In 2012, 14.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas was unexpectedly found in the Cook Inlet Natural Gas Storage Alaska, just off Bridge Access Road in Kenai.
The Regulatory Commission of Alaska must now decide who own the gas and what should happen if up to 4 billion cubic feet is sold, worth roughly $30 million.
Steven DeVries with the Attorney General’s Office argues most or all of that money should go to ratepayers.
DeVries: “There’s significant sums that are involved and if the evidence shows that it’s appropriate that ratepayers share in that gain, then they should not be shut out from that gain by the Commission acting without any opportunity to consider alternatives that would be supported by the facts that we pointed out in our filing.”
The discovery or production of natural gas was not clearly spelled out in the original CINGSA agreements, which DeVries says leaves a question mark over the ownership of the gas.
Lindsay Hobson with CINGSA disagrees. She says that since CINGSA’s investors put up the capital for the development of the storage area, they are the rightful owners of its assets…
Hobson: “Much like if a building owner that found a bag of gold in the basement, the profit from selling that would stay with the owner of that building.”
The RCA is taking public comment o the issue through Friday, March 6.
