Blog: Dermot Cole
Palin backs pipeline economics
Published Saturday, June 13, 2009
Gov. Sarah Palin tells CNN that Exxon and TransCanada "would not have aligned and committed to building this project had they not crunched the numbers and figured out that for their bottom line."
But in the documents Exxon and TransCanada submitted to the state, it's clear they are a long way from a commitment to build.
"Prior to making a final decision to proceed with construction two additional WP&B (work plan and budget) periods are envisioned during the 'Definition' phase," the companies say in a document released by the state Thursday.
They say that "defining" the project means they have to win approval from federal regulators in the U.S. and Canada, secure financing and "prepare for the decision to proceed."
In the interview Friday with Wolf Blitzer, Palin was asked why she disagreed with comments in a Wall Street Journal story that mentioned several economic challenges that may threaten a gas line to the Lower 48.
Here is a portion of the interview with Blitzer.
PALIN: Well, I think very shortsighted, whomever wrote that for the Wall Street Journal, assuming that market conditions are going to stay as they are today. Demand for natural gas is increasing. In fact, by probably 2030, we’ll see about a 40% increase in demand for natural gas.
Domestically, we have the supply. The resources are up there in Alaska, and it’s time that we build this infrastructure and flow that very valuable resource into hungry markets throughout the U.S.
This is going to be the largest energy project in the world by the private sector. It’s a great venue that we have, a vehicle called AGIA, the Alaska Gas Line Inducement Act, and believe me, Exxon, the largest company in the world, and TransCanada, the best pipeline-building company in the world, I’m sure they would not have aligned and committed to building this project had they not crunched the numbers and figured out that for their bottom line.
And for our nation’s security and for our environment, for our economy, this project is right.
It is time. Shortsighted to assume that there won’t be growing demand for energy sources.
BLITZER: It’s more energy independence as well. Instead of importing this kind of energy, it’s here. It’s homegrown in the United States. That’s a significant development potentially. But it’s not cheap. Who’s going to pay for all of this?
PALIN: The private sector, thank goodness. I mean, this isn’t a government program. It’s not a government service. And heaven forbid anybody think that this infrastructure project needs to be nationalized.
We have to keep our eyes and ears open to make sure that nobody thinks that the federal government should ever come in and take control over an energy project like this. There is a need for it.
The economy is asking for such a stimulus package as this to create the jobs. Thousands and thousands of jobs will be created with the construction and the operation, then, of this pipeline. It's time. It's ready to do it, and it's a private-sector project, as well it should be.
BLITZER: How long is it going to take to build it?
PALIN: It should be about a decade before that energy flows. These are long-lead-time-type projects. I mean, we've been talking about it and planning for it in Alaska for decades. But it took this alignment that was announced yesterday to really see the path forward made much clearer. The project will come to fruition.
BLITZER: And the grumbling you're hearing from some politicians in Alaska, in your home state, how do you react to those complaints that they're saying, you know what, this is not necessarily such a great idea?
PALIN: Well, a couple of the politicians who are up for reelection, and they're trying to position themselves, you know, they have to kind of distance themselves from some of the positions that the administration has taken, for political reasons, I believe. But the numbers speak for themselves.
Largest companies in the world aligning to get the project built for national security reasons and for our environment and for our economy. Even those politicians up in Alaska. And really, Wolf, I think they do support it. They voted for it. I think there's just some political wrangling going on right now to position themselves.
Dermot Cole and Wolf Blitzer.......
Need I say more why this coverage has a negative slant against anything Palin tries to do?
They say that "defining" the project means they have to win approval from federal regulators in the U.S. and Canada
Good luck on that one with the Obamists in power.
The stop everything crowd will have its hands full in the comming years, with the Gas Pipe line moving forward, Chakachumna Hydro moving forward, Sustnia moving forward, the Pebbles mine moving forward, Geo thermal development in the Dillingham/Naknek region moving ahead, and mine development in Bethel region moving again, Lake Dorothy hydro coming on line, the tie line between Swan Lake and Tyee moving ahead nicely...
Get on board Dermot...we all realize you are now part of a chain but please do not allow them to continue to question and stand in the way of a bright future fo all Alaskan's
AGPABoondoggle , I can feel it moving by the seat of my pants , but I am not sure it isn't in granny going reverse .
consider the possibilities of pure pond scum...
it makes more sense than gargantuan grandstanding..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRYcEPVsK...
Why blow $50billion on a MEGA-project MEGA-mortgage MEGA-monopoly MEGA-pipeline when all you really need to do is readjust your kaleidoscope.
http://s281.photobucket.com/albums/kk209...
If a little 6" polypipe gasline from Deadhorse to FBX can pay itself off in 6months, what could 100 little polypipes statewide do??
Boondoggle - There you go again... Why is that you find fault with every column Cole writes about Palin, even the ones where 95% of the text is simply the text of a Palin interview??? You'd think that you didn't want her quoted or something... Oh, maybe you don't. Maybe when you read the text of her little verbal explosions in print, you realize how foolish she actually sounds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfjOIoPwo...
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymlc8nk7M...
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http://peswiki.com/index.php/Main_Page
...there are always many fascinating alternatives, why be boring??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxNeBQCRv...
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGgZtY1r1...
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EleWvh8A6...
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkOs0bBPi...
1. Sarah gave a great interview.
DNC bloggers have have lost the fight against her.
this gas line deal makes her a lock for re-election if she wants it.
1. Sarah gave a great interview.
2. DNC "ethics" bloggers have lost the fight against her.
3. this gas line deal makes her a lock for re-election if she wants it.
BullsEye, I heartily agree. We can alway count on Dermot to put a negative slant on ANYTHING Gov. Palin does. I'm sick of it.
This is a win-win project. That a way to go, Governor.
Palin: "(Exxon and TransCanada) ...would not have aligned and committed to building this project had they not crunched the numbers and figured out that for their bottom line."
None of this is true. Not one word. No one has committed to build this project. The open season has not even been held. Is Sarah saying there is a commitment to build before the customers or cost estimates have even been established?
No way, that is utter nonsense.
What Sarah is doing is paying ExxonMobil as much as two hundred million dollars- through TransCanada- to study a project. The cost of the line has to be established before any open season can be held. Shippers must know the proposed tariffs before they have any idea if the project is profitable, or not. Beyond that, Big Oil is looking for long term tax breaks, aka "fiscal certainty" before they will even consider moving forward and making any commitments to build this project.
Beyond any of what is happining with the massive shale gas deposits in North America, (that undermine the Canadian pipeline) there is significant excess capacity at the regasification terminals in the Gulf. Gas suppliers can easily bring more gas into the North American market with trivial capital outlays- the capacity is there.
Even beyond all of this are technological advancements in other energy production technologies that will reduce demand for fossil fuels- even clean ones like natural gas. eSolar has made significant improvements with solar cells that will make solar competitive with fossil fuels.
"The simple concept of making renewable energy cost-competitive with fossil fuel energy has driven eSolar to engineer a paradigm shift in CSP technology, providing a cost-effective and scalable solution."
http://www.esolar.com/
While the US economy is in a terrible recession and Alaska could be using existing permits to build the All American-All Alaskan gasline to provide gas to Alaska, the US West Coast regasification terminals, and the World Markets, Sarah is content with simply studying a pretend pipeline? Meanwhile the Canadians continue to move forward with an LNG export project that competes with Alaska...
doggle........
ok, you got 105,600' of 4" SDR-11 ???
What brand of pipe-fuser do you have?
Where do you wanna stick it ? -- Nenana ??
Do you have an arrangement already set to hook it up to Doyon's well ?
Do you own some land within 20miles of there?
errrg, geewhiz.. the best I can do in the next few months is telecommute/consult to this project, because I'm going to be traveling overseas soon looking at pipe-extrusion machinery in China and Germany.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/i2543/
..study the isostatic gravity map of the area carefully, you'll see that the locus of Doyon's well is 4miles west of Nenana on the other side of the river.
20miles south from there will get you to Anderson [my old hometown]
It looks like drilling a slanted well westward near the RR-tracks just north of Twomile Lake, or on up to Dunbar will place a good well that misses the schist bedrock and penetrates the gas-pocket if you wanna pass yer gas along the RR towards Standard Creek Rd.
In most locations in the area laying this pipe will be done much quicker and easier in the winter.
Can you get your hands on a rental of a heavylift helicopter??.. I have a qualified chopper pilot who can drop big spaghetti.
PAF------
"""Alaska could be using existing permits to build the All American-All Alaskan gasline to provide gas to Alaska, the US West Coast regasification terminals, and the World Markets,"""
duh, dooya mean something kinda like this??
http://s281.photobucket.com/albums/kk209...
I'm a lot further along engineering this project than most of my friends suspect.. and doing it easier than many would think.
It's true, there is a lot of shale gas but it will become more expensive and environmental challenged.
This is a great development for Alaska. Conoco and BP will have to follow suit.
there is a lot of shale gas but it will become more expensive and environmental challenged...
With the advent of the Superheterodyne Hydrocarbon technologies, making gas out of America's garbage [and everything else] will always be cheaper and cleaner than using Alaska's gas at the expected marketpoint projected by the bigwigs..
http://www.globalresourcecorp.com/
[study this website carefully]
This is now the 21stCentury..
and many goofballs still believe it's the 12thCentury..
If the lower48 is to get Alaska's gas it must be cheaper than heck and distributed without hassle and muck with the tarpits.
...much better to farm algae for oil,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxNeBQCRv...
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Dermot should stick to spaghetti feeds and rubber duckie races and leave the political rhetoric to the pro's. It is apparent everybody is seeing right through this drivel.
blutarp, you do understand, don't you, that most of what is printed in the article is not Dermot, but is Governor Palin talking? The unintelligible drivel is Palinspeak. The part you can understand is Wolf or Dermot.
bluetarp , You must have spent too much time in the sun , and let it bleach holes through you , and the rainwater seeped through to your brain . Thats the only thing that I can think of that would make a person think like and say the things you do !!!
This is a question of importance , What is the oldest possible age a person could be at this time , and still have the opportunity to work on this future gas line ? Whether it be built to Valdez , to the lower forty eight states , or to Timbuktu . This in very important , I need to know so I can age accordingly . Is there anybody here that thinks that I have a chance to work on the gas line ?
AGPABoondoggle , there goes your ignorance again , it just keeps seeping out . You should plug those holes , before the last drop of brains is gone . A body needs a fraction of a brain just to exist , just enough so the body knows which end to sit on the stool .
The in state gas line would disrupt long term dealings between GVEA and Usibelli. IF you track out who is doing what in this tragic expensive and stupid boondoggle you will find GVEA man Tom Irwin busy. He works while Palin talks.
But who is he working for? All of us Alaskans? Or some extremely wealthy special interests that will do anything it takes to get their way.
The part about this being private enterprise at work made me choke on my coffee. There is only one private enterprise at work that Palin knows about it and that is Palin for Palin.
In truth it is corrupt business as usual where private individuals use public individuals to milk state and federal government for everything they can and more and then claim that is capitalism at it its best.
And boondoggle goes over 210 comments in less than a month, starting a new record for not having a life offline!! Way to go, boonie!
Of course, he/she had to get his/her usual shot in at Dermot Cole. As was correctly pointed out most of the article deals with direct quotes from boonie's goddess, Sarah, but, why let such facts obscure the picture. Boonie has to protect the Great Garbler from reality and this is one way he/she tries to do so.
I don't know if anyone read the article yesterday about how one small Texas town is worried that drilling might be causing quakes in its area. That concern aside, valid or not, this little place has over 3 trillion cf of natural gas. And I would bet none of ya'll have ever heard of it. Point is, the Lower '48 has abundant supplies of natural gas close to home. And Palin thinks they are going to pay a premium price for Alaskan gas vs their own local production? Riiiight....that's why she had to put out a $500 million incentive to get the pipeline project going. Next, she'll want us to all raise pigs so we can sell bacon to Canada....at a higher price than theirs, of course.
If this is such a hot prospect that $500 million incentive would not be needed. It would go forth on its own just as TAPS did in the '70's.
I know applying fact and logic flies in the face of anything Boonie's adored Sarah says, but that's life. She got a "D" in college economics, she and Todd bankrupted themselves trying to sell snowmachines (how the heck do you go bankrupt selling snowmachines in Alaska???), and she left Wasilla $21 million in debt when it was debt-free at the start of her administration. And boonie thinks she knows what she is talking about on this issue?
dobieman...
what brand of coffee are you drinking?
..sounds like some real mountain grown stuff.
facts tend to get in the way of people like dobie and glow, ...
I love how he dredges up the fact that Wasilla was debt-free before Paline, however, after Palin they were 21 million dollars in the red.
Strange, he never mentions that a sports complex was built during her tenure that was VOTER approved. Palin had nothing to do with it, only was required to see it through to completion because it was VOTER approved.
But I guess it's convenient for the haters to throw facts out the window and use it to leverage their absurd views.
What negative spin Cole emphasises on this interview. Palin clearly states "it should be about a decade before that energy flows. These are long-lead-time-type projects".
Does he not review material before inserting negative interpretation? There are no guarantees, but it does appear to be tangible progress if Exxon signs on to seriously reviewing and planning a project of this size.
What is apparent that Exxon will plan and thoroughly review a $30 billion project for several years before committing, whereas Senator Begich did not even review a $800 billion dollar project for more than four hours before approving (and placing all Alaska taxpayers on the hook).
Another salient point Cole failed to highlight from the interview: Exxon is considering how to line up the financing for a large job creating and clean energy producing project BEFORE fully committing. Contrast this to Senator Begich committing to spend $800 billion of borrowed dollars for a massive private sector job and economy destroying project without determining where the financing will come from, or what further damage to the economy this borrowing or currency printing will have.
Come on Dermot, we know Obama will not agree to hard ball press interviews, but maybe you could ask our illustrious Senator some serious questions about his positions.
Palinomics is so confusing.
Here we go again, everyone thinking this is going to happen. This is nothing more than a publicity hype for now. But never forget, nothing happens on the North Slope unless Exxon says it will happen.
The big oil companies are laughing their azz off at how
they are leading us dumb clucks around by the nose.
It's like trying to talk sense in an insane asylum , and be understood .
Privet Sector???? The Trans-Canada gas line is becoming more and more non economically viable daily. That is why the Federal 2004 Trans-Alaska Gas line act is being reworked by Lisa Merkowski. Her proposal is to increase the Federal loan, from 18 Billion to 30 Billion dollars, and lower the interest rates to almost nothing. That is a " privet sector" funded project in Palin's eyes, I am not fooled by her clouding of this issue. We Americans are going to pay for the construction of the gas line, and paying higher interest rates on the Federal deficet. Alaskan's will be selling out product at a vastly reduced rate due to a market glut. Why would we do some thing so inept? We should at this point ....in this economy..... retract the AGIA money. Work towards an In-State Gas line to benefit Alaskans.
Why would we sell our, and the future generations of Alaskans cash cow, for a hand full of beans?
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