Posted Inquiries and Comments

An applicant must file one hard copy of its application, with all attachments and appendices, and one copy on a compact disk in PDF print-ready format in response to this RFA in the AGIA License Office by the application deadline. AGIA applications may not be filed electronically under this RFA.

In requesting confidential treatment of information, the Applicant must mark each page containing information that it requests to be kept confidential, and include the following statement: THIS PAGE CONTAINS PROPRIETARY OR TRADE SECRET INFORMATION THAT IS CONFIDENTIAL TO [APPLICANT'S NAME], WHO REQUESTS THAT THE INFORMATION BE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL AND EXEMPT FROM PUBLIC DISCLOSURE TO THE EXTENT PROVIDED IN AS 43.90.150 AND AS 43.90.160. For each page marked as confidential, the Applicant must include a copy of the page with the trade secret or proprietary information redacted.

1. The state does not maintain information regarding who has downloaded the RFA, how many times it has been downloaded, or from where such downloads may have originated.
2. The commissioners cannot at this time predict the length of time that the evaluation process will take. The public’s 60-day review and comment period will commence as soon as the commissioners have determined that the applications are “complete.” In addition to that 60-day period, the length of the evaluation period may depend upon the number of complete applications received, the diversity of applicant proposals, and the complexity of the analysis. It remains the commissioners’ goal to have a proposal forwarded to the Legislature in time for the Legislature to approve the commissioners’ selection during the Legislature’s 2008 regular session.

The state will closely monitor the actions of all relevant parties leading up to and during any open season. The state will take whatever actions it can as a sovereign to move the project forward and assure that gas is produced from its lands consistent with the terms of the leases and unit agreements. Consistent with the new approach symbolized by AGIA itself, Governor Palin is determined to use all commercially reasonable and legal means to insure that Alaska’s gas resources are developed.
The North Slope Producers, as reasonable commercial players, should commit gas in an open season for an economic pipeline project, even without the state taking steps to “encourage” their behavior. The producers understand the value of monetizing their gas, as well as the value of booking their reserves. As the pipeline project moves forward and there is more certainty about the tariff rate structure and netback values, the project economics will become clear. The producers will want to make firm transportation commitments to ship their gas on an economic pipeline project, regardless of who owns and operates the project. The producers have a contractual duty to commit gas to a pipeline where it is economic to do so, under the terms of their leases and unit agreements with the State of Alaska. At the current and projected price of natural gas, and assuming a reasonable tariff structure on the gas pipeline, it will be economic for the producers to make a firm commitment to ship the gas they have a right to produce from state lands.
AGIA provides producers with additional incentives to commit their gas to the pipeline. These incentives apply only to gas committed during the first open season for the licensed project. The producers have expressed concern about predictability of payments they will have to make to the state once gas begins flowing. They have asserted that those concerns could affect their participation in an open season, which could be conducted by an independent pipeline company, a producer-owned pipeline, or by another party. AGIA addresses the concerns by providing predictability in several important areas, including the following: (1) the state will adopt regulations defining the method of valuing its gas royalty share, and how the state chooses to take its royalty share in value (money) or in kind (the gas itself) (AS 43.90.310); (2) AGIA entitles leaseholders to an exemption from potential future increases in the state’s gas production tax for ten years(AS 43.90.320); and (3) AGIA applications must commit to “rolled-in” treatment of expansions (RFA Section 2.4.1.3 Rolled-in rates). AGIA caps the roll-in at 15% above initial rates. Thus, while the initial firm shippers can face rate increases resulting from expansions, AGIA limits those increases to a reasonable level.

The questioner reached the correct conclusion. The project description must include the diameter, wall thickness and pipe yield strength.

If it is necessary for the commissioners to request additional clarifying information, then the commissioners’ request and the Applicant’s response to the request will be made a part of the Application and released for public review and comment when the completeness review of all Applications has been concluded under AS 43.90.160; except if the request is for additional clarifying information about data included in the application that has been determined to be confidential under AS 43.90.150. In that case, a summary of the question and answer will be made public.

Yes, the Administration will make public the written basis for its rejection of an application deemed incomplete under AS 43.90.130 and the rejected application itself in accordance with AS 43.90.160(a).

The phrase “all persons the applicant intends to involve in the construction and operation of the proposed project” in AS 43.90.130(19) is intended to describe entities that the Applicant intends to bring in as project partners. Also, it is intended to describe entities that the applicant currently believes it may utilize in performing work in the Development, Execution, or Operation phases of the project. To the degree that applicants do not yet have fixed contractual arrangements or commitments with respect to such entities, they nevertheless should describe how they plan to identify and select such entities.

No

Some complex questions have required extensive analysis, resulting in a short delay in posting the response. Please be patient and keep monitoring the site, as questions will be answered as quickly as possible. Only inappropriate, irrelevant or redundant questions will not be answered (e.g. a submitter who hits the “submit” button twice, resulting in two questions asked, only one of which will be answered). A record is being maintained of all inquiries, answered or not.