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May 2006

Vol. 11, No. 21 Week of May 21, 2006

Spur line gets ACMP okay from DNR

Final consistency determination issued; Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority still waiting for conditional right of way

Alan Bailey

Petroleum News

Alaska’s Office of Project Management and Permitting has found the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority’s Glennallen to Palmer gas spur line project to be consistent with the Alaska Coastal Management Program. As a corporation of the State of Alaska, ANGDA is working on delivering North Slope natural gas for in-state use. The purpose of the proposed spur line is the delivery of North Slope natural gas to Southcentral Alaska, where demand for natural gas is starting to outstrip supply.

ANGDA has applied for a state right of way for those portions of the spur line that cross state lands — the proposed pipeline route crosses a mixture of state and private land. The state has yet to issue a conditional right of way for the project, although the public comment period for the right of way ended on April 26.

The coastal consistency determination is a critical component of the permitting for the pipeline right of way and applies to those sections of the pipeline route in the proposed state right of way in the sector of the pipeline that would lie within the Matanuska-Susitna Borough coastal district boundaries.

“Based on an evaluation of the project by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Coastal Resource District, the OPMP concurs with your certification that the project is consistent with the ACMP and affected coastal district’s enforceable policies,” Shane Walker, project review coordinator for OPMP, told Harold Heinze, ANGDA CEO, in a final consistency decision letter.

24-inch pipeline

The final consistency determination document outlines ANGDA’s proposed plans for the spur line.

Essentially, a 24-inch pipeline would follow the Glenn Highway from Glennallen to Palmer. The pipeline would be buried along its entire route, unless additional studies indicate the need for some short aboveground sections at fault crossings.

There may be a compressor, processing and power generation facility at each end of the line. The pipeline capacity would be 1 billion standard cubic feet per day.

ANGDA intends to start pre-construction activities such as centerline staking, developing gravel sites and developing staging areas during the summer and fall of 2006.

However, the starting date for pipeline construction depends on factors such as the outcome of Stranded Gas Development Act negotiations between the State of Alaska and the potential operators of a North Slope gas line. Construction startup will also depend on the outcome of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission open season for the North Slope line.

Connect to North Slope line

ANGDA plans to complete its Glennallen to Palmer spur line before construction of the North Slope gas line — the spur line should take between 12 and 24 months to construct.

If the North Slope line follows the Alaska Highway route through Canada, ANGDA is prepared to construct a connecting pipeline to Glennallen from the North Slope line at Delta Junction (ANGDA has published on its Web site a feasibility study for a Delta Junction to Glennallen line).

If the North Slope line carries gas to Valdez, as proposed by the Alaska Gasline Port Authority, that gas line route would connect with the ANGDA spur line at Glennallen.

If, on the other hand, plans for a North Slope gas line are deferred indefinitely and gas shortages in Southcentral Alaska become critical, ANGDA will be prepared to build a gas line from Glennallen to Prudhoe Bay, according to the final consistency determination document.






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