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More uncertainty for Nikolaevsk pipeline RCA cannot issue timeline for final approval of project until first ruling on completeness of Anchor Point Energy application By Eric Lidji For Petroleum News
With a recent procedural decision, state regulators are signaling increased uncertainty about the timeline for bringing natural gas to the small community of Nikolaevsk.
Anchor Point Energy LLC wants approval of a proposed interconnection on its North Fork Pipeline and a corresponding interconnection agreement with Enstar Natural Gas Co., both necessary to deliver gas to the nearby south Kenai Peninsula community.
In a July 26 order, the Regulatory Commission of Alaska combined the two issues into a single docket, but noted it couldn’t provided a timeline for issuing a final decision because “we do not yet know if Anchor Point Energy, LLC’s application is complete.”
The uncertainty comes from Anchor Point Energy’s requests to waive certain reporting requirements. The RCA initially rejected the interconnection application, saying Anchor Point Energy did not provide enough information about the project or about the financial history of its owner companies to satisfy state regulatory requirements. Anchor Point Energy addressed those issues in a subsequent application, but also asked the RCA to waive certain reporting requirements and keep some financial information confidential.
Anchor Point Energy is a subsidiary of Armstrong Oil & Gas Inc. and its partners at the nearby North Fork unit, all small independents. Anchor Point Energy asked for its owners’ financials be kept confidential, saying the risk of a competitive or financial disadvantage if the records became public would “outweigh the public interest.”
RCA staff recently criticized the application, but said existing regulations could justify the waivers and concluded “there is a public interest in facilitating this application.”
The RCA has yet to rule on the issue.
“Accordingly, we will not establish a date for issuance of a final decision until it has been determined whether the application is complete,” the RCA wrote in its July 26 order.
A connection by winter? As outlined, the project involves using a $447,000 state grant to build a regulator station and a two-inch mainline running 8,930 feet to the Nikolaevsk Community School.
In the hope of having the project complete by winter, Enstar and the Kenai Peninsula Borough recently asked the RCA to expedite its decision-making process. The initial build out would bring natural gas to 12 homes, a school and a community fire station.
Additionally, Armstrong Oil & Gas is required to connect Nikolaevsk to the regional transmission grid in order to meet the terms of its unit agreement at North Fork.
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