(JUNEAU) - The Kenai - Kachemak Pipeline and other future pipeline operators outside of the North Slope will soon be able to offer the same delivery services as gas pipeline operators on the North Slope. This is because of Senate Bill 151, which passed the Senate on Monday. A move that bill sponsor Sen. Tom Wagoner (R-Kenai/Soldotna) believes will produce potentially great economic benefits for the Kenai Peninsula and other areas of the State that are looking to enter the Natural Gas production and delivery business.

The amended "Alaska Pipeline Act of 2000," led the Regulatory Commission of Alaska to decline authorization to the Kenai-Kachemak Pipeline from offering "firm and interruptible" gas delivery through their pipeline because the 2000 legislation referred only to the North Slope Gas Pipeline. SB 151 will change the 2000 legislation to include all gas pipeline operations.

"This bill is basically a housekeeping measure," said Wagoner. "It certainly reasons that all pipeline operations should be able to provide the same contract carriage services as the North Slope."

Wagoner went on to say that once this bill becomes law it will make Alaska more attractive to smaller, independent gas producers, because they'll be able to reserve pipeline delivery schedules based on their individual needs, which will most likely mean more jobs and an increase in the economic base of the Kenai Peninsula.

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04-29-03: Senator Tom Wagoner explains that his SB 151 is a housekeeping measure that affects all pipelines built to deliver natural gas in the State of Alaska.

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04-29-03: Senator Tom Wagoner speculates that his SB 151 may attract independents, wildcatters and perhaps even native corporations.

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