A pipeline wants to more than double its rates, and Alaska has a stake

A company that moves natural gas around the North Slope wants to more than double what it charges — and because Alaska takes a share of that gas's value, the state could feel it too. Oliktok Pipeline Company has asked regulators to raise its rates on three pipeline segments by roughly 160 percent, effective Aug. 1 if approved. On one segment, the rate would jump from about 58 cents to $1.53 per thousand cubic feet of gas.

Here's why it reaches beyond the pipeline. Every dollar of transport cost lowers the net value of the gas — and Alaska collects royalties and taxes based on that value. So a steep tariff increase, according to economic analysis prepared for the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation, could erode not just producers' returns but the state's own revenue. Oliktok says the new rates reflect a fresh study of what it costs to run the system.

It's not the first time — Oliktok has filed a string of rate changes on this system in recent years. Parties have until July 21 to weigh in with the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.