Pre-hearing conference scheduled for pipeline connection rules

Petroleum News Alaska

The Regulatory Commission of Alaska has scheduled a pre-hearing conference Oct. 16 on trans-Alaska pipeline connection issues.

The RCA said Sept. 18 that proceedings on the docket have been pending since 1997 under RCA's predecessor agency, the Alaska Public Utilities Commission, which last took action on the docket in July 1998.

Parties are the trans-Alaska pipeline system carriers (Amerada Hess Pipeline Corp., BP Pipelines (Alaska) Inc., Exxon Pipeline Co., Phillips Alaska Transportation Inc., Unocal Pipeline Co. and Williams Alaska Pipeline Co. LLC), Tesoro Alaska Co., Williams Alaska Petroleum Co., Petro Star Inc. and BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc.

The APUC ordered that discovery proceed through agreement of the parties, and said that, after discovery was completed, it would hold a pre-hearing conference to determine the further course of the proceeding.

The RCA said it cannot determine from information in the docket whether discovery has taken place, and has scheduled the pre-hearing conference to determine the status of discovery and to schedule any further proceedings necessary in the docket.