GML: Former Governor Sheffield -- In-State Natural Gas Line from Prudhoe Bay to

Former Governor Bill Sheffield is scheduled to make a presentation before the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce on March 12, 2013 regarding the prospects of building an in-state natural gas line from Prudhoe Bay to tidewater at Cook Inlet across from Anchorage.
 
The in-state line, dubbed the Alaska Stand Alone Pipeline (ASAP) would not diminish the prospect of the long-debated much larger-volume line to deliver natural gas to Lower 48 and perhaps international markets.
 
He will discuss the obstacles that must be overcome if the ASAP project is to become reality, including the political leadership needed to secure necessary funding, settle gas tax issues, acquire the necessary permits, and settle on a construction financing scenario. “The state has taken this project, now being overseen by the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, beyond years of idle debate and toward real possibility,” Sheffield says. “What we need now is to keep the momentum going by providing necessary funding and even more fundamentally, the political will of the Governor and Legislature to change this from a prospect to reality. Every year we dither will drive up the cost by another $200 million.”
 
Governor Sheffield has no financial interest in the project, does not seek any operational role in it and does not speak on behalf of the ASAP project managers at Alaska Housing Finance Corp. His interest lies solely in providing affordable energy from the immense proven gas reserves on the North Slope to as many Alaskans as possible, especially in Bush communities, Fairbanks, Anchorage, and the Kenai Peninsula.
 
He also will discuss manufacturing possibilities, including the potential the ASAP (also referred to as the “bullet line”) would have for reopening the shuttered Agrium plant on the Kenai, restoring in-state energy resources to the Flint Hills Refinery in Fairbanks, and for meeting military energy needs, as well.
 
“We all know the punishing price of energy in the Bush and Fairbanks, a city suffering serious air quality issues from the increased use of firewood for heat because of the present high cost of utility-generated energy. That situation will only get worse, the longer we fail to act,” Sheffield says. “If we build this pipeline, we can provide significant daily cost-of-living relief, and a wide variety of jobs for many Alaskans by making our natural gas resources available. We just need to press on and get the job done.”