Murkowski Seeks New Public Land Access for Natural Gas

MURKOWSKI SEEKS NEW PUBLIC LAND ACCESS FOR NATURAL GAS

Senator says nation also needs new technologies to increase gas supplies

Saying America needs more domestically produced natural gas to meet a coming supply shortage, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski today called for the government to grant more access to public lands to permit more exploration for new conventional gas supplies.

And Senator Murkowski also urged more funding for new technologies to permit unconventional gas to be produced and gas transportation systems to be developed more economically to move any new supplies to market.

Murkowski, speaking during a half-day natural gas conference held by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said Alaska can certainly help to meet the nation's supply needs for clean-burning natural gas. But she said more access must be granted to federal lands to permit exploration and production to proceed.

"The key is access, access both to the land and access to the research dollars and technology incentives needed to allow natural gas to be produced and shipped economically. We need to do more to make the increased production of natural gas from Alaska happen," said Murkowski, after the seminar.

During the conference the U.S. Geological Survey's Dave Houseknecht reported that Alaska, besides the 35 trillion cubic feet of proven reserves at Prudhoe Bay, likely holds another 122 trillion cubic feet, part of an estimated 600 trillion cubic feet of conventional natural gas estimated as likely to be found on shore in America. The U.S.G.S. predicts another 400 trillion cubic feet will be found in offshore waters, some from the Outer Continental Shelf off Alaska. Dr. Mark Myers, Alaska state geologist, estimated likely state reserves of conventional natural gas at 250 billion cubic feet.

Myers also estimated that Alaska likely holds another 32,000 trillion cubic feet of gas hydrates - methane locked in permafrost and rock formations. Alaska, the Saudi Arabia of gas hydrates, could supply vast supplies of gas once the technology is perfected to permit the economic release and capture of the gas. He urged Congress to make $70 million available over the next five years for continued state exploration of likely gas hydrate deposits at Prudhoe Bay and into the technology to produce the gas economically.

"Clearly we need more federal assistance to develop the technology, for it to advance far enough for Alaska to get its hydrates into production," said Murkowski, who noted that the country is facing a significant future shortage of natural gas, even with construction of a pipeline to bring Alaska gas to market. She noted estimates that the country will consume 84 billion cubic feet of gas daily by 2025 - compared to the 59 billion cubic feet currently being consumed. An Alaska project is expected to deliver 4.5 billion cubic feet to the Lower 48 starting in 2012.

Murkowski last year helped win federal financial incentives to help finance an Alaska gas line project - either a pipeline through Canada to the Lower 48 or the All-Alaska pipeline-liquefied natural gas project. She said such aid is vital given the cost and technological hurdles of building such a large-diameter pipeline project.

Murkowski during the seminar questioned whether there are enough liquefied natural gas tankers in existence to allow America to import sufficient gas, if new deposits can't be found quickly enough domestically. U.S. Coast Guard Captain Mike Scott said there were 160 LNG tankers worldwide, about 40 currently serving the United States. He said in the near term another 25 to 30 are currently on order from the nine shipyards worldwide capable of building the tankers - enough to meet currently forecast demand.

Murkowski, however, noted that none of those shipyards are in America and under terms of the Jones Act, Alaska gas could only be delivered to the West Coast from an all-Alaska LNG project, if the gas was delivered in American-built tankers.

Information gained during the seminar could result in changes to a new comprehensive energy bill likely to be introduced in the Senate later this winter. The Senate today announced that that bill will be one of the top 10 Republican priorities for the year - that the energy bill will be given bill number 10, (S 10), when introduced by Energy Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M. later in the year.

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