Democrats press for Point Thomson permit

The wait continues for a decision from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on whether to issue ExxonMobil a wetlands permit for construction of its proposed Point Thomson development.

And pressure on the Corps is rising as more Alaska political leaders voice their opposition to any further delay in the permit decision. Point Thomson development long has been a state economic development goal, and the Corps has been considering ExxonMobil’s application since late 2009.

A pair of Democratic state legislators, Sen. Hollis French and Rep. Les Gara, both of Anchorage, on Oct. 2 sent a letter to federal and state officials urging a conclusion of permitting in time for work to begin at Point Thomson during the upcoming winter construction season.

The legislators wrote that “our constituents, regardless of political stripes, believe we need to move this project forward as soon as possible.”

They sent the letter to Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick, commanding general of the Army Corps in Washington, D.C.; Lisa Jackson, Environmental Protection Agency administrator; and state regulators.

The administration of Gov. Sean Parnell, a Republican, likewise has been pressing the Corps to get on with Point Thomson permitting.

Target date missed

The Corps had aimed to render a “record of decision” by Sept. 21, but missed that date. It has said a decision could slip as late as Nov. 21.

ExxonMobil is proposing to install facilities at Point Thomson, on the remote eastern North Slope, to produce natural gas condensate. The project also involves construction of a new 22-mile pipeline to feed the liquid condensate into the existing North Slope oil pipeline network.

The entire project is on state-owned land along the Beaufort Sea coast.

The Corps is in the final stages of considering the “least environmentally damaging practicable alternative” for the project design.

“If the necessary permits are not granted this year, this winter’s pipeline construction season will be lost, and it is likely that production will be delayed yet another year, to 2016, or later, making it almost 40 years that this petroleum rich field has not produced oil or gas,” French and Gara’s letter said.

—Wesley Loy