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Studies Prep Gas Authority for Quick Move

Posted on: Tuesday, 16 August 2005, 12:00 CDT

Aug. 14--The Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority is on a fast track with its plan for a natural gas pipeline spur connecting Southcentral Alaska to a planned large-diameter gas pipeline built to the Lower 48 through Interior Alaska.

The spur line wouldn't actually be built until the large pipeline is under way, but the authority needs to be prepared to move quickly if agreements are reached between the state and the North Slope producers planning the large project, according to Harold Heinze, executive director of the state authority.

The authority has let a number of contracts for technical studies related to a 24-inch, high-pressure gas pipeline that would be built from the existing Enstar Natural Gas Co. pipeline system near Palmer, north of Anchorage, to Glenn-allen. Additional studies are underway on whether the pipeline can share infrastructure with the existing trans-Alaska oil pipeline from Glennallen to Delta, where it could connect with the large pipeline to the Lower 48, Heinze said.

The studies range from soil surveys to engineering evaluations of stream crossings, to archeological studies and a comparison of permit issues between a route from Glennallen along the Glenn Highway to an alternate route from Fairbanks along the Parks Highway. Another study is assessing the commercial future of the liquefied natural gas plant in Kenai owned by ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc. and Marathon Oil Co. if it could be supplied with natural gas from a spur line.

The studies will be completed by this fall, Heinze said.

The authority has a $2.17 million appropriation from the Legislature for its work and will use about one-third of that for the technical studies underway this summer, Heinze said. The remaining funds are being held in reserve for additional work if an agreement on the large Lower 48 pipeline is reached this year, he said.

The state gas authority was created by voter initiative in the 2002 to plan and build a gas pipeline and liquefied natural gas export project in Valdez.

Initial studies by the authority showed the LNG project to face significant economic hurdles, so the group focused on a secondary objective to facilitate delivery of North Slope gas to Alaska communities, particularly Southcentral Alaska where local utilities face a future shortage of gas.

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Copyright (c) 2005, Alaska Journal of Commerce, Anchorage

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Source: Alaska Journal of Commerce

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