Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell proposed a new way forward on a natural gas pipeline Thursday, saying if demand for gas has shifted from the Lower 48 to Pacific Rim markets, the state must be willing to move with it.
Parnell, in a speech to an oil and gas industry group in Anchorage, said he wants the major North Slope players – Exxon Mobil Corp., BP and ConocoPhillips – to coalesce behind a project that would allow for liquefied natural gas to be shipped overseas. He wants them to do this under the framework of the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act. If they do, the state can be flexible, including talking tax and royalty terms, he said.
Parnell hasn’t wanted to discuss fiscal terms until there’s an actual project.
He said the current proposal, a line that would run into Canada and provide gas for North America markets, appears stalled. And “status quo stalled talks” aren’t acceptable to Alaskans, he said.
