05/02/2005 01:00 PM House RESOURCES

HCR 13-NATURAL GAS SPUR LINE CONSTRUCTION                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR RAMRAS announced  that the next order  of business would                                                               
be   HOUSE  CONCURRENT   RESOLUTION  NO.   13     Expressing  the                                                               
legislature's support for the construction  of a natural gas spur                                                               
pipeline between Fairbanks and the  Nenana Basin and Southcentral                                                               
Alaska, commending  the interest  and initiative of  the sponsors                                                               
of that  project, and encouraging the  appropriate state resource                                                               
agencies to lend support to those efforts.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
JIM  POUND,  Staff to  Representative  Jay  Ramras, Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature, said HCR  13 would encourage the  development of the                                                               
stranded gas  in the Interior.   He  added that early  testing in                                                               
the  Nenana  region  indicates  there  could be  as  much  as  10                                                               
trillion cubic feet  of natural gas, and if it  pans out, it will                                                               
be stranded  until a pipeline  can be  built.  He  said Fairbanks                                                               
would have a difficult time consuming  that much gas, so the idea                                                               
is  for the  pipeline  to go  north  and south.    He noted  that                                                               
several companies  are working on  this project, and HCR  13 asks                                                               
the resource agencies to work with them.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
The committee took an at-ease from 3:43:50 PM to 3:43:58 PM.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
MR. POUND recommended  the following changes: on page  1, line 8,                                                               
delete "to  15 trillion" because  the actual estimate is  only 10                                                               
trillion; on Page 2, line 8,  insert ", LLC, Usibelli Energy LLC,                                                               
Arctic Slope Regional  Corporation";  and on Page 2,  line 9, add                                                               
"who have worked together and  Enstar has secured partial federal                                                               
funding".                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:45:42 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
HAROLD  HEINZE,  Chief  Executive  Officer,  Alaska  Natural  Gas                                                               
Development Authority  (ANGDA), said  he supports  the resolution                                                               
and  has  suggestions.   He  said  on  line  6  and 9,  the  word                                                               
"reserves"   is  used,   which  implies   they  are   well-known,                                                               
discovered,   and  found,   so  he   suggests  using   "potential                                                               
reserves", "resource  base", or  "reserve base".   He  said there                                                               
are  no reserves  at  this  time in  the  Nenana  basin, and  the                                                               
reserves on the  North Slope at most are 35  trillion cubic feet.                                                               
He  added  that on  line  12,  page  2,  the term  "fastest  most                                                               
efficient" should not be used because that is unknown.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:47:30 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO suggested striking  the word "reserves", and                                                               
use 35 trillion  instead of 100 trillion.  He  said he will offer                                                               
that as conceptual Amendment 1.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  CRAWFORD   said  he   objected  and   offered  an                                                               
amendment to  conceptual Amendment  1.  He  said 100  trillion is                                                               
the potential, and he  would like to keep it.   He said there are                                                               
35 trillion  cubic feet  of reserves, so  "take the  reserves out                                                               
and put resources, and we can say 100."                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  GATTO objected  to  the  amendment to  conceptual                                                               
Amendment  1 because  the number  "35" is  used extensively,  and                                                               
anyone  could say  there  is up  to 100  million,  but those  are                                                               
potential.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD said "Or you  can leave the 'reserves' in                                                               
there and say  '35', but to take 'reserves' out  and just say '35                                                               
trillion potential resource' is a misnomer."                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:50:34 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO said change the '35' and keep 'reserves'.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR SAMUELS said, "If we use the word 'reserves', we have                                                                  
to use the '35'.  If we want to use '100', then we use the word                                                                 
'resource'."                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:51:08 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD withdrew the amendment to conceptual                                                                    
Amendment 1.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO restated conceptual Amendment 1 to read:                                                                   
delete "100" and add "35".                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
There being no objection, conceptual Amendment 1 carried.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:52:32 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR SAMUELS offered Amendment 2, as follows:                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
     Page 1, line 8, following "estimated 10"                                                                                   
          Delete "to 15"                                                                                                        
     Page 1, line 9,                                                                                                            
          Delete "reserves"                                                                                                     
          Insert "resources"                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
There being no objection, Amendment 2 carried.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR RAMRAS offered Amendment 3, as follows:                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     Page 2, line 8, following "Andex Resources"                                                                                
          Insert ", LLC, Usibelli Energy, LLC,"                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
     Page 2, line 9, following "ENSTAR Natural Gas Company"                                                                     
          Delete ","                                                                                                            
          Insert "Arctic Slope Regional Corporation"                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     Page 2, line 9, following "who have"                                                                                       
          Insert "worked"                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     Page 2, line 9, following "together"                                                                                       
          Insert "and ENSTAR has"                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
There being no objection, Amendment 3 carried.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
3:54:16 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ELKINS  moved  to  report  HCR  13,  labeled  24-                                                               
LS0943\Y,   as  amended,   out  of   committee  with   individual                                                               
recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
There being no objection, CSHCR 13(RES) passed out of committee.