ANGDA postpones April conference

The Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority is postponing a conference to promote and discuss the potential for value-added petrochemical industries in Alaska.

The conference was originally scheduled for April, but has now been pushed to Sept. 29 and 30 at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage.

The decision to postpone the conference follows months of high-profile developments related to natural gas in Alaska, according to ANGDA CEO Harold Heinze.

“We want to identify the right opportunities and right partners for Alaska natural gas,” Heinze said. “As the conference approached it became evident that with more time we could make more of an impact. Just in the last few weeks there have been a number of important developments affecting both an in-state gas line and a larger line that will deliver gas from Alaska’s North Slope to markets in Canada and the U.S. The rapidly changing landscape has necessitated some further research and planning.”

The decision to postpone the conference comes amid global financial uncertainty and a sharp reduction in oil and gas prices that appears to have leveled off in recent weeks.

ANGDA and the Anchorage Economic Development Corp. hope to use the conference as a way to promote the 35 trillion cubic feet of known natural gas reserves on the North Slope. Heinze said North Slope gas represents the first new source of ethane and propane to come to market in a politically stable environment in more than 20 years.

Heinze said many of the higher-profile speakers at the conference — like Drue Pearce, federal coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects, and U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich — would be invited to speak at the conference again.

“We plan to build on their momentum and finalize a dynamic program that explains Alaska opportunities,” said Bill Popp, president and CEO of AEDC.

—Petroleum News