The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority has completed its purchase of Pentex Alaska Natural Gas Co. LLC, AIDEA spokesman Karsten Rodvik has confirmed to Petroleum News. The completion of the purchase means that AIDEA now owns Fairbanks Natural Gas, one of the two gas utilities in the city of Fairbanks.
The purchase comes as part of the Interior Energy Project, a project to bring affordable energy to Fairbanks and the surrounding Interior. Through its ownership of Fairbanks Natural Gas AIDEA plans to lower the cost of gas for Fairbanks residents and to facilitate a consolidation of the two Fairbanks utilities.
As part of its purchase of Pentex, AIDEA has also acquired ownership of a small liquefied natural gas facility near Port MacKenzie on Cook Inlet. AIDEA had planned to sell this facility to Harvest Alaska LLC, an affiliate of Hilcorp Alaska, a Cook Inlet gas producer. In early August the state attorney general refused to approve the sale of the facility to Harvest but AIDEA decided to continue with its Pentex purchase, as planned.
- ALAN BAILEY
See story in Oct. 11 issue, available online Friday, Oct. 9, at www.PetroleumNews.com
