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Value-added benefits of peninsula gas line terminus argued at Alliance meeting
Kristen Nelson
Mike Navarre, mayor of the Kenai Peninsula Borough, told the Alaska Support Industry Alliance Nov. 5 that sending North Slope natural gas to Valdez for export as liquefied natural gas may not be what’s best for Alaska.
He argued against making a quick choice to send gas to Valdez based on the recently approved port authority or on existing permits. The Valdez route, he said, does not benefit the entire state. A gas line to Cook Inlet would have more benefits, he said, because the gas wouldn’t be tied to long-term export contracts and could be used for value-added projects within the state.
Cook Inlet has work force, infrastructure, space Cook Inlet, Navarre noted, is the population center of the state, “has had a long history and a close relationship with the oil and gas industry” and has industries that use natural gas, in addition to home use, electrical generation, commercial and business use.
“Cook Inlet has the space, the trained work force and the industrial infrastructure to support the LNG project,” Navarre said.
The Phillips-Marathon LNG export plant at Nikiski could be expanded and its life extended, he said, if North Slope natural gas is brought to the Kenai. The life of Unocal’s Nikiski ammonia and urea plant could also be extended.
“And,” he said, “Cook Inlet has something that Valdez doesn’t have. That that is the room to build additional opportunities to take advantage of these economic developments that could happen as a result of having a sustainable gas supply in Cook Inlet.”
The opportunity exists in Cook Inlet “for a long-term economic benefit beyond simply export,” Navarre said.
$100,000 proposed to support Cook Inlet terminus Navarre said that the ARCO gas sponsor group had looked at three or four Cook Inlet sites for a terminus for the gas line, and had selected Nikiski as the Cook Inlet choice, in addition to Anderson Bay in Valdez.
He introduced an ordinance in the Kenai Borough Assembly in October asking for a $150,000 appropriation, $50,000 to explore the foreign trade zone concept and $100,000 to coordinate with industry groups and other municipalities which would be on a pipeline corridor to Cook Inlet.
He said that the ordinance would be considered Nov. 16 and that he expected passage.
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