Alaska Senate Majority sets Anchorage press availability on stalled gas session

Alaska's fourth special session on gas pipeline taxation has produced no votes in two weeks, leaving lawmakers and pipeline backers without a clear path forward. Senate Majority members are scheduled to take questions from reporters Monday, Aug. 10, at 1 p.m. at the Anchorage Legislative Information Office on the status of the session and the Alaska gas pipeline, according to an advisory from Noah Hanson, communications director for the Senate Majority.

Cook Inlet gas production has fallen from more than 300 billion cubic feet a year in the 1990s to between 60 and 70 billion cubic feet today. State officials expect the supply to run out by the mid-2030s. Hilcorp's gas supply contract for ENSTAR is set to end in 2033.

Alaska News previously covered the Senate's opening of the fourth special session in Juneau on July 27, a technical session at which members heard the governor's proclamation and learned the House had killed HB 381. The House met briefly Friday and adjourned by unanimous consent until Tuesday, Aug. 11, at 10:30 a.m. for another technical session.

An assessment by Wood Mackenzie for the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation projects about 2,271 construction jobs and 1,138 operations jobs for the 765-mile Phase 1 line. Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel, speaking at a Commonwealth North forum on June 5, addressed impact funding. "We feel strongly that all the communities, all the Alaskans in our state should benefit from this pipeline," she said.

The Alaska Public Interest Research Group has told the Senate Finance Committee it opposes HB 381 in its current form. The group argues the bill lacks sufficient consumer protections, fails to guarantee funding for pipeline decommissioning and lacks needed transparency requirements. AKPIRG's comments also flag the Glenfarne-ENSTAR contract's $16 per MMBtu price as potentially misleading once unit conversions, inflation escalators and volume requirements are factored in. The group notes the Regulatory Commission of Alaska is currently understaffed to oversee a project of this scale and duration.