Legislature(2007 - 2008)
2007-03-05 House Journal
Full Journal pdf2007-03-05 House Journal Page 0384 HB 177 HOUSE BILL NO. 177 by the House Rules Committee by request of the Governor, entitled: "An Act relating to the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act; establishing the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act matching contribution fund; providing for an Alaska Gasline Inducement Act coordinator; making conforming amendments; and providing for an effective date." was read the first time and referred to the House Special Committee on Oil & Gas and the Resources and Finance Committees. The following fiscal note(s) apply: 1. Zero, Dept. of Administration 2. Zero, Dept. of Commerce, Community, & Economic Development 3. Zero, Dept. of Natural Resources 4. Fiscal, Dept. of Natural Resources 5. Fiscal, Dept. of Revenue The Governor's transmittal letter dated March 2, 2007, follows: "Dear Speaker Harris: Under the authority of Article III, Section 18, of the Alaska Constitution, I am transmitting a bill that facilitates commercialization of Alaska's North Slope natural gas resources and promotes continued exploration and development of those resources. The bill will induce expeditious construction of a natural gas pipeline to transport Alaska's North Slope natural gas to market using a process that is fair, transparent, and competitive. Our nation's energy markets are hungry for Alaska's gas resources, and Alaskans have waited for decades to see these resources developed. Earlier this week I had several successful meetings with federal officials in Washington, D.C., including the distinguished members of Alaska's Congressional delegation. These meetings affirmed for me that it is time for Alaska's natural gas resources to be developed in order to meet the energy demands of our nation. The Chairman of the 2007-03-05 House Journal Page 0385 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Joseph Kelliher, made the statement that my plan does "represent the best hope for building a pipeline to bring Alaska's vast natural gas resources to the energy consuming lower 48 states." This bill sets forth the following: (a) midstream inducements to encourage companies to identify development benchmarks and build the gas pipeline; (b) upstream inducements that will encourage the holders of North Slope gas reserves to commit their gas to the project; (c) terms that an application must contain to qualify to compete for an exclusive license to the midstream inducements; (d) evaluative criteria by which competing applications will be measured; (e) a public process for reviewing the applications; (f) a procedure by which the applications will be reviewed and a notice of intent to issue a license that will be transmitted to the legislature; and (g) auditing and enforcement tools to protect state contributions and interests. The midstream inducements will include a matching contribution of up to $500 million paid out during the highest risk phase of the project, which is the period the licensee is completing the work necessary to obtain a certificate from either the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) or the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA). The licensed project will also benefit from a state program that provides training to Alaskans for gas pipeline jobs. The bill offers explicit requirements that state permits and authorizations relating to the pipeline be expedited and coordinated in order to avoid complicated, time-consuming and conflicting state and federal permitting processes. In order to facilitate a successful project and an expedient process, the bill will empower the governor to appoint a gas pipeline coordinator to oversee the state permitting process and work with the federal pipeline coordinator to integrate the state and federal permitting processes. The upstream inducements will encourage those who hold gas reserves under lease to commit that gas to the pipeline licensed under the bill. Under the "royalty inducements," the state will develop regulations to provide predictability in the determination of royalty value and the exercise of its right to take its royalty share in kind (as gas) or in value (as money). A "gas production tax exemption" will give shippers of 2007-03-05 House Journal Page 0386 gas an exemption from production tax equal to the difference between the tax obligation based upon the tax rate in affect at Open Season, and any higher rate that becomes effective in the ten years following commencement of the gas pipeline commercial operations. These provisions address leaseholders' concerns that they need to know how their royalty and tax obligations will be measured for a reasonable period into the future before they irrevocably commit to ship their gas at an Open Season. The benefits will be available to all leaseholders who commit gas to the licensed gas pipeline project during the initial Open Season. The bill will accomplish six primary goals: (1) initiate an application process open to any project sponsor; (2) take clear steps to promote the construction of a gas pipeline as quickly as possible, (3) ensure the North Slope basin is open to long-term gas exploration and development, (4) ensure reasonable tariff rates are available to transport Alaska's natural gas to market, (5) ensure North Slope natural gas is available to Alaskans, and (6) ensure Alaskans are trained and ready for the natural gas pipeline jobs and those jobs are made available to Alaskans. To accomplish the first goal, applications will be welcomed from any entity or a coalition of entities interested in constructing the gas pipeline. However, only those applications that fulfill the "qualifying application requirements" will be considered for the license to the midstream