The Regulatory Commission of Alaska issued an order today granting Aurora Gas immediate interim access to the Cook Inlet Gas Gathering System to transport gas from its Nicolai Creek unit until the CIGGS case in front of the commission is decided in November. 
Aurora President Scott Pfoff said the company was geared up to pump gas from three Nicolai Creek wells into CIGGS, which moves natural gas from the west side of Cook Inlet to the east side, as soon as commercial agreements were in place with CIGGS owners Marathon and Unocal.
Pfoff said two compressors at the ConocoPhillips-operated Beluga gas field were due to go down for maintenance early Saturday morning; the Nicolai Creek gas would replace that gas in the Cook Inlet system. 
“We’re actively talking to both Marathon and Unocal. Everyone is cooperating. We hope to reach an agreement in the next 48 hours,” he said at 3:30 p.m. Alaska time on May 11. 
“The RCA order gives us interim access to CIGGS until the commission makes a final ruling on the CIGGS case. It is a very specific exemption for Aurora for the Nicolai Creek unit,” Pfoff said.
The order was in response to a motion filed May 9 by all parties to the pending CIGGS case in which the commission is trying to determine if it should regulate CIGGS as a common carrier pipeline or as a utility. The initial complaint was brought by Agrium U.S. on Oct. 1 against CIGGS owners Marathon Oil and Unocal. Agrium wants CIGGS to be regulated as a common carrier pipeline system. CIGGS has been operated as an unregulated pipeline facility since 1972 before the 1974 passage of the Alaska Pipeline Act, and because of that is not regulated under the pipeline act.
Enstar Natural Gas, Aurora Gas, Aurora Power Resources and the state of Alaska are also parties to the proceeding.