Anchorage Daily News
Bill Walker

When oil began flowing through the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) in 1977, it was the dawn of a new era in Alaska. In Valdez, we literally danced in the streets. I served as mayor of Valdez during those early days. The goal I had then remains unchanged today — construct a gas line so we still have reason to celebrate long after the last barrel of oil has been loaded onto a tanker.

Yet here we are 30 years later, facing an economic meltdown we have done virtually nothing to prepare for. Our economy is still 90 percent dependent on a single source of revenue from TAPS oil that will dry up in coming years and we are paying some of the highest energy prices in the world.

How have we let this happen? How much longer are we going to watch our energy policy fall victim to election cycle after election cycle? This is the fundamental flaw in energy policy in Alaska. For far too long we have let politicians with little or no real world oil and gas experience wait for third party companies to decide our state’s future.

My work with the Alaska Gasline Port Authority over the past 10-plus years has sent me around the world to meet and negotiate at the highest level with the companies that actually build pipelines, buy gas and make projects happen. These experiences led me long ago to the same conclusions reached by former Sen. Ted Stevens, former Gov. Wally Hickel and others — the time is now for a true all-Alaska gas line that can deliver affordable energy in-state and export our liquefied natural gas (LNG) to lucrative Asian markets. The way to accomplish this, while assuring the lowest possible tariff, is for it to be built, operated and substantially financed by the private sector but owned by Alaskans.

The fact that some are mischaracterizing former Sen. Stevens’ call for a world class export project as an exclusive endorsement of a small volume “bullet line” further highlights the fundamental flaw of letting politics drive policy.

A bullet line might be part of our strategy but only as a backup plan to a larger volume all-Alaska gas line project. This would be a single line from Prudhoe Bay to Glennallen, where it would branch into a “Y” with one leg to Valdez and one leg to Southcentral to tie into the existing gas grid. This would allow for value-added opportunities, in-state use and LNG export from the Valdez and Kenai terminals. I testified to the Senate Resources Committee after former Sen. Stevens and thanked them for their efforts in focusing on in-state solutions but reminded them of this very point.

As one Exxon executive in Houston told me, the bullet line is a “ragged Band-Aid at best.” Others have dubbed it “a garden hose.” Both terms accurately describe a project that:

• Leaves little room for export and does nothing to replace the oil revenues that fund essential services such as public safety, education, transportation and general infrastructure;
• Is not economic on its own merits and therefore cannot deliver affordable in-state gas without a substantial government subsidy;
• Lacks the capacity for transport of sufficient valuable liquids and chemical byproducts that will invigorate an in-state value-added revolution;
• Starts from scratch without the permits, rights of way, environmental impact statements and hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of data previously acquired for the all-Alaska gas line; and
• Does nothing to open up the North Slope for additional exploration for both oil and gas.

To solve Alaska’s big problems, we need leaders willing to pursue big projects. The Alaska I knew from my rural Alaska childhood and years working on the construction of the TAPS pipeline was built on this frontier spirit. We were not afraid to dream big because we saw that there is no limit to what Alaskans can accomplish when united in the belief that we alone have the responsibility to look out for our own best interests.