00 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 4 01 Urging the attorney general, the producers of natural gas in the Cook Inlet region, and 02 the Regulatory Commission of Alaska to work to secure long-term and affordable 03 supplies of natural gas for the people and businesses of the state. 04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 WHEREAS approximately 340,000 people in the state rely on natural gas from Cook 06 Inlet to heat their homes; and 07 WHEREAS approximately 473,000 people in the state rely on natural gas from Cook 08 Inlet to generate electricity for their homes and businesses; and 09 WHEREAS these people live in communities from Fairbanks to the Kenai Peninsula, 10 including Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough; and 11 WHEREAS ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil Corporation have jointly filed for a 12 two-year extension of the Kenai Liquefied Natural Gas facility's export license with the 13 United States Department of Energy; and 14 WHEREAS the Kenai Liquefied Natural Gas Plant currently exports about 1,300,000 15 metric tons of liquefied natural gas annually to buyers in Tokyo, representing approximately 01 36 percent of the natural gas produced in the Cook Inlet region; and 02 WHEREAS the Kenai Liquefied Natural Gas Plant plays an important role in the 03 local and state economy, employs approximately 58 residents, and generates revenue for the 04 state and the Kenai Peninsula Borough; and 05 WHEREAS the supply of natural gas in Cook Inlet relative to the demand has 06 declined significantly in recent years, and production is forecasted to decline precipitously 07 over the next decade; and 08 WHEREAS the decline in supply relative to demand has resulted in skyrocketing 09 prices for local consumers, increasing home heating costs by 97 percent in the last five years 10 and causing hardship for many low-income and middle-income families; and 11 WHEREAS, although the renewal of the export license for the export of liquefied 12 natural gas offers many benefits to the state, the state's first priority must be to ensure the 13 availability of affordable natural gas to meet the needs of the people of the state; 14 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the 15 attorney general to evaluate whether the extension of the Kenai Liquefied Natural Gas Plant's 16 export license is in the best interest of local consumers and the state and whether termination 17 of the license would result in lower prices for businesses and residents of the state; and be it 18 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges natural gas 19 producers in the Cook Inlet region to work with local utilities to ensure an adequate and 20 affordable long-term supply of natural gas for Alaskans; and be it 21 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the Regulatory 22 Commission of Alaska to expedite review of any utility contract that will provide long-term 23 and affordable supplies of natural gas for the people of the state. 24 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Samuel W. Bodman, United 25 States Secretary of Energy; the Honorable Talis J. Colberg, Alaska Attorney General; the 26 Honorable Tom Irwin, Commissioner, Department of Natural Resources; the Honorable Emil 27 Notti, Commissioner of the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic 28 Development; the Honorable Kate Giard, Chair of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska; Jim 29 Bowles, President, ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc.; John Barnes, Alaska Asset Team Manager, 30 Marathon Oil Company; John Zager, General Manager, Chevron.