The 500mmcf per day line, the so called bullet line, Harry Noah's bullet line, the pipeline that "doesn't pencil"--make economic sense--is a dead end.
There is only one permitted, dedicated right of way to tidewater, the one mile corridor created with TAPS.
I have never seen 61 people try so hard to ignore the obvious in the face of overwhelming information available as to the market for LNG, the route, and the economics.
"We have to do something to get gas to south central and Fairbanks, why there is a crisis coming,” cry the pols.
Squandering $214M to do nothing on project that is not viable is doing something? It is admitted by Chennault and Hawker that the State will have to subsidize the natural transported in that line, because the volume is too low and would raise the cost to consumers. It would be cheaper to import gas . . . from Russia.
The Legislature and the Governor need to have an epiphany to cover their ignoring the obvious and declare "now I see, now I see" and commit to the only project that is economically viable, the all-Alaska natural gas pipeline to Valdez, with the 250mmcf per day spur to the Enstar hub at Palmer. The gas liquids would be pulled off at FBKS, giving the interior new industry and fuels for the Bush.
What State ‘leader’ would ignore the ongoing benefits of the gas liquids used in-state? More importantly, why. Value added resource development has been the Holy Grail of Alaska’s resource development forever. Cheap energy will make possible what is otherwise too expensive. The impact would be tremendously beneficial to our agriculture, mining and timber sectors.
Maybe, former Gov. Sarah Palin can apologize to Alaskans for sticking it to them with AGIA after campaigning on the all-Alaska natural gas pipeline to the governor’s office.
I wonder if dear Sarah has promised Gov. Sean Parnell a seat in her cabinet so long as he continues AGIA so that she can claim “expertise” of oil and gas development as part of her grandiose scheme to become Sarah the First, Queen and President? She must have done so, as no rational, prudent human being of sound mind would continue with AGIA in the face of shale gas and the burgeoning LNG market.
In order to get out of the AGIA dead end, the State would have to declare AGIA uneconomical and prepare for a potential court battle. Or, continue to roll the dice with the end of TAPS. Gas development would spur more oil development.
Leadership is what is needed, but leadership is not what we have.
Instead, we have Mike Chennault and Mike Hawker's questionable melding of AHFC, the ARR, Noah's former group, and a committee of legislators comprising the Alaska Gas Development Corporation promoting a pipeline that everyone says is too expensive and must be subsidized forever. They created an unholy abomination of State and quasi-State corporations, all of which had no gas development mandate until Chennault and Hawker pushed it through to unseeing, unknowing and apparently, uninterested Legislature.
Meanwhile, AS 41.41 is ignored which created the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority and the all-Alaska natural gas pipeline.
What is so hard about all of this that these fine folks in our Legislature cannot understand? LNG is the market, we have 40 years of history with the Japanese on LNG deliveries, why are we not taking advantage of our opportunities?
Like the Japanese want to deal with the . . . Russians? Or, the ME?
We need leadership in Juneau, not someone who has violated their oath of office with the appointment of two legislators to cabinet posts in violation of the law. Gov. Sean Parnell should be impeached for what he did in the Therriault and Dahlstrom cases. However, no one in the
Legislature has the cojones to step up in defense of the constitutional affront by this governor.
And, we pay the price with $200M more going down a rat hole just to make a couple of politicians 'feel good'.
Our opportunities on the world market wane as time passes and our leaders look for “inspiration”, all the while ignoring the obvious.
