Heyworth hadn't seen the Revenue estimates March 14 when they were discussed at a House Special Committee on Oil and Gas hearing. He said then that he'd heard a start-up cost of $3 to $3.5 million discussed, but thought that was too high.
"I don't think it's anywhere near that number. I think it's more like a million or a million and a half," he said.
The authority wouldn't "incur any debt until the bonds are bought and we start the project," Heyworth said: "…we're not investing in the project before it's been decided by Wall Street that it's a viable project."
Heyworth told PNA March 20 that $250 million in start-up costs is "preposterous."
"Mr. Condon and his Department of Revenue have no idea how this gas project is put together. He assumes one must buy the permits, engineer the entire project and apparently make a down payment on the gas at the well head to come up with this preposterous number of $250 million in 'startup' costs," Heyworth said.
An experienced LNG team would be hired, he said, and they would negotiate permits and negotiate a gas price and negotiate with purchasers. Construction cost estimates are done on computer and as for the engineering, companies would be interested in doing that on a contingency basis, just as they have for the Alaska Gasline Port Authority, Heyworth said.