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| Al Grillo / The Associated Press |
 Prudhoe pipes: A drilling rig and pipes sit in Prudhoe Bay. Alaskan North Slope crude oil production, once heralded as a mother lode of domestic production, has hit a new output low. |
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Several points of contention have stalled a natural gas pipeline contract the governor expected to be completed last fall.
In a December speech, the governor said the negotiations over the construction contract would be resolved after the holidays but did not give a specific time frame.
"We are at what I call a defining moment," Murkowski said.
The CEOs of ConocoPhillips, BP and Exxon Mobil will meet in Juneau early this year to work on the contract at the governor's invitation. Murkowski said he has a commitment from the companies to resolve the negotiations expeditiously.
Murkowski said the negotiations are stuck on a few points, one of them being the state insisting other producers have access to the pipeline, which would deliver gas from the North Slope through Canada to markets in the Lower 48.
"I don't think this communication is any indication of an impasse," Murkowski said.
Other issues of contention include how the state handles its debt to pay for a share of the pipeline; providing revenues for communities the pipeline runs through; and certain auditing procedures.
BP and Exxon Mobil officials would not elaborate on the sticking points in the talks.
"Everybody understands this project is going to be an open access project regulated by the Federal Energy Regulation Commission," said David MacDowell, spokesman for BP.
An Exxon Mobil spokeswoman did not say when her company expects to conclude the negotiations.
"We're focused on the fact that negotiations are well advanced," Susan Reeves said.
Details of the negotiations are confidential by state law.
"It's the same old story. There's nothing new," said Rep. Harry Crawford, D-Anchorage, about the delays.
He and Rep. Eric Croft, D-Anchorage, are gathering signatures for a ballot initiative that would tax producers on the known reserves of gas on their leases until they develop it.
Croft said producers will not sign a contract until they have a financial incentive.
Only one producer, ConocoPhillips, has signed a contract, while the state is still talking with BP Alaska and Exxon Mobil.
A rival proposal submitted by a consortium of municipalities - Fairbanks North Star Borough, the North Slope Borough and the city of Valdez - proposes to build a shorter pipeline parallel to the trans-Alaska oil pipeline ending at a natural gas liquefaction plant in Valdez.
"Our fear is that nothing will happen, as in nothing will be built," if the governor pursues a contract with the producers, said Jomo Stewart, spokesman for the Alaska Gasline Port Authority.
If an agreement with the producers is reached, the public will have at least 45 days to comment on the contract. Then the Legislature will review the contract and possibly rewrite portions.
The governor said it was premature to say if the Legislature will review the contract during the regular session or in a special session after May.
