Palin Matchmakes for a Gas Line
11 06 2009Governor Sarah Palin is sleeping with the enemy of many Alaskans. Her trip to Houston, Texas to discuss a merged project with TransCanada and Exxon Mobil betrays Alaskans still reeling from last year’s devastating Supreme Court verdict. It flies in the face of anyone with a memory of 20 years let alone last June. Exxon promised to “make Alaskans whole” and they never did; just another broken promise piled on top of all the others.
Last year, Palin’s AGIA (Alaska Gasline Inducement Act) passed into law, awarding TransCanada $500 million in state funds to build the 1,700 mile pipeline. Through the support of the Democrats she was able to pass the law, earning her the title of “socialist” from her Republican critics. The same Democratic lawmakers were thrown under the “Hate Talk Express” during the election. I support a gasline, and supported AGIA when it was Exxon-free. It was the only way to have a chance for an All-Alaska gasline.
TransCanada doesn’t hold any leases of gas or oil on the North Slope. ConocoPhillips and BP; an unlikely couple, birthed the “Denali” project. They want to build a gasline without the $500 million in state funds. The whole point of the producers not owning the pipeline was to allow the state more control over being double billed; Alaska is, after all, a resource owner state.
A huge reversal in the administration’s stance with Exxon came in January of this year. Let’s just call it foreplay. Exxon and its partners had been locked out after state regulators withdrew their leases on state land. They pulled them because Exxon sat on the 106,201-acre Point Thomson for over three decades. Basically, you snooze, you lose.
Exxon came back and said they really would develop it this time and start producing by 2014. Scout’s honor. Promise. Alaska Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Irwin said “thanks, but no thanks”, saying he couldn’t trust Exxon to do what they promised. Well, the administration and Exxon had a Dr. Phil sort of make up session and flipped, allowing Exxon to keep their leases.
It boggled the mind. Where was the new found trust with the company who strung Alaskans along with 20 years of litigation after the Exxon Valdez disaster? When the governor was quizzed by Katie Couric about what US Supreme Court decisions she hadn’t agreed with other than Roe v Wade, she blanked. I was stunned. Baker v Exxon! June 25, 2008! THREE MONTHS EARLIER! You know, the verdict the conservative “activist judges” on the Supreme Court set precedent and forever capped negligent corporation’s punitive damages?! WHAT?! Their initial $5 billion dollar judgment had been reduced to $500 million. A whopping ten cents on the dollar. By the way, the herring run in Prince William Sound never did come back. Exxon extinguished it. Now we are paying them?
With the announcement of Exxon climbing into bed with TransCanada for the $500 million inducement to build the gasline, the Palin Administration’s January roll over makes more sense.
As someone who helped clean up the negligent, massive, environmental catastrophe known as the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, and fished her whole life, take it from me: Doing business with Exxon is like letting the guy who date raped your daughter rent your basement. But, hey, at least we have a tenant.
June 11th, 2009 at 6:19 PM
Wanderlust, sorry, I guess that would be the North American pipeline system.
June 11th, 2009 at 6:34 PM
Dr. Patois,
There is existing pipeline into the lower 48.
http://www.transcanada.com/Alaska/pdf/Alaska_Zoom3pages.pdf
June 11th, 2009 at 6:36 PM
Good grief – here we go again … follow the money – how much is the State paying for this, including the money that Palin has already had the State put in – how much is the Federal Government putting in – how much is Canada contributing, government and or private – how much are the private companies putting towards the project, Exxon – any one else? Any other Palin contributor’s out there under an unknown name – corruption? Golly gee – you can smell in the air and it stinks of high heaven ( never understood that saying since I’ve never smelled high heaven )
Let’s make sure that the pipeline doesn’t run up against volcanos or major migratory routes or major population centers, God forbid if the Spotted Owl with has a nesting site in line in the pipeline. It goes on and on and on -
Palin just plain sucks, no ifs and or butts and or anything else …
June 11th, 2009 at 7:05 PM
I don’t think that Exxon has had to grease any palms in regard to Palin. They did not need to do that.
She needed some credibility in regard to this pipeline, so it is more likely that she made concessions (taxes, ownership, etc) to bring them on board to make it appear as though it was/is moving forward.
The bigger issue: this project is NOT financially feasible at this point, that was pointed out on numerous occasions recently, the situation remains the same. Natural gas supplies in the lower 48 (infrastructure already in place) are being developed and are able to supply the nation’s needs.
All of this will come out, it will become obvious, it will be exposed, but the problem is that it needs to come out & be pointed out by reputable news organizations & oil/gas experts (and no, the gov is NOT one of those) before she can attempt to use this to buy herself another term as gov of AK. I believe that she knows that she has no future in national politics without another term as gov of this state (maybe even with another term), so she is likely bolstering her appeal via continuing to bill herself as the natural gas pipeline messiah. That works for a lot of Alaskans who have dreams about high-paying oil jobs, even the temporary ones that come with the building process, though there would be long-term jobs associated with the pipeline as well.
But I don’t think it’s going to happen. If it does it will not happen thru any efforts of the gov, it will happen in spite of her efforts (which are short-sighted & not in Alaska’s short- or long-term best interests). As soon as she is out of the picture as gov of Alaska look for Exxon, BP & COP to broker a deal that will be extremely lucrative for all of them, and likely AGIA will be jettisoned and TransCanada paid off.
Let’s face it, there is NOTHING that she has done for this state that has been in its best interests. And before anyone shouts out that she has twisted arms to get the oil companies to pay more taxes — HA HA HA, that only works when oil in indecently high, right now we are getting LESS than we were before her arm twisting.
June 11th, 2009 at 8:13 PM
Thanks Canadian Neighbour! I feel better now.
June 11th, 2009 at 9:47 PM
It amazes me that so many folks – even Alaskans – seem to think this pipeline is about oil.
Keep this in mind: Palin’s lies about “hungry markets” are utter rubbish. The Lower 48 is wallowing in a surfeit of natural gas – with no market at all for it. Mrs Palin is merely trying to make a name for herself. She is going to look a fool and a liar once more, because nobody wants Alaska’s natural gas. But I guess she figures she’ll have gone on to bigger and better things by the time her useless pipeline is rusting over.
The stupid woman would be a damned sight better off switching all of Alaska from oil to natural gas – processed at home, creating a new industry – and forgetting the white elephant pipeline. But she can’t tour nationwide on the back of that.
How much money do you suppose she is giving Exxon to help her out of her embarrassment?
June 11th, 2009 at 10:37 PM
As Shannyn has said, you watch if the line gets built, it will stop at the oil shale.
June 11th, 2009 at 11:43 PM
Wally Hickel on the Exxon deal: “Palin is putting her national ambitions first”
When Governor Sarah Palin was elected in 2006, we believed she would put Alaska first. But once elected, she put Sarah first.
Because of her national ambitions, she is promoting an agenda that will allow Outside corporations to dominate Alaska’s resources, including our energy and the jobs it provides.
Over my objection, the Governor negotiated a contract last year with TransCanada under AGIA, supported by the legislature, that will now provide ExxonMobil Corporation with half of $500 million of state funds.
I have urged the Governor many times to lead our state in another direction. We should build and own a natural gas pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez and ship Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to world markets.
http://community.adn.com/adn/node/141753
What do you know? Wally Hickel agrees with me.
June 12th, 2009 at 1:35 AM
Is the State picking up all these travelling expenses? What a shame…lol
June 12th, 2009 at 3:17 AM
24owls Says:
June 11th, 2009 at 6:36 PM
Good grief – here we go again … follow the money – how much is the State paying for this, including the Golly gee – you can smell in the air and it stinks of high heaven ( never understood that saying since I’ve never smelled high heaven )
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I have heard the expression as “stinks TO high heaven”, meaning stinks so bad, you can smell it from god’s house.
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GINO: Pull my finger.
June 12th, 2009 at 3:47 AM
58 aha Says:
June 12th, 2009 at 1:35 AM
Is the State picking up all these travelling expenses? What a shame…lol
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Exxon Airlines.