The all Alaska gas hub: let's empower Alaska.

• Author: Poe, Bob
• Position: Special Section: OIL & GAS OPINION

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There is no single issue that will have more impact on Alaska's economic future, on in-state employment, on our kids' future, than energy security. Very soon Alaskans will be facing a real energy crisis. Southcentral Alaska is literally running out of gas. Rural and Interior Alaskans are paying crushingly high prices for energy. And, electric power generation up and down the Railbelt is at significant risk if new gas supplies don't become available as early as 2015.

The departing Parnell Administration's Pipeline Coordinator, Harry Noah, testified to a Legislative hearing last December that Alaska had become "wrapped around the axle" on a gas pipeline. He said "civil war was brewing" between Alaska politicians on which way a pipeline should go. He might be right.

Right now politicians are lining up to support the "bullet line," or are hanging on to their support for the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA) effort and the Denali Pipeline, and still others are steadfastly supporting the gas pipeline to Valdez for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. But we have a moment, right now, to empower ourselves--to build an All Alaska Gas Hub to Fairbanks.

The State of Alaska should build a large capacity gas line from the North Slope to Alaska's Interior, creating the All Alaska Gas Hub as a central connection point for multiple gas pipelines in Alaska--like the Henry Hub in Louisiana. Why? If we did this Interior Alaskans would have easy access to gas. The hub could easily supply a "bullet line" to Southcentral Alaska, and, when export contracts are reached, could supply the "All Alaska Pipeline" to Valdez. And, shipping liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) on barges out of Nenana to Western Alaska would be possible.

Each of Alaska's competing gas lines suffers the same problem. Before any of these pipelines can deliver even a thousand cubic feet (MCF) of gas they each must travel 800 miles to the North Slope. Under the All Alaska Gas Hub concept, the first and toughest 400 miles are met through the State's investment, making each of the competing pipelines easier to finance once they are ready.

Since it is in Alaska's interest to see this pipeline developed now, we can afford to take the longer view. The State could also build for the future by preparing a larger pipeline corridor to allow for future expansion, and build in financial credits to the deal to encourage competing projects to move forward more quickly. Since North Slope...