By stimulating Alaska's economy, the potential development of a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope would impact every business in the state, whether the business sells widgets or flies airplanes, Rep. Ralph Samuels told the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce Jan. 3.
The Republican representative from Anchorage said his comments to the Anchorage chamber initiated his effort - in conjunction with Sen. Tom Wagoner of Kenai and Sen. Gene Therriault of Fairbanks - to get the word out about what the prospective gas pipeline means to Alaska's business community.
"It is important that the business community be aware of the timeline, and is knowledgeable enough about the subject to add their thoughts and concerns to the debate," he said.
Samuels highlighted the key steps leading to legislative approval of a contract between the state and potential investors in the pipeline project, including a minimum of 30 days for public comment about any contract brought before the Legislature.
Gov. Frank Murkowski's administration is currently negotiating fiscal terms related to the pipeline's construction and use with two separate entities, the Canadian pipeline company TransCanada and a consortium of the three major oil and gas companies that own North Slope gas reserves. The consortium is made up of BP, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips.
Samuels said he expects a contract to be brought before the Legislature this year.
"I think we will have something," he said. "I am new to the Legislature so I am still optimistic."
Samuels was elected to the House in 2002.
Unless the Legislature is presented with a contract by mid-March, Samuels said it should be addressed in a special session to allow the legislators to give it their undivided attention.
Samuels also discussed chief concepts related to the contract, including in-state use of North Slope gas and the state owning an equity share in the pipeline.
"What is meant by 'equity share' is owning a portion of the gas itself, the capacity in the pipeline to ship the gas and a portion of the pipeline itself," he said.
Samuels offered the example of the state owning 25 percent of the produced gas along with 25 percent of the capacity in the pipeline to ship the state's gas. In shipping the gas, the state would have to pay the owners of the pipeline a tariff, determined by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
By owning a portion of the pipeline, the state would in part pay itself to ship the gas, reducing the risk that it would take a loss if the tariff was high.
While Samuels has not yet arranged other speaking engagements related to the pipeline, he is formalizing his presentation so that he, Wagoner and Therriault can give it to any business or community group upon request, he said. "We would be happy to present to other groups."
Rep. Samuels can be contacted at his office in Juneau at (907) 465-2095 for more information about scheduling a presentation.
