00             CS FOR HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 8(O&G)                                                              
01 Expressing the legislature's opposition to the proposed "northern" or "over-the-top"                                    
02 route for a natural gas pipeline to transport North Slope natural gas reserves to the                                   
03 domestic North American market, and expressing the legislature's support of                                             
04 commercialization of North Slope natural gas for the maximum benefit of the people of                                   
05 the state.                                                                                                              
06 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
07       WHEREAS art. VIII, sec. 1, Constitution of the State of Alaska, provides that it is the                         
08 policy of the state to encourage the settlement of its land and the development of its resources                        
09 by making them available for maximum use consistent with the public interest; and                                       
10       WHEREAS art. VIII, sec. 2, Constitution of the State of Alaska, requires the                                    
11 legislature to provide for the utilization, development, and conservation of all natural                                
12 resources belonging to the state, including land and waters, for the maximum benefit of its                             
13 people; and                                                                                                             
14       WHEREAS 35 trillion cubic feet of known natural gas reserves are acknowledged to                                
15 be adherent to oil and gas leases on the North Slope of Alaska, and, additionally, realistic                            

01 estimates of total recoverable gas from the reserves exceed 100 trillion cubic feet; and                                
02       WHEREAS demand for new sources of natural gas supply in North American and                                      
03 Asian markets places Alaska's North Slope natural gas in the unique position of being                                   
04 attractive to both markets; and                                                                                         
05       WHEREAS improved economics, technological advances, and the possibility of                                      
06 public financing of a natural gas pipeline, including particularly the financing proposal of the                        
07 Alaska Gasline Port Authority, a public authority established by Alaska municipalities for the                          
08 promotion of transportation-related commerce, have removed previously perceived barriers to                             
09 the commercialization of Alaska's North Slope natural gas; and                                                          
10       WHEREAS it is widely recognized that maximum benefit to Alaskans from the                                       
11 commercialization of North Slope natural gas lies in market exposure for Alaska North Slope                             
12 gas reserves, opportunities for in-state use of the natural gas and for participation by Alaskans                       
13 in construction, maintenance, and operation of the gas line transportation project, and the                             
14 recovery of revenue by the state from the development, transport, and sale of Alaska North                              
15 Slope gas reserves; and                                                                                                 
16       WHEREAS the "northern" or "over-the-top" route for the proposed pipeline, running                               
17 east from the North Slope to Canada's Mackenzie River Valley, then south through that valley                            
18 to link to existing pipeline networks, under consideration by the North American Gas Pipeline                           
19 Group, offers none of these benefits; and                                                                               
20       WHEREAS oil and gas leaseholders on Alaska's North Slope continue to develop                                    
21 competing gas projects elsewhere in the world, including liquefied natural gas shipments to                             
22 North American West Coast ports, while Alaska gas remains warehoused;                                                   
23       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports the commercialization                                 
24 of Alaska North Slope natural gas for the maximum benefit of the people of the state; and be                            
25 it                                                                                                                      
26       FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature will exercise every power within its                                      
27 constitutionally required authority to facilitate commercialization of Alaska North Slope                               
28 natural gas for the maximum benefit of the people of the state; and be it                                               
29       FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature opposes construction of a "northern" or                                   
30 "over-the-top" route for a natural gas pipeline; and be it                                                              
31       FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature will exercise every power within its                                      

01 authority to prevent the routing of a North Slope natural gas pipeline that bypasses Alaska.