Legislators are meeting in Ketchikan today in the last of the “roadshow” presentations on the TransCanada proposal. They reconvene in Juneau Wednesday, July 9, to begin what they hope will be a final series of briefings before a final vote.  Meanwhile, we offer a series of background briefs on issues legislators are concerned with.

One concern that is emerging is whether the Prudhoe Bay field, largely by itself, can support a gas production (or “offtake”) rate sufficient to support a large diameter pipeline without Point Thomson, at least in the early years. The administration has argued that gas from the Point Thomson field is not needed for the pipeline. The oil and gas producing companies disagree, arguing that Point Thomson is needed.  This debate aside, what hasn’t been discussed is how much Prudhoe gas would really be available for a pipeline at whatever production rate is approved. Prudhoe will still be a producing oil field. Gas that is now produced along with oil, about 8 billion cubic feet a day, is injected back into the reservoir to maintain its pressure, which is essential for oil production.  However, gas is also used for other purposes on the North Slope. About 400 million cubic feet of gas per day is needed to fuel the oil production facilities (note: This is almost twice as much as the average daily gas consumption by all utilities in Southcentral Alaska) and another 300 million cubic feet per day is needed for Enhanced Oil Recovery, in which gas is used to make an injection fluid for flushing more oil out of the rock. If a gas pipeline is built, gas will also be needed to fuel the gas conditioning plant, a large industrial plant. All in all, as much as 900 million to 1 billion cubic feet of gas might have to be subtracted from whatever allowable production rate the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission approves before gas is delivered to a pipeline. The AOGCC is a state regulatory agency that approves oil and gas field production rates, to insure proper conservation practices are followed.

It seems a stretch to many familiar with the North Slope that Prudhoe Bay will be able to sustain a 4.5 or 4 billion cubic feet/day rate of gas production without the reservoir pressure being lowered to the point where there are unacceptable oil losses. However, it is felt the field might be able to sustain 3.5 billion cubic feet per day, the minimum TransCanada says it needs for its pipeline. However, with gas taken off for fuel and EOR, only about 2.5 billion of this might really be available for a pipeline. Is this enough for a pipeline? There hasn’t been a lot of discussion of this in Juneau, but there probably will be soon.

Bradners’ Legislative Digest is a private subscription service publishing reports on the Alaska Legislature and state government. This briefing is a special service, and is provided in cooperation with the Alaska Journal of Commerce.