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Canadians run shuttle campaign in bid to sway U.S. legislators on energy bill Dhaliwal makes case for ‘market-driven’ rather than subsidized pipeline solutions, but Bingaman spokeswoman says Alaska gas needs help to reach market Gary Park PNA Canadian Correspondent
Competing for attention amid the Iraq debate and approaching U.S. congressional mid-term elections, Canadian politicians have opted to defy the odds and present their opposition in Washington, D.C., to government financial backing of an Alaska Highway gas pipeline.
Canadian Natural Resources Minister Herb Dhaliwal spearheaded the lobbying on Sept. 10 with meetings that included Sen. Jeff Bingaman, chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, and Rep. Bill Tauzin, chairman of the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee.
Despite his renewed appeals, there was no immediate sign that the Senate will retreat from a proposal to offer subsidies and loan guarantees to the pipeline.
Dhaliwal told reporters that he tried to persuade the U.S. legislators to drop a section from the Energy Policy Act that would offer the U.S. industry as much as $20 billion in subsidies through a floor price for North Slope gas and $11 billion in loan guarantees to build the delivery system.
He again stressed “there should be a market-driven solution,” warning that if the Senate plan is approved lawmakers from gas-producing states in the Lower 48 will ask for matching subsidies.
“The real concern is distortion of the market,” he said. Dhaliwal appeals for route neutrality Appealing for a “route-neutral” stance on Capitol Hill, Dhaliwal argued that both the Canadian government and the Bush administration are agreed that governments should stay out of the process of selecting a pipeline route and offering financial back-up for the construction.
Dhaliwal said Bingaman shared his concerns about market distortion, but a spokeswoman for Bingaman later told reporters that the senator was not swayed by Dhaliwal’s request for an elimination of subsidies.
“We believe in order to get Alaska gas to the U.S. market there is need to have some assistance,” the spokeswoman said. “This is something the senator feels very strongly about.”
With two-thirds of the highway pipeline route scheduled to cross Canadian territory, Dhaliwal said he was uncertain whether Canada would withhold approvals should the subsidies be retained.
He said Canada “should have something to say” about when and where a gas pipeline should be built and might be ready to draw the line if President George W. Bush signs a bill that includes subsidies.
Canadian opportunities could dry up Dhaliwal said he was also trying to make the case that Canada is a secure, reliable source of oil, natural gas and electricity for the United States and is already the largest foreign provider of gas and currently second to Mexico as an exporter of oil.
But Bingaman’s spokeswoman said the senator endorses the legislative objective of reducing U.S. reliance on all foreign supplies of energy.
Dhaliwal’s visit was followed one day later by Northwest Territories Resource Minister Jim Antoine, who discussed pipeline issues with legislators.
Meanwhile, Robert Marshall, senior pipeline adviser to the Northwest Territories government, warned Sept. 11 that plans for a Mackenzie Valley pipeline could be rolled back 15 years if the United States introduces a floor price for North Slope gas.
Under a worst-case scenario, he said opportunities for development of both Northwest Territories and Alberta gas would dry up by as investment money moved to Alaska.
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