No Precedent Agreements

That's the word from TransCanada (LINK to slides) in a presentation to Alaska State Legislature Senate Resources Committee on August 16, 2011. Here's a chilling quote from the slides.

"APP has not been able to secure Precedent Agreements with Shippers at this time"

No shippers, no buyers, no project. Tony Palmer, TransCanada VP was unable to show proof of project viability to lawmakers in testimony to the Alaska Senate Resources committee on Tuesday (LINK). Point Thomson is identified as the major sticking point. According to TransCanada:

"Resolution of Pt. Thomson and gas fiscals are essential to commercial success"

A solution to that problem may be in the works (LINK to Alaska Dispatch). Alaska Dispatch ran the Point Thomson story on the 15th however other news outlets have been slow to grasp the significance of an agreement on Point Thomson. The Fairbanks New-Miner has a followup story with no new content (LINK).

We do know that ExxonMobil has drilled a couple of wells (PTU-15 and PTU-16) in recent times and has plans to produce condensate as early as 2014. (USACE EIS LINK). At a minimum Exxon has more data and is in a good position to negotiate with the the Department of Natural Resources. (LINK to a good description of Point Thomson).

Sometimes it seems like this project is all lawyers, politicians, and guys in nice suits. It's good to see at least one outfit (Exxon) is out there, boots on the ground, building, drilling, hiring and making tangible progress. With a little luck maybe their success will get the ball rolling.