State Gas Team in Flux

From the News Miner :

Parnell has released Revenue Commissioner Pat Galvin, Health
and Social Services Commissioner Bill Hogan, Natural Resources
Commissioner Tom Irwin, Transportation Commissioner Leo von Scheben,
Administration Commissioner Annette Kreitzer and Education Commissioner Larry
LeDoux, spokeswoman Sharon Leighow said this morning.

Galvin has expressed a desire to remain with the administration,

Galvin and Irwin had front-row — and often hot — seats for ongoing debates over oil and gas development policies in Juneau. The debates produced, among other things, the 2007 Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share oil tax increase and the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act. Parnell has also said OK to the resignation of a top Irwin deputy, Marty Rutherford.

Unite - One Line, One Future

The outlook for the Alaska Gas Pipeline has looked pretty grim lately. The slow economy, low natural gas prices, maxed out storage, the shale gas bonanza and floods of LNG seem ready to extinguish plans for an Alaska Gas Pipeline.

An yet there are long term fundamentals that will continue to propel this project forward if and only if policy makers work hard and work smart. An example of working smart is Alaska Governor Sean Parnell's stance on fiscal certainty and the idea of working together for one pipeline.

Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell said Thursday he's not going to negotiate with the oil companies over how much the state taxes natural gas until they unite behind a gas pipeline project and can prove they need the help in order for construction to start.

Parnell told a Resource Development Council gathering in Anchorage that "once they've come together on a project, then come talk to me" about taxes. (LINK).

Resolving the tax issues is the final link needed to get this project moving. Everybody knows that two pipeline projects is a non-starter. The major producers are on board, AGIA and TransCanada are still in play, and even ExxonMobil might be happy.

The time is right, the Governor is right, it's time to unite.