Legislature approves ANGDA funding

On May 16 the Alaska Legislature passed a capital appropriations bill that includes $5 million in funding for the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority. The bill now awaits signature by Governor Palin.

ANGDA needs the money to progress its Alaska Gas Market System, a proposal to take 1.25 billion cubic feet a day of Alaska North Slope gas to markets in Interior and Southcentral Alaska, and to Valdez for use in a liquefied natural gas facility.

The authority has been taking a lead in addressing issues relating to potential Alaska in-state use of North Slope gas. ANGDA Chief Executive Officer Harold Heinze has said that AGMS will provide a backup position in the event that a large pipeline project is stalled and that most of the planned ANGDA work would prove useful for any in-state gas system. The authority has already obtained a conditional right of way for a spur gas pipeline between Glennallen and Palmer.

An estimate for phase one of the AGMS project came in at somewhat in excess of $10 million, but a pared down version of the work program reduced that estimate to about $7.7 million, Heinze told the ANGDA board on May 9. ANGDA expects to obtain the balance of the funding, above the $5 million from the state, from private industry.

“The premise here is very strongly that we do get help from the private sector, in terms of in-kind contributions to accomplish a lot of these tasks,” Heinze said.

—Alan Bailey