The Alaska Standard by Dave Harbour: "Not Evil, Just Wrong".

Alaska Advocate Blog by Steve Porter (NGP Photo).  When analyzing a specific proposal, and especially when comparing two alternative proposals, the proposed debt/equity ratio and the return on equity are two of the most important factors in comparing the projects.  Some might say that the cost of the pipeline is an important factor, but what one company estimates for the cost of the project versus what another company may estimate for the cost of the project is not really material unless it can be determined why one estimate is more than the other. For example, a forty-eight inch pipeline made out of the same grade of steel from the North Slope to Alberta should cost roughly the same whether it is constructed by Denali or TransCanada. Any substantial differences in costs should be able to be identified by some unique benefit one company brings to the table over the other.  But debt/equity ratios and returns on equity create substantial financial impacts to the tariff and to the amount of revenue received by the State of Alaska from a proposed pipeline.