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RCA puts pipeline back out for notice Spectrum Alaska and a pair of Flint Hills subsidiaries are both interested in building North Slope liquefied natural gas plants Eric Lidji For Petroleum News
After a dust-up between two competing liquefied natural gas projects, state regulators are putting a proposed North Slope pipeline for one of them back out for public comment.
In October, Spectrum Alaska LLC applied for a certificate from the Regulatory Commission of Alaska for an 8-inch pipeline to move gas roughly 1,100 feet from existing Prudhoe Bay facilities to a proposed LNG plant south of Flow Station No. 2.
In November, two Flint Hills Resources Alaska LLC subsidiaries proposed a similar system located in the same place. State guidelines require competing projects to file a notice of intent within 30 days of the original application, but the companies claimed the Spectrum application failed to announce this provision, as required by state regulations.
The RCA put the project out for public notice again on Dec. 18, but corrected the notice Dec. 21. Now, the RCA is asking that all prospective shippers on the line file requests for service by Jan. 14 and asking all competing projects to file notices of intent by Jan. 22.
Summer construction Because the pipeline application process involves a certificate from the RCA and a right of way from the State Pipeline Coordinator’s Office, the Flint Hills companies asked the RCA to wait until the SPCO made its decision before proceeding with its determinations.
Spectrum wants the RCA to rule by April 15, to allow for summer construction.
In addition to certification, Spectrum is seeking a waiver of the requirement to file audited financial statements and instead file unaudited statements, and it wants confidentially treatment for the statements and other information in the application.
Spectrum Alaska originally described an LNG system designed to serve North Slope industrial customers, but has since said its system could also serve the Interior and Southcentral markets through existing road and rail infrastructure. As part of a since dissolved joint venture, the Flint Hills companies are applying on behalf of Golden Valley Electric Association, which is seeking to truck LNG to the Interior region. The companies are expected to eventually transfer the application to the electric cooperative.
The Parnell administration recently announced a $355 million package to finance a North Slope liquefaction plant and fund storage and distribution infrastructure in the Interior.
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