Alyeska asks state for 30 more pipeline years in a two-page letter

Alyeska Pipeline Service Company has asked Alaska to keep the trans-Alaska pipeline on state land for another 30 years, and Alyeska's own letter says the commissioner is bound to grant it.

The application is a two-page letter dated Sept. 2 from Alyeska president and chief executive John Kurz to Natural Resources Commissioner John Crowther. "The TAPS Owners respectfully request renewal of the Lease and Associated Rights for the maximum term authorized by applicable law, thirty years," Kurz wrote. Associated Rights are its access roads, airstrips and communication sites.

The lease, ADL 63574, does not expire until May 2, 2034. The state last renewed it on Nov. 26, 2002, effective May 2, 2004. A 30-year term from 2034 would run to 2064.

Kurz's letter quotes lease section 2(c), which says the commissioner shall renew so long as the pipeline is in commercial operation and the lessees comply fully with state law, including law on regulating and taxing the pipeline. But the underlying statute, AS 38.35.110(a), also requires the commissioner to weigh the cost of the pipeline, its useful life and probable financing requirements. A separate section, AS 38.35.100, requires a written finding on whether an applicant is fit, willing and able to serve the public interest. Neither the letter nor the notice says whether that section governs renewal.

Alyeska is discussing additional information with department staff and will send it electronically.

Two hearings are set, online Oct. 13 and in person Oct. 15 at the Valdez Convention and Civic Center, 6 to 8 p.m. The notice sets no written comment deadline.