SCS CSHCR 2(RES): Urging the Governor to provide energy security for all Alaskans by thoroughly evaluating the feasibility of construction of a natural gas pipeline for delivering natural gas from the North Slope or Brooks Range foothills to Southcentral and Interior Alaska; urging the Governor to initiate discussions with all potential industrial users of natural gas, including the Agrium U.S., Inc., facility and other businesses interested in value-added processing of petroleum gases transported in a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope or Brooks Range foothills for the purpose of providing jobs for Alaskans and ensuring the economic viability of the pipeline; urging the Governor to identify and, where appropriate, to negotiate with, one or more entities capable of producing and supplying natural gas from the North Slope or Brooks Range foothills to Southcentral and Interior Alaska on commercially reasonable terms and in sufficient quantities to support the energy needs of Alaskans and the economic viability of a pipeline; urging the Governor to advocate for an increase in the volume of gas that may be exported under a license issued by the United States Department of Energy after Alaskans' demand for affordable natural gas has been fully satisfied; and urging the Governor to take the requested actions before June 1, 2011.
00 SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 2(RES) 01 Urging the Governor to provide energy security for all Alaskans by thoroughly 02 evaluating the feasibility of construction of a natural gas pipeline for delivering natural 03 gas from the North Slope or Brooks Range foothills to Southcentral and Interior Alaska; 04 urging the Governor to initiate discussions with all potential industrial users of natural 05 gas, including the Agrium U.S., Inc., facility and other businesses interested in value- 06 added processing of petroleum gases transported in a natural gas pipeline from the 07 North Slope or Brooks Range foothills for the purpose of providing jobs for Alaskans 08 and ensuring the economic viability of the pipeline; urging the Governor to identify and, 09 where appropriate, to negotiate with, one or more entities capable of producing and 10 supplying natural gas from the North Slope or Brooks Range foothills to Southcentral 11 and Interior Alaska on commercially reasonable terms and in sufficient quantities to 12 support the energy needs of Alaskans and the economic viability of a pipeline; urging 13 the Governor to advocate for an increase in the volume of gas that may be exported 14 under a license issued by the United States Department of Energy after Alaskans'
01 demand for affordable natural gas has been fully satisfied; and urging the Governor to 02 take the requested actions before June 1, 2011. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 WHEREAS natural gas production in the Cook Inlet region of the state has suffered 05 significant decline, resulting in the closure of the Agrium U.S., Inc., facility in Kenai and the 06 risk of inadequate supplies of natural gas to consumers that rely on production from the Cook 07 Inlet region; and 08 WHEREAS there are significant quantities of natural gas on the North Slope that 09 could be produced if means for delivering the product to market were available; and 10 WHEREAS the major gas pipeline project licensed by the state under AS 43.90 11 (Alaska Gasline Inducement Act) or a similar alternative project that offers five natural gas 12 delivery points in the state is not expected to transport natural gas from the North Slope until 13 after 2016; and 14 WHEREAS the people of the state need energy security and access to affordable 15 natural gas as soon as possible; and 16 WHEREAS the demand for natural gas in the state is expected to increase steadily; 17 and 18 WHEREAS the construction of a smaller gas pipeline, sometimes referred to as a 19 "bullet line," may be capable of delivering the state's natural gas to in-state markets before the 20 major gas pipeline project from the North Slope becomes operational; and 21 WHEREAS farms cover more than 25,000 acres in five boroughs, and that acreage 22 has a value of approximately $22,700,000; and 23 WHEREAS more than 300 farmers reside in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, and 24 more than 130 farmers reside in the Fairbanks area; and 25 WHEREAS Alaska farms need fertilizer for crops, particularly in the form of urea for 26 hay and grain crops; and 27 WHEREAS Agrium U.S., Inc., owns the only urea fertilizer plant in the state, and 28 that plant was closed in 2007 because of the lack of inexpensive natural gas for use as 29 feedstock for the plant; the closure of the Agrium U.S., Inc., urea fertilizer plant resulted in a 30 loss of approximately 250 jobs and a 400 percent increase in the cost of fertilizer for farmers
01 in the state because of the costs of shipping in fertilizer from outside the state; and 02 WHEREAS a natural gas pipeline that delivers natural gas from the North Slope to 03 the Cook Inlet region could provide necessary feedstock for the Agrium U.S., Inc., urea 04 fertilizer plant, enabling the plant to reopen; and 05 WHEREAS the state has an interest in encouraging consumers to switch from liquid 06 fossil fuels to less expensive and cleaner-burning natural gas, particularly in the Interior and 07 other regions in the state struggling to comply with the fine particle air quality standard 08 commonly known as PM 2.5, imposed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency 09 under 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q (Clean Air Act); and 10 WHEREAS the United States Department of Energy export license granted to 11 ConocoPhillips Alaska Natural Gas Corporation and Marathon Oil Company to export from 12 the Kenai liquefied natural gas export facility near Kenai up to 99,000,000,000,000 British 13 thermal units of liquefied natural gas, the equivalent of 98,100,000,000 cubic feet of natural 14 gas, will expire March 31, 2011, and, if not renewed, the Kenai liquefied natural gas export 15 facility may close after 2011; and 16 WHEREAS the collective demand for natural gas in the Interior and Southcentral is 17 anticipated to expand from 200,000,000 cubic feet a day to approximately 700,000,000 cubic 18 feet a day during the period 2010 to 2025, and, if no new natural gas is discovered in the Cook 19 Inlet region, the demand for natural gas in Southcentral alone will exceed production from the 20 Cook Inlet region; and 21 WHEREAS increasing the authorized amount of natural gas that may be exported 22 from Alaska using natural gas transported from the North Slope improves the economic 23 viability of the in-state pipeline, protects jobs and key industries, addresses the potential lack 24 of natural gas supply to industrial and consumer customers in the Interior and Southcentral, 25 and enhances PM 2.5 compliance in the state; 26 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the Governor to provide 27 energy security for all Alaskans by thoroughly evaluating the feasibility of construction of a 28 natural gas pipeline for delivering natural gas from the North Slope or Brooks Range foothills 29 to Southcentral and Interior Alaska; and be it 30 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the Governor to 31 initiate discussions with all potential industrial users of natural gas, including the Agrium
01 U.S., Inc., facility and other businesses interested in value-added processing of petroleum 02 gases transported in a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope or Brooks Range foothills for 03 the purpose of providing jobs for Alaskans and ensuring the economic viability of the 04 pipeline; and be it 05 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the Governor to 06 advocate for an increase in the volume of gas that may be exported under a license issued by 07 the United States Department of Energy to 60,000,000,000 cubic feet a year, with the increase 08 in authorized volume to be supplied by natural gas produced on the North Slope or in the 09 Brooks Range foothills after Alaskans' demand for affordable natural gas has been fully 10 satisfied; and be it 11 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the Governor to 12 identify and, where appropriate, to negotiate with, one or more entities capable of producing 13 and supplying natural gas from the North Slope or Brooks Range foothills to Southcentral and 14 Interior Alaska on commercially reasonable terms and in sufficient quantities to support the 15 energy needs of Alaskans and the economic viability of a pipeline; and be it 16 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the Governor to take 17 the actions requested in this resolution as necessary and appropriate before June 1, 2011.