Point Thomson action likely to go to court - Anchorage Daily News

Encourage production of gasline and discourage delay - Sitka News

Alaska, operators weigh fate of natural gas field worth billions - Mywesttexas.com

JUNEAU -- A natural gas pipeline contract is unlikely to surface for months, legislative leaders said Monday, and they have not even seen new oil tax legislation that would be a key component of any gas line deal.

HOUSTON, Feb. 7 -- Further delay of the proposed Alaska gas pipeline to the Lower 48 could hurt project economics, the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said in a Feb. 1 report to Congress.

The report noted that prices of the types of steel to be used in the pipeline have nearly doubled since the project cost was estimated at $20 billion.

"If negotiations are not concluded soon, there is a chance that there will be insufficient time to conduct the required studies and field surveys in 2006," FERC said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of oil companies proposing to build a huge natural gas pipeline in Alaska wants the Bush administration to provide conditional loan guarantees to make project financing easier to obtain.

Congress authorized the federal government to guarantee repayment of up $18 billion in commercial loans for the pipeline as long as the guaranteed debt does not exceed 80 percent of the project's total capital costs.

The Alaska Gasline Port Authority is pushing the administration to make certain the Legislature gets a chance to review a proposal to build an all-Alaska natural gas pipeline using the state's royalty gas.

The port authority last week presented Gov. Frank Murkowski's administration with an offer to pay market value for the state's share of the 35 trillion cubic feet of known gas reserves on the North Slope.

A producer-owned Alaska natural gas pipeline is as close to happening as it's ever been, but there is still a long way to go, said Joe Marushack, the vice president of Alaska North Slope Development for ConocoPhillips Alaska.

Still, the first gas could be flowing within 9 to 10 years, he said.

Former Governor Wally Hickel comes out swinging (kind of) at a forum in Anchorage, Alaska. Hickel pointed out that the Alaska constitution states that Alaskans own the natural gas within the state.

Here is an article from KTUU in Anchorage.

Former governor says it’s time to push for gas line

Anchorage, Alaska - It was 28 years ago today that oil began flowing through the trans-Alaska pipeline. Now, 14 billion barrels later, that oil is selling at record prices, almost $57 a barrel this afternoon.

It took political arm-twisting to get the trans-Alaska pipeline built. And former Gov. Wally Hickel says that’s just what it will take to get the long-stalled natural gas pipeline built.

Here are some facts about the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline:

Alaska’s North Slope has more than 35 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves and more than 100 trillion cubic feet of potential reserves.

Alaska natural gas development has been hampered by the difficulty and expense of transporting gas from remote North Slope wells to major Outside markets.

Here are links of interest concerning the proposed Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline:

There are several routes up for consideration for a proposed Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline route.

Here is a map of what may be a non-Alaskan (to Valdez) full route for gas from the North Slope of Alaska through Canada to the continental United States.

View map.