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Interior Energy Project hits milestones
A project to bring natural gas to the Fairbanks North Star Borough by 2016 recently reached milestones at its upstream and downstream components, according to sponsors.
All permits for the North Slope liquefied natural gas facility are in place, according to the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority. And the Interior Gas Utility is now taking bids for the plastic distribution pipelines to be installed in North Pole next year.
With the permitting program for the North Slope plant complete, AIDEA said it can now move toward closing on the financial arrangements with its private sector partner and then start procurement. AIDEA intends to hit both of those targets by the end of the year.
AIDEA and the global infrastructure firm MWH Americas Inc. signed a concession agreement in September. The agreement established a legal framework for AIDEA to own and MWH subsidiary Northern Lights Energy LLC to build and operate the plant.
Within Prudhoe boundaries The partners intend to build the North Slope LNG facility within the boundaries of the Prudhoe Bay unit. With assistance from unit operator BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., AIDEA significantly sped up the process of securing the final air quality control permit and associated reports, according to AIDEA Executive Director Ted Leonard.
“We are grateful for BP’s help on moving this critical part of the Interior Energy Project forward,” Leonard said in a statement. “Their assistance allowed for a thorough and prompt analysis of the air permit application, and meant that AIDEA did not have to expend valuable time and resources on gathering base data for the final permit needed to build the plant.”
The Interior Energy Project will truck LNG to the Fairbanks North Star Borough, where it will be re-gasified and delivered to consumers on at least two distinct grids.
The Fairbanks Natural Gas grid is already operational, although the utility intends to expand its operations within the city of Fairbanks using a $15 million AIDEA loan.
The municipal Interior Gas Utility is building a new grid in the city of North Pole that will expand throughout the borough. The utility is now taking bids. “To begin construction as soon as possible in 2015, this large amount of pipe needs to be ordered before December 2014,” Interior Gas Utility Project Manager David Prusak said in a statement. “We are grateful to work with AIDEA representatives who continue to be flexible and understand the complexity of this project and the aggressive timeline before us.”
—Eric Lidji
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