By the Journal of Commerce

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin signed a state administrative order Aug. 20 directing two state agencies to assist private groups working on an Alaska liquefied natural gas project.

Under the order, the state departments of Revenue and Natural Resources can lend assistance in permit coordination, fiscal and economic analysis and facilitation of meetings with federal agencies.

Most attention on Alaska gas is on an all-land pipeline project being pursued by North Slope producers BP and ConocoPhillips and a competing land pipeline proposed by TransCanada Corp. An Alaska group, the Alaska Gasline Port Authority, has teamed up with Japan's Mitsubishi Corp. to continue investigation of an LNG project based in Valdez that could ship liquefied gas to American West Coast or Asian markets.

Mitsubishi and the port authority have been anxious to get the state's help in meetings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on validity of an LNG export license for a Valdez permit issued in 1989 to Yukon Pacific Corp. The port authority has acquired rights to Yukon Pacific's license and permits.

Signing the administrative order, Palin said she supports a spur pipeline to an LNG plant, if the project is viable. TransCanada has said it could integrate a spur line into its larger all-land project and would built the spur.

“This solidifies our commitment to facilitating an LNG project that is a product of market interest,” Palin said. “By committing both project capital and natural gas resource to a pipeline that would transport North Slope gas to tidewater, an LNG project can remain an integral element of the state's effort.”