Friday, September 16, 2016

The Walker Administration's "Essential Steps in Obtaining a Healthy Oil and Gas Industry": What was -- and was not -- said ...



Above are the slides from John Hendrix's presentation at #AKRDC yesterday morning, The video of the presentation (about 30 min) is at https://goo.gl/sCCm0y.

The presentation was more aspirational than concrete, but informative in the sense of which subjects were emphasized and which not. For example, a significant part of the presentation was focused on the #AKLNG project, but Hendrix did not bring up the prospect of the state proceeding alone to enter into EPC contracts, something which we and others have raised as a huge red flag. "The most recent update from #AGDC is horrible," https://goo.gl/1r2GNx We (perhaps wishfully, but nevertheless earnestly) hope that indicates some rethink on the Administration's part of going down that road.

And while mentioned, the presentation did not dwell on Alaska's unique tax credit program (what we and others sometimes call "Medicaid for Oil Companies"). If Alaska truly is to regain control of state spending, this is a program that needs to be terminated this coming session. "Why we need to halt the reimbursement of oil credits — and how …," https://goo.gl/vyyfEx.

As the last two questions Hendrix received following his presentation -- from Rep. Dan Saddler and the Alaska Oil and Gas Association's Kara Moriarty -- indicate (beginning at 25:50 of the video), many in the audience perceive a significant gap between Hendrix's aspirational goals and this Administration's performance. Hendrix's response to Saddler -- "message received" -- was .... well, interesting. Many will be focused this coming fall on whether it truly was.

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