“We just concluded negotiations with Marathon for some new supply,” Izzo said. “… It has to be filed with the Regulatory Commission of Alaska for the state to review and approve.”

Under existing gas supply contracts with several Cook Inlet producers Enstar faces gas shortages starting in 2009. The new contract should ensure adequate gas supplies for Enstar’s gas network until 2016, provided that Unocal exercises its current gas supply options, Izzo said. That could see Enstar’s gas supplies through to a point when a spur gas line from the North Slope may become a reality.

“The good news is that we’ve finally been able to negotiate supply for that period of serious uncertainty between now and … when we might see North Slope gas,” Izzo said.