gasline Development Corp., is working on both projects.
In his news conference Monday afternoon, called two hours after Chenault introduced House Bill 132, Walker called Chenault’s proposal “shocking” and questioned who Chenault and the rest of the House Republican leadership were working for. “I find it shocking that we are tying our hands and taking away our ability to do what our Constitution mandates that we do — that we develop our resources for the maximum benefit of Alaskans. This is why I ran for governor,” said Walker, his voice quavering as he brandished a marked up copy of the bill. “Are you kidding me?”
In his own news conference afterward with four other House leaders, all of whom co-sponsored his bill, Chenault, R-Nikiski, said he was concerned about “uncertainty” that had been injected into the projects. In contrast to Walker’s angry response earlier in the day, the House leaders appeared relaxed as they spoke while seated on chairs and couches in Chenault’s Capitol office.
Tensions over the gas pipeline projects have simmered for years between Walker and the Republican leaders. Only one of the pipelines would ultimately be built, but Chenault and his colleagues have different ideas than Walker’s about the best legislative framework to spur development. The Republicans say the smaller, state-sponsored pipeline, known as ASAP, is a viable backup plan if oil producers opt out of AKLNG.
Walker, meanwhile, maintains that ASAP is too small to achieve economies of scale, with its gas supply projected to be sold at rates significantly higher than current prices in Anchorage.
Larry Persily, the federal government’s coordinator for a North Slope gas pipeline, said in a phone interview that there’s validity to the Republicans’ arguments about Walker’s new plan introducing uncertainty to AKLNG. “The governor certainly has to reassure the market,” said Persily, speaking from Calgary, where he was attending a natural gas conference. “There’s got to be more details.”
But he urged both sides to quickly work through their dispute, saying that if it persists, it could inject risk into the state’s partnership with the oil producers. “Alaska has to be careful that it is perceived as politically stable,” Persily said. “No project wants to get caught in political infighting, so let’s settle this, guys.”
Via adn.com
