The Alaska House voted on Monday to strengthen the State’s effort to secure a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project and the state with a backup project.
The House passed HB 132, sponsored by House Speaker Mike Chenault and Legislative Budget and Audit Chair Mike Hawker, a statement by the House said.
“ We’re further delineating the policy we created last year and making sure the State doesn’t chase its tail with more studies or delays ,” said Chenault, R-Nikiski. “ Our action tonight shows we believe the AK LNG Project is showing progress, the process is working and we shouldn’t compete with ourselves .”
HB132 ensures that AGDC maintains its commitment to the AK LNG Project and does not embark on a duplicative, competing project, until the future of the AK LNG Project is more certain,according to the statement.
Under the bill, AGDC would be free to pursue other large, LNG projects at the earliest of three dates; 1) if a party to the AK LNG Project withdraws, 2) if the AK LNG Project proceeds into the Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) phase, and 3) July 1, 2017.
“ We’ve voted to give success a chance, ” said Hawker, R-Anchorage. “ HB 132 presents us with a fiscally responsible approach and protects our backup plan. We’re eliminating two fatal factors to the AK LNG Project: risk and uncertainty. My appreciation to our colleagues for their confidence, and we welcome action by the other body .”
HB 132 now moves to the Alaska Senate for consideration.
Image: Alaska LNG