Alaska lawmakers add to list of bills for review this session

Petroleum News

Alaska legislators have four new bills and one revised measure added to their growing list of oil and gas bills this session. Counting the 18 or so left over from last year, the Legislature has almost three dozen oil and gas bills for its consideration — though most likely will die in committee when lawmakers face their scheduled May 12 adjournment deadline.

The recently introduced bills are:

• House Bill 382, submitted by the governor. This is identical to Senate Bill 264 and would repeal the Dec. 31, 2003, sunset provision in state law for reimbursable services agreements between the Department of Natural Resources and pipeline right-of-way applicants.

The department says failure to adopt the legislation would leave it without funding for pre-application review work, which could delay final application reviews.

• House Bill 383, submitted by the governor. This is identical to Senate Bill 266 and would close certain lands in the Bristol Bay region to oil and gas exploration licensing and shallow gas leasing, holding back the acreage for the administration’s anticipated, large-scale competitive lease sale in the area.

• House Bill 384, submitted by the governor. This is identical to Senate Bill 265 and would amend requirements for the state’s five-year oil and gas leasing program to allow adding potential competitive sales to the schedule each year instead of only every other year. The practical effect is the bill would allow the department to present to legislators this year a report on potential Bristol Bay leases instead of waiting until 2005.

• House Bill 386, sponsored by Anchorage Democrats Reps. Eric Croft and Harry Crawford. This is identical to Senate President Gene Therriault’s proposal, Senate Bill 253, and would exempt the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority from the state procurement code. The authority says it needs the exemption from competitive bidding laws to avoid delays in its planning work for a state-owned North Slope natural gas pipeline and liquefied natural gas terminal at Valdez.

• A new version of House Bill 296, revised by the sponsors of the measure originally submitted last year. The revised bill would appropriate $2.15 million in state funds to the gas development authority to finish its planning work this year. Last year’s unsuccessful measure asked for $1.3 million.

The revised House bill is identical to Senate Bill 241, introduced a week earlier by Therriault, R-North Pole. Sponsors of the House bill are Croft and Crawford and Rep. David Guttenberg, D-Fairbanks.