Dan Bross, KUAC – Fairbanks
There’s another natural gas delivery option for Fairbanks. A local energy company has begun an open season to gauge market interest in a 10 inch diameter pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Fox, with smaller feeder lines to industrial consumers. Energia Cura principle partner Alex Gajdos, says the $500 million pipeline is designed specifically to meet local demand.
Gajdos says the project is gauged to accommodate existing customers like Golden Valley Electric and the oil refineries in North Pole. He says the company will pursue gas supply agreements with North Slope producers, or the state for a share of its royalty gas. The plan also calls for trading the state an equity share in the pipeline in exchange for right of way easements. Gajdos says the project pencils out better than larger bore pipelines that depend on export, and hinge on market prices outside Alaska. He says the high cost of energy in Fairbanks makes the unusual project work.
Gados says the pipeline would be 40 percent debt financed as currently envisioned, but stresses things are in the preliminary stages. Energia Cura has been involved in several Fairbanks area projects. The company runs pipelines that feed the North Pole refineries, and has installed control systems for Golden Valley.
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