Gasline Caucus briefs lawmakers, staff

Petroleum News

The Alaska Gasline Caucus sent out a press release saying that on Nov. 7 the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, or DOT, officials briefed Alaska lawmakers and staff about efforts to prepare Alaska's roads and airports for construction of an 807-mile LNG pipeline, as well as a permitting dashboard that could help save money.

Officials with the DOT are expecting an influx of transportation activity from the North Slope to the Kenai Peninsula.

Construction could start as soon as 2026 and the DOT is getting ready, according to Commissioner Ryan Anderson, Deputy Commissioner Katherine Keith and Director Daniel Smith.

Speaking at a meeting of the Alaska Gasline Caucus, the transportation officials said they are looking at stockpiling road materials along the Dalton Highway to rapidly address washouts -- a regular occurrence on the Haul Road -- to minimize delays as materials move north.

The DOT has also made a list of airports where they anticipate increased air traffic and officials plan to work with air carriers to get approval for large aircraft to land on short runways.

The agency has been working to keep maintenance depots ready and is keeping in touch with project developer Glenfarne.

The caucus additionally heard from permitting experts, including Alexander Herrgott, president and CEO of the nonprofit Permitting Institute, who said a unified one-stop permitting dashboard is needed to improve coordination and accelerate decision making.

Permitting issues can increase project costs by as much as 30%, Herrgott told the 18 state legislators participating in the meeting in Anchorage. Leaders attended in person or online.

The Alaska LNG project is anticipated to be one of the largest infrastructure projects on the planet, and the bipartisan, bicameral Alaska Gasline Caucus was formed by Rep. Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, and Rep. George Rauscher, R-Sutton, to keep state lawmakers and the public informed about aspects of the multi-billion-dollar mega project.

-PETROLEUM NEWS