Resources available to make gas line work COMPASS: Other points of view

Alaskans have a history of going out and getting things done, overcoming adversity, thinking and building big.
More than 60 years ago crews pushed through the Alaska Highway to serve our country in time of war. Our nation needed a victory, and Alaska delivered.
Residents repaired and rebuilt Anchorage, Seward, Valdez and other coastal communities after the massive 1964 earthquake.
And Alaskans proved their skills again a decade later with construction of the Alaska oil pipeline, one of the great engineering achievements of the world. Prudhoe Bay is the largest oil field in U.S. history and still the nation's biggest producer.
It's time to once again show that Alaska can handle the biggest jobs. It's time to push for building a pipeline to move North Slope natural gas to North American customers.
Anyone who has been following the market knows the nation doesn't need Alaska natural gas for the next several years. Supplies are up, prices are down, and customers generally are content.
But as the U.S. economy recovers, as demand for gas builds and our nation grows, there is no guarantee that easily accessible Lower 48 gas supplies will meet all of the needs into the next decade and beyond -- and that is Alaska's opportunity. As the nation's electrical utilities increasingly turn to clean-burning natural gas, they need to know that gas will be there for decades to come -- at affordable prices.
A strong, stable domestic supply at reasonable prices would help encourage utilities to choose gas, boosting the odds for the Alaska project.
The utility industry cannot risk investing billions of dollars in gas-fired generating plants, only to worry when the next natural gas price spike will ruin their financial statements and dig into their customers' pockets.
The Anchorage Municipal Assembly understands that stronger utility demand is important to making the Alaska pipeline's economics work. The Assembly last summer adopted a resolution in support of comprehensive federal energy legislation: "Efforts to reduce pollution and to promote cleaner energy sources will increase demand for natural gas and help create favorable conditions for bringing Alaska's natural gas to market."
U.S. gas consumption for electrical generation increased more than 70 percent between 1997 and 2009. If demand continues on that same pace for the next dozen years, by 2021 the nation's utilities would need an additional 13 billion cubic feet of gas a day to run their power plants. Yes, shale gas will play a huge role in meeting that demand in the years ahead, but maybe not all of it. The nation has massive volumes of gas locked in tight shale and other unconventional plays. Shale gas, however, has its own set of environmental issues that could restrain its steep production growth. Alaskans need to remember that gas customers, especially utilities, prefer signing with multiple suppliers. It just makes good business sense to diversify their supply portfolio.
This is all about what makes business sense. The Alaska project can succeed if it can deliver gas to power plants, gas utilities, manufacturers and other customers at a competitive price.
Congress in 2004 stated its support for moving Alaska gas to other North America hubs when it established the Office of the Federal Coordinator to help with permitting the multibillion-dollar pipeline. The Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline Act also provides federal loan guarantees and tax incentives.
Dozens of federal agency personnel in Washington, D.C., and Alaska are working hard, reviewing the project's first resource reports that came in last month, preparing for permit applications and talking with project sponsors to ensure everyone knows what's needed. Canadian officials are doing the same, from Ottawa to Whitehorse.
Only the private sector, however, can decide if the pipeline is a good business decision. The best course of action is a single project sponsor team, working with state and federal governments to pull together the deal.
The best course of action for Alaska is to work with North Slope producers to negotiate fiscal terms that profit everyone and bring gas to Alaskans, adding the gas pipeline to Alaska's list of large accomplishments.

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Larry Persily is federal coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects.