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Natural Gas
Click Here for the Current Situation
The current debate over natural gas development and transportation from Alaska's North Slope may strike some people as nothing new. In fact, this debate has reemerged several times of the past twenty-odd years - each time to disappear again due to lack of enthusiasm from or cooperation between producers or simply because, with widely fluctuating natural gas prices, the development of a natural gas pipeline could be economically risky. Regardless, the issue continues to be raised and may, eventually, result in action.
In 2000 following an increase in natural gas prices and a realignment of gas rights on the North Slope, oil producers began to take another serious look at Arctic gas development. Two possible routes came under consideration. The Alaska Highway Route follows the highway system south from the North Slope through Fairbanks and then southeast through the Yukon Territory. The Beaufort Sea or "over-the-top" route extends east offshore of the Arctic Coast to Canada's Mackenzie Delta and then south through the Northwest Territories.
Is natural gas---development as well as production---in the best interests of the environment and Alaska? There really isn't an easy answer - largely because of natural gas' characteristics: for each asset, natural gas also has a liability.
- Natural gas is a cleaner burning fuel than either diesel or normal gasoline - giving off significantly less SO2 and other pollutants. However, it is still a potent global warming gas and, used as a transportation fuel produces global warming emissions nearly equivalent to gasoline.
- The Prudhoe Bay and surrounding fields of Alaska's North Slope contain over 35 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of proven natural gas reserves. Removing this natural gas would require minimal additional exploration or development on the North Slope. However, once this natural gas can be easily transported to market (via pipeline), there will be tremendous pressure to expand development into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska.
- Natural gas is seen by many to be the necessary transition between polluting, unsustainable fossil fuels to clean, sustainable alternatives. However, people may lose sight of these future, potentially more expensive, non-fossil fuel goals once a less expensive fuel source is readily available.
The Northern Alaska Environmental Center has chosen to neither oppose nor support natural gas development. While we would prefer the United States and the world as a whole to move immediately away from fossil fuels to more sustainable, less polluting and less globally-warming alternatives, we realize that such a fundamental shift takes considerable time and effort. Therefore, if natural gas development occurs, we believe that helping to steer the development into the least environmentally and economically damaging direction possible will better serve the environmental community than will marginalizing ourselves through vehement opposition. However, concurrently we will continue to advocate for the development of alternative energy sources and a marked improvement in national conservation efforts.
To guide our involvement in natural gas discussions, the Northern Alaska Environmental Center has developed the following list of stipulations:
- The construction of a natural gas pipeline should follow an existing transportation corridor and not open up frontier wilderness areas such as onshore or offshore of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge or the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge. There are various transportation corridors already in existence. Staying within them also limits the impacts to the Porcupine Caribou herd and other important wildlife species.
- Consideration should be given to all routes that are consistent with Alaska Constitution requirement that "Alaska's resources be developed for the maximum benefit of Alaska's people. Routes such as the Beaufort Sea and Dempster Lateral routes - which bypass Alaska's population centers and do not contribute to Alaskan jobs, Alaskan revenue or the in-state availability of gas - are not consistent with these requirements and should be avoided.
- The public must be involved in all stages of scoping, development and monitoring of the natural gas pipeline including a new Environmental Impact Statement with full public process. Public process should not be abandoned (via expedited permits or regulatory short-cuts) in the interest of simply speeding up development. Any project worth developing should be capable of enduring public involvement. However, this is not to say that the permitting processes should be slowed down.
- A formal citizen advisory council for the gas line and TAPS oil pipeline should be created and maintained, through funding from the State of Alaska, throughout the planning, construction and operating life of the pipeline.
- To ensure that natural gas is truly a "transition" fuel rather than an endpoint to itself, a portion of the revenues derived from natural gas commercialization should be dedicated to alternative and renewable energy development, especially for rural Alaskan communities.
- Full funding for Dismantling, Removal and Restoration (DR&R) of the natural gas pipeline and for cleanup of the line and pumps stations should be placed in a separate account from the TAPS DR&R fund. In addition, this fund should be inflation-proofed.
The bottom line: Alaska's North Slope natural gas reserves may be developed in the next few years or may sit untouched for decades. If the fundamental shift to alternative fuels occurs without "transitioning" through natural gas, the Northern Alaska Environmental Center and the rest of the environmental community will have great cause to celebrate. However, if the North Slope natural gas is developed, we hope, through our participation in the development discussions, to ensure that it's developed in the most environmentally sound and economically advantageous manner possible, in the interest of all Alaskans' futures.
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Triangle Rock photo copyright © David van den Berg
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830 College Road, Fbks, Alaska 99701
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