Palin Pushes AGIA Agenda

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin continues to push the A.G.I.A. (Alaska Gas Inducement Act) with this opinion piece in the Anchorage Daily News.

Palin is bound and determined to promote the proposal from pipeline builder TransCanada (Re-named "TC Alaska" by Palin to deemphasis the Canadianess of TransCanada).

In the past Republicans favored and promoted free market solutions and reduced government involvement and taxes.

Palin contends that the State of Alaska should give TransCanada a $500 million inducement to push the pipeline process along.

The AGIA process has morphed into an anticompetitive, anti-free market program. Palin has proved that she is a Republican In Name Only (R.I.N.O.).

ConocoPhillips and BP are actively pursuing the Denali pipeline. They are motivated by free market forces. This pipeline will follow roughly the same route to support oil sand production in Alberta.

Neither project will initially include the All Alaska LNG route to Valdez.

Both projects are subject to permitting delays by Canadians similar to the delays suffered by the Mackenzie Pipeline.

Ultimately one of these pipelines may get built and provide jobs to Alaskans, Canadians and Okies, and tar sand oil for the lower 48. In all likelihood TransCanada and Denali may form a partnership similar to the Keystone Pipeline (a TransCanada & ConocoPhillips partnership). Again free market forces drive firms to spread risk and exploit synergies.

Some Alaskans question Palin's approach and conclusions: Jay Ramras, Ralph Samuels, and Lyda Green to name a few. U.S. Senators Murkowski and Ted Stevens have had next to nothing to say about the A.G.I.A. process, the free market Denali project, or the TransCanada project proposal.

With Oil at $130+/bbl and Gas @ $12+/MMBTU it's time to give the free market a chance or get out of the way.