|
Walker changing AGDC board; nixes confidentiality agreements
Alaska Gov. Bill Walker has removed three public members from the board of the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. and instructed commissioners serving on the board not to sign confidentiality agreements.
Legislators who led in the development of AGDC have expressed their disappointment.
Calling it a “paradigm shift” in the way the state will conduct business with Alaska’s gas, the statement from the governor’s office said “there will be transparency in the process.”
On Jan. 6 the governor removed Al Bolea, Drue Pearce and Richard Rabinow from the board, retaining John Burns, the board chair, and Dave Cruz, all named to the board in September 2013 by former Gov. Sean Parnell.
A meeting of the board is set for Jan. 8.
Bolea and Rabinow are both former oil company executives. Pearce was an Alaska legislator for 17 years and Senate president for two terms.
Transparency At the AGDC board meeting scheduled for Jan. 8 in Anchorage members will be expected to sign confidentiality agreements prior to an executive session closed to the public, the governor’s press release said.
“I am committed to a transparent government in which Alaskans are part of the conversation about our resources,” Walker said. “I cannot allow my Cabinet members to sign confidentiality agreements meant to keep information away from the public.”
Walker has instructed cabinet members on the board, Department of Labor Commissioner Heidi Drygas and Department of Commerce Acting Commissioner Fred Parady, not to sign the confidentiality agreement.
AGDC is the state’s business participant in the Alaska LNG project, the partnership between BP, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, the state and TransCanada, to advance a liquefied natural gas project taking Alaska North Slope natural gas to Far Eastern markets as LNG.
Legislators disappointed In a Jan. 7 statement House Speaker Mike Chenault and Rep. Mike Hawker, architects of House Bill 4, which established AGDC, expressed disappointment at the governor’s decision.
The two said they believe the three fired board members were critical to advancing natural gas commercialization.
Chenault, R-Nikiski, said he spoke to Walker after the firings were announced. “I’m disappointed that Gov. Walker has chosen to eliminate these board members, who have proven their worth and commitment to Alaska in the progress made already,” he said in a statement.
Chenault said it would be difficult to replace the 60 years of knowledge those board members have, “and in particular, the expertise of Dick Rabinow, who is the only board member to have actual gasline construction experience under his belt.”
Hawker, R-Anchorage, said he was disappointed by the governor’s action. “I’m deeply concerned that this signals a wholesale change of course for Gov. Walker on gas commercialization,” he said, noting that “an overwhelming majority of legislators” voted to create AGDC.
Confidentiality issue On the confidentiality issue Hawker said: “In creating AGDC, the Legislature carefully weighed the need for confidentiality in some issues with the need for public accountability” and “struck a balance between transparency to Alaskans, and the need to protect commercially sensitive information, third-party private company information, and information that, if known, could adversely impact the price Alaskans receive for its gas.”
Hawker added that all the key business agreements crafted under confidentiality agreements “will, by law, be brought back to the Legislature for a fully transparent, public vetting and approval.”
Sen. Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, Turnagain Arm, continuing chair of Senate Resources, said in a Jan. 7 statement that while the governor has the authority to remove members of the board, “for an administration that has vowed to get Alaska’s natural gas to market, this deprives the state of necessary tools for success in a global scale LNG project.” On the issue of confidentiality agreements, Giessel said: “It is foolhardy to think that a project in the billions of dollars, in competition with other sites around the world, does not benefit the people of Alaska by confidential briefings and negotiations to maintain a competitive edge.”
- Kristen Nelson
| 