Unocal sale of TAPS stake still pending

A minor owner continues to pursue a sale of its interest in the trans-Alaska pipeline system, or TAPS, but snags still remain.

Unocal Pipeline Co., in an Oct. 25 status report filed with the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, repeated language it had used previously. That is, Unocal and the other TAPS owners “have a dispute over several transfer-related matters,” and the parties are trying to settle their differences through arbitration and litigation.

The other TAPS owners are subsidiaries of BP, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil. Presumably, one or more of these companies could end up with Unocal’s interest.

Unocal, part of Chevron, holds the smallest stake in TAPS at 1.36 percent.

Unocal told the RCA it would file either an application to transfer its interest, or another status report, by Jan. 25. The commission said that would be fine.

The RCA in July 2012 gave Unocal permission to temporarily suspend service on its share of capacity on the pipeline, pending the sale of its ownership interest.

In seeking that suspension, Unocal said it was bowing out as an owner because its interest in TAPS “no longer meets the company’s core strategic needs.”

A subsidiary of Koch Industries in December 2012 received RCA approval to transfer its small stake in TAPS to BP, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil.

—Wesley Loy