Companies offer simplified pipeline regs

As part of a Regulatory Commission of Alaska investigation into possible simplification of the regulation of the operation of some Alaska oil or gas pipelines, Marathon and BP jointly have proposed some new draft regulations.

The intent of the RCA investigation is to reduce the regulatory burden for small, producer-owned pipelines, thus encouraging the exploration and development of Alaska resources. Under current regulations a pipeline operator must incur the significant time and cost of filing a tariff for pipeline use by anyone needing the pipeline services, even for a pipeline that will likely never be used by anyone other than the operator. In an RCA public meeting in March to discuss the issue, the commissioners asked industry to prepare some draft regulations for consideration by the commission.

The proposed new regulations would only apply to a pipeline that provides service exclusively for the pipeline operator.

And in that situation the pipeline operator could file a “simplified tariff” that need not be justified in the manner required under the current regulations. The pipeline operator would also be exempt from regulation as a public utility.

However, if another company makes a bona fide request for transportation services on the pipeline, the pipeline operator must notify RCA of the request and within 60 days make a complete tariff filing, as is done currently.

—Alan Bailey