Alaska's major oil producers and political leaders may have turned their attention away from the natural gas pipeline to Canada, but that hasn't stopped work from proceeding.
The federal office in charge of coordinating Alaska gas transportation projects announced this weekend that "a key milestone" had belatedly been reached when TransCanada Corp. filed 11 draft environmental reports with the U.S. government designed to move the Alaska Pipeline Project closer to Alberta, Canada. Read the reports here.
According to the Office of the Federal Coordinator:
Just last week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission canceled the first public comment meeting on the pipeline because the draft reports had not yet been submitted. Such meetings are a federal requirement in the permitting process.
The later submission of the reports prompted FERC to give the go-ahead for other meetings to proceed as-planned with "public scoping" of the project in Fairbanks and other communities along the proposed pipeline route, set to begin Jan. 30. An Anchorage meeting previously cancelled will be rescheduled for sometime next month, the federal coordinator announced here.
Despite submission of the reports, all's not well for the state-subsidized gas pipeline project to Canada, which is estimated to cost anywhere from $32 billion to $41 billion. TransCanada, the pipeline builder, hasn't been able to secure a single commitment from customers interested in buying Alaska's stranded natural gas. And Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell is trying to shift momentum away from the project toward an all-Alaska gasline to tidewater. There the gas would then be liquefied for shipment to global markets, most likely in Asia where natural gas prices are much higher than in the Lower 48.
Even the federal coordinator, Larry Persily, recently told an audience of energy policymakers that the odds of an Alaska pipeline to Canada were at best 50-50, and that "significant change" in the U.S. natural gas market would be needed for the project's salvation. (Listen to Persily's comments here.) Congress, aware of the changes, has slashed the budget for the federal coordinator's office.
But none of that is stopping the stakeholders from moving forward. One of the next big "milestones" for the project will come in October, when TransCanada submits final resource reports and applies with FERC for a certificate to build and operate a pipeline. With the Alaska Legislature set to meet to discuss a variety of gas and oil issues before that happens, and with the governor working on an in-state pipeline plan in conjunction with the three major oil companies that hold ownership interests in Alaska's North Slope gas fields, a lot could happen between now and then.
Contact Eric Christopher Adams at eric(at)alaskadispatch.com