The dope on gas

Mat-Su residents hear Palin's gasline proposal

March 18, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH

Frontiersman

WASILLA - Gov. Sarah Palin made a big push to drum up public support for her proposed Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA) Saturday, attending two public meetings in Wasilla in which she outlined the proposal to encourage development of the state's natural gas resources.

Palin spoke at both the Matanuska Electric Association's annual meeting at Colony High as well as a state-sponsored town hall meeting at the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex.

Along with Alaska Department of Revenue Commissioner Pat Galvin and Division of Oil and Gas Director Kevin Banks, Palin told the crowd at the MUSC that the plan's biggest positive is that it provides an open, public forum for encouraging and finding the best project for Alaska.

&#8220We have great confidence AGIA is the vehicle that will allow a competitive process,” Palin said.

Under the proposed act, the state would offer up to $500 million in incentives to whoever is chosen to build a pipeline. If enacted by the Legislature, the act would seek proposals from any group wishing to build a line during a so-called &#8220open season” bid process.

Among other things, it would require any applicants to adhere to a set of guidelines that includes a commitment to ship gas within the first three years of getting a license, a firm date on when the applicant would apply for a certificate authorizing the pipeline, a commitment to hire Alaskans and commitments to have at least five delivery points within Alaska.

Palin said she things the act would allow numerous groups - including North Slope producers, independent companies and the Alaska Gas Line Authority - to submit proposals from which the state can choose. She said any and all groups that can meet all

the act's criteria would be

considered.

&#8220If they can meet that, and it's the best deal for Alaska, then that's the deal we're going to go with,” Palin said.

Palin and members of her administration have been traveling around the state in recent weeks to try and build public support for the act, which was introduced in the Legislature two weeks ago. The governor's team also has been answering questions from the public on what AGIA will mean - something Galvin said is crucial to the success of the plan.

&#8220AGIA is designed to be open and transparent,” Galvin said.

For decades, North Slope oil and gas producers have failed to produce natural gas because there has been no economic incentive. But with rising natural gas prices and an increased desire on the state's part to make a project happen, Galvin said now is the time to begin pushing harder to make a gasline project a reality.

&#8220We need to have a project and we need to get it going,”

he said.

Wasilla's William Bruu asked Galvin what measures AGIA contain that would force producers to sell their gas.

&#8220How is the state of Alaska going to require them or get them to put gas in that pipeline?” Bruu asked.

Galvin said the whole idea behind AGIA is to create conditions that take away the producers' long-cited fiscal reasons for sitting on the gas.

&#8220Those uncertainties start to melt away,” he said.

Contact Matt Tunseth at

352-2265 or matt.tunseth@

frontiersman.com.