Bush advisers don’t like gas line measures in energy bill

by The Associated Press

White House advisers oppose a provision in the energy bill that mandates an Alaska route for a North Slope natural gas pipeline.

A 17-page White House analysis of the bill, with views from two dozen agencies, also finds fault with a $20 million Alaska job-training program inserted into the bill by Sen. Frank Murkowski. A White House spokeswoman said the document contains only “staff-level technical comments.”

“They don’t necessarily reflect the administration’s positions,” said Claire Buchan.

Both the House and Senate version of the energy bill would require a North Slope gas pipeline to go south into the Alaska Interior before crossing into Canada.

But banning an “over-the-top” route into the Canadian Arctic may prevent builders from choosing the most cost-effective project, two White House agencies say, echoing the position of Alaska’s major oil producers.

The White House’s support for gas line construction is officially “route neutral,” Buchan said.