AIDEA board again delays Pentex decision

For the second meeting in a row the board of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority has postponed a decision on whether to purchase Pentex Natural Gas Co.

On May 19 the board said there were technical aspects of the negotiations over the purchase that needed to be completed before votes could be taken on resolutions for the purchase decision.

In an email statement following the May 27 board meeting AIDEA said the board had postponed action on the three resolutions on the acquisition of Pentex. The board is scheduled to meet in Fairbanks June 25, and the resolutions would be taken up at that meeting, or could be taken up following a call of the chair and a five-day public notice.

AIDEA said the Pentex delay is due to technical aspects in negotiations which must be completed before the board can act.

“We remain positive about the progress that has been made, and continue working diligently to bring affordable energy to Interior Alaska,” the agency said.

AIDEA began a due diligence process on acquiring Pentex in January. Pentex owns a small liquefied natural gas facility near Port MacKenzie on Cook Inlet, a trucking operation to move LNG from the plant to Fairbanks and Fairbanks Natural Gas, which distributes re-gasified LNG to some 1,100 customers in the Fairbanks area.

The Fairbanks Natural Gas purchase would allow consolidation of FNG with the newly formed Interior Gas Utility as part of the Interior Gas Project, providing natural gas service to Interior customers from one natural gas utility. Both utilities are putting pipe in the ground this summer.

Hilcorp Energy subsidiary Harvest Alaska had a contract to purchase the LNG facility prior to AIDEA’s interest in purchasing Pentex and AIDEA has said its acquisition of Pentex would not prevent Harvest from acquiring the LNG facility.

On the Interior Energy Project, Bob Shefchik, IEP project manager, updated the board on the request for proposals for private partners for liquefaction. He said a pre-solicitation meeting was held on the request for proposal, with all those who had expressed an interest invited. From that meeting, one change was made in the RFP, he said - a 60-day period for responses once the RFP goes out, rather than the 30-day response period in the draft. He said a number of the participants at the meeting said that with offices in the Lower 48 it would take more than 30 days to respond to the RFP.

The RFP is expected to go out by the end of the month.

- Kristen Nelson