Governor Bill Walker announced Friday afternoon that a reserves tax bill will not be introduced for the legislative special session which begins in Juneau Saturday morning.
ConocoPhillips and BP gave the governor written gas commitment agreements for the Alaska LNG Project.
Walker stated his push for the natural gas reserves tax bill was due to important deadlines coming in December.
Gov. Walker: That’s why I needed this in writing today, the purpose of the reserves tax was not about being punitive at all, it was saying we need a commitment that you’re going to put gas in. There were several exemptions in the reserves tax where someone could be exempt if they made a commitment to put gas into the project whether they were involved or not so it was not intended to be a punitive act at all, it was intended to be a commitment to put gas into the project.
In addition, the State, ConocoPhillips and BP have agreed to complete the project continuity and gas sale terms by early December.
Governor Walker plans to unveil his special session bills regarding the TransCanada buyout and other gasline particulars tomorrow morning at 8 am in Juneau.
That briefing can be watched on the Alaska Legislature’s website.
