8-23-16 Gas Transportation Tops Alaska’s Agenda This Week!

This is a big week for Northern Gas Pipelines: we address the World Trade Center on Wednesday. On the same day, Alaska State Senate Resources Committee Chairman, Cathy Giessel kicks off two days of hearings that probe the Administration’s scheme to put Alaska at risk by assuming control over an economically unproven, $55 billion gas pipeline/LNG project. -dh

Alaska’s Pipe Dreams | Dave Harbour | August 24

WORLD TRADE CENTER ANCHORAGE

Meet & Brief Luncheon

August 24

Speaker: Dave Harbour
Publisher

Northern Gas Pipelines

Topic: Alaska’s Pipe Dreams

Date: August 24, 2016 (Wednesday)

Time: 12:00 – 1:00PM

Location: WTC Conference Room

Cost: $30 members / $35 non-members (includes lunch)

About Dave Harbour: Dave Harbour is publisher of the Northern Gas Pipelines blog, created 15 years ago. He has served as director or vice president of public, governmental or external affairs for the 26 member Arctic Gas Consortium, Northern Natural Gas of Omaha, Atlantic Richfield Company, the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) and Alaska Pacific University.

We will post our presentation talking points here as soon as they are finalized….

Cathy Giessel - BOEMRE -Copyright Dave Harbour 2011 - 2-25-12

Senator Cathy Giessel, Alaska State Senate, Chairman-Resources Committee. Northern Gas Pipelines Stock Photo by Dave Harbour

Dear NGP Readers: Following is a summary of this week’s Alaska gas pipeline/LNG meetings focused primarily on the efforts by Alaska’s governor to nationalize the gas pipeline project. He is also moving in a manner reminiscent of Hugo Chavez to have the state government facilitate a gas distribution system for Interior Alaska and take control of major Alaska North Slope production properties. Senator Giessel’s meeting will begin tomorrow morning and your writer will be addressing the subject during a World Trade Center luncheon beginning at noon.

Here is the official Meeting notice

Here is the Legislature’s legal opinion on tax exempt aspects of financing a government owned gas pipeline/LNG project.

Senator Giessel writes:

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Steve Butt, ExxonMobil, Ak-LNG Project Manager, Northern Gas Pipelines Stock Photo by Dave Harbour

The two day meeting will feature an update on AKLNG from Mr. Steve Butt, Project manager.

The summer season report will inform Legislators of continued work on AKLNG. AKLNG is the gas project in which the State of Alaska is partnering with 3 producers (BP, CP, XOM) to bring North Slope gas to the State residents and to the world market.

The Governor’s office has designated AGDC President Keith Meyer as the spokesperson for the State on the AKLNG project. AGDC also holds the completed work on the ASAP project, which includes a gas treatment plant on the North Slope and a pipeline to Big Lake, where it connects to the ENSTAR system. (ASAP project doesn’t include an LNG facility at tidewater for exporting.)

For the August 24-25 meeting, I have asked AGDC President Meyer to go through, in detail, the “New Concept Plan” in which the State of Alaska would take over the lead on a gas project. The “New Concept Plan” was introduced by reference on the June 29 Joint Resources update, but had been submitted to BP, CP and XOM just one week prior. Therefore, no one was prepared to speak to the New Concept Plan. The Plan was new information to the Legislature and no documents were presented at that time. Since the June 29 meeting, I requested and received the New Concept Plan in writing and distributed it to Resources Committee members.

At the June 29 meeting, BP spokesman, Dave VanTuyl, stated that the partner companies had commissioned an analysis by Wood MacKensie regarding the fiscal feasibility of the AKLNG in the current market. That report may be ready for presentation to the Legislature at this August meeting.

The 3 partner companies have been invited to come before the committee to update us on progress made in the last 2 months on the AKLNG negotiations. At the June 29 meeting, the companies shared that the State had suspended negotiations on agreements needed to go forward with AKLNG. This was new information to the Legislature.

Lastly, the Legislature’s own expert consultant, Nikos Tsafos, will present an analysis of the information we have at this point on the New Concept Plan and the world market.

Best regards,

Cathy

Senator Cathy Giessel

Senate District N (House Districts 27 & 28)

Chair, Senate Resources Committee

About the Author: wpnorthern

Dave Harbour, publisher of Northern Gas Pipelines, is a former Chairman of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, a Commissioner Emeritus of NARUC, NARUC's Official Representative to IOGCC and Vice Chairman of NARUC's Gas Committee. He served as Gas Committee Chairman of the Western Conference of Public Service Commissioners. He also served as commissioner of the Anchorage Bicentennial Commission and the Anchorage Heritage Land Bank Commission. He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree: English, at Colorado State University, a Master of Science Degree: Communications-Journalism at Murray State University and graduated from Utility Regulatory School for Commissioners at Michigan State University. He served as a Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs at Alaska Pacific University, taught bank marketing classes at the University of Alaska and was an English teacher at Los Alamos High School. Harbour served in ranks of Private - Captain during a 4-year assignment with the Army in Korea, Idaho, Georgia and Fort Meade and received the Meritorious Service Medal among other commendations. Harbour is also a past Chairman of the Alaska Council on Economic Education, the Alaska Oil & Gas Association Government Affairs Committee, the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, the Export Council of Alaska and the Department of Commerce's District Export Council. He is a past President of the Alaska Press Club, American Bald Eagle Foundation, Consumer Energy Alliance-Alaska and Common Sense for Alaska. Harbour was instrumental in founding the American Bald Eagle Research Institute (UAS), the Alaska Support Industry Alliance, the Downtown Anchorage Business Partnership, and Arctic Power. He also served as CEO of several small Alaska organizations, including the Anchorage Parking Authority and Action Security, Inc. Harbour is also Chairman Emeritus of the Alaska Oil & Gas Congress. Harbour's wife, Nancy, is a professional, performing arts administrator and his three boys, Todd, Benjamin and William work in the fields of environmental management, energy marketing and medicine.