inducement package. To accomplish the second goal, the bill will require that applications provide a detailed description of the applicant's proposed project, including route, size, design capacity, timeline and budget. Applicants must agree to hold an Open Season (to solicit firm commitments to ship gas on the pipeline) within three years of getting the license, and will detail steps toward obtaining a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity from FERC or the RCA. The state gas pipeline coordinator will also ensure an expeditious regulatory process. To accomplish the third goal, applicants must commit to expanding the pipeline project when new gas is available. There is currently more than 35 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proven reserves of natural gas on Alaska's North Slope. However, most geologists agree that there is 2007-03-05 House Journal Page 0387 many times that amount of North Slope gas awaiting discovery. By ensuring that the pipeline will be expanded when more gas is discovered and ready to be shipped, the bill assures that Alaska's gas will serve the nation's energy needs for decades. Therefore, applicants must commit to evaluate the demand for pipeline expansion at least every two years, and to expand when there is sufficient quantities of gas to ensure an economic expansion. The costs of any expansions will then be collected through "rolled-in" rates that pass those expansion costs on to all shippers in the gas pipeline. The AGIA will cap the cost of rolled-in price increases at no more than 15 percent of initial rates, in response to concerns regarding the predictability of tariff rates. To accomplish the fourth goal, applicants will have to commit to propose and support tariff rates that would produce the lowest reasonable transportation costs in order to produce the highest price at the wellhead. Minimizing transportation costs result in the state maximizing its royalty revenue stream as well as that of the producers. To accomplish the fifth goal, applicants must provide for a minimum of five off-take points in Alaska. This, in conjunction with the "distance sensitive tariff rates", will allow gas to be withdrawn from the pipeline at reasonable transportation costs in order to serve residential and business needs across the state. To accomplish the sixth goal, applicants must commit to establishing a gas pipeline project headquarters in Alaska, establishing hiring offices in Alaska, and hiring qualified Alaskans, thus giving Alaskans access to the thousands of new pipeline jobs. The bill requires the application process to commence no more than three months after the bill passes, when the commissioners of Natural Resources and Revenue issue a request for applications (RFA). Applications will be due under a deadline established by the commissioners; however, our intention is to allow applicants three (3) months to respond to the RFA. Applicants will be deemed "qualified" by having fulfilled the bill's requirements. Qualified applications will then be evaluated by the commissioners of Natural Resources and Revenue to determine which 2007-03-05 House Journal Page 0388 application best meets the stated goals. Before issuing a written determination, the commissioners will publicly release complete applications and take comments for 60 days. Applicants could apply to keep confidential the proprietary information or trade secrets included in their applications. The bill sets forth "evaluative criteria" to facilitate the selection process. The evaluative criteria are: the proposed project timeline, the proposed method to manage cost overruns, the proposed tariff rates, the ability of the project design to accommodate expansion, the percentage of the state matching fund that will be used, whether the project is feasible, and the applicant's ability to perform. The commissioners will publish a notice of intent to issue a natural gas pipeline project license with written findings, and forward the notice of intent, with findings and supporting documentation, to the legislature. The legislature will have 30 days to disapprove the commissioners' proposed action. The bill also provides that the licensee must commit to spend the money necessary to build the pipeline within one year of receiving a certificate from the FERC or the RCA if the project has credit support adequate to finance construction of the project. If necessary, the licensee would have an additional four years to obtain financing, or transfer the certificate and all associated work product to another licensee designated by the state. If the project becomes uneconomic after the license is awarded, the bill provides a process for relinquishing the license that will enable the state to recover the benefit of its investment in the project and issue another license. To encourage the licensee to spend its money working toward Open Season, and certification, and building the gas pipeline project, the state will agree that if it provides financial benefits to another company to encourage the construction of a competing pipeline project after the license is issued, the licensee will be entitled to recover from the state three times the amount it spent on the project. The bill identifies quantifiable values the state is willing to commit to encourage early and appropriate development of an Alaska Gas Pipeline project. It also identifies the elements necessary to protect the state, and the nation's, long-term interests in development of additional gas reserves. The bill protects the state from untenable risks and will 2007-03-05 House Journal Page 0389 induce expedited construction of a gas pipeline that powers the state and the nation. I urge your prompt and favorable action on the bill. Sincerely, /s/ Sarah Palin Governor"