Gov. Palin AGIA announcement

Of the 4 AGIA bids only the TransCanada bid was said to meet all the basic criteria set forth under AGIA.  The 5th proposal made outside the AGIA guidelines by North Slope oil major ConocoPhillips was also rejected. Governor Palin, along with Alaska Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Irwin stated that TransCanada proposal meets the 20 state requirements set forth under AGIA and thus would qualify for up to $500 million in matching AGIA state funds.  The gasline project is estimated to cost between 20 - 40 billion dollars and take 10 years to complete.
 
The next step in the AGIA process is a 60 day public comment period which will end on March 6th.  The Departments of Revenue and Natural Resources will study the TransCanada proposal in-depth to determine if it will meet tests for maximizing value to Alaskans.  If they determine that it does, their commissioners, along with the Governor, will recommend that the proposal be advanced for approval to the Alaska State Legislature.  The Legislature will have the final say in approving and issuing a license to construct the line.

The 4 other applicants: AEnergia, Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority, Little Susitna Construction Co (Sinopec) and ConnocoPhillips, were all issued with letters explaining specifically why their proposals were rejected.  You can read the letters and about the public comment period for the TransCanada proposal at

www.dog.dnr.state.ak.us/agia/

The Alaska Gasline Project will be one of the largest construction projects in North American history. The project will involve exploration and development of gas fields in the Alaskan Arctic, construction of gas processing facilities at the pipeline head, building of the actual pipeline, along with feeder pipelines, and construction of storage, refining and distribution facilities at the pipelines termination point.  TransCanada will most probably take the pipeline south from Prudhoe Bay along the Trans-Alaska Pipeline route to Fairbanks and then head east into Canada and down to the existing gas fields in the Canadian Rockies foothills in Alberta where it will connect to exiting lines into the lower 48.  The pipeline is hoped to deliver 4 billion cubic feet of gas a day.  Experts predict it will require roughly 50 trillion cubic feet to remain a viable project.  Of this 34 trillion cubic feet are currently estimated in known North Slope discoveries with the remaining having to come from new discoveries in areas such as the 10-02 Area of ANWR and the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska to the west of Prudhoe Bay as well as offshore projects. Natural Resources Commissioner Irwin stated keeping access to future gas exploration in the Arctic is vital for the success of the project.  Companies such as Pioneer Oil are already exploring for gas in the Brooks Range foothills and near the 10-02 ANWR border in anticipation of the gasline’s construction.