Did You Know There's an AGIA Information Meeting Wednesday in Anchorage?

And Thursday. And Friday?

Click on the images to enlarge them

This is in the Howard Rock Ballroom of the Sheraton Hotel starting at 8:30am




OK, you (Alaskans) have all heard the term AGIA. But do you know what the letters stand for?

Go ahead, write down as many of them as you think you can.

No, don't skip it, do it. Think hard. You should get some of the letters right.





The Anchorage Daily News had an editorial in Sunday's paper explaining some of the basic issues. Well these aren't all issues, but these are their headings:

• Open Access is Key
• Binding Commitments
• The Legislature's Turn
• The Conoco-BP Proposal
• Tax Changes?
• Sovereign, Not Supplicant

I've looked hard in today's paper but I see nothing about the issue at all. Not even a mention of tomorrow's public information sessions. Maybe I just missed it.

Steve Heimel interviewed Marty Rutherford, Deputy Commissioner, Alaska Department of Natural Resources, on APRN's Talk of Alaska (links to audio of show) today about the subject. There's a lot more information there. Rutherford says at 5:19 of the APRN audio:

The distinction between the two is stark. And I want to focus on that, because what AGIA is all about is saying that if in fact the State is going to give value from the ledger, that is the people’s ledger to the stockholders of the companies’ ledger then in fact there are some things you have to protect to insure Alaska’s economic interest And that has to do with an open access pipeline. So, what does an open access pipeline mean? It is all about insuring that it is an expandable line, a line that is run by a company that is motivated to expand that line when new gas is available, not to use that transportation system as some sort of a monopoly. Not as some sort of barrier to entry to the North Slope basins. That is one of the most significant ways Alaska’s future economic interests are protected, because you only have people willing to make investment decisions to explore for gas and often times they will find oil as a result of that. You only have that opportunity if you know in fact you can get your gas into the pipeline.

(This starts at 5:19 of the audio from APRN’s audio. It's 59 minutes long. You can put it on your iPod and listen while you ....)

(Yes you have to listen to the audio to find out what "the two" refers to.)

The decisions that are made on these issues - the legislature has a special session on this staring June 3 - will significantly impact the future of the state. Many Alaskans have opinions on this already. But do they, do you, know what it is about?

We all have opinions of whether it should be all Alaska, LNG, through Canada, etc. But how many know any of the facts? Or more than just the facts that justify our opinions? Or even the terminology. Below is the glossary from the Department of Natural Resource's Report on the pipeline. Do you even know 20 of the terms? Ten?






The answers are all here. Check them out. Print them out. Put them on your refrigerator. Have a contest with your housemates. Carry them in your car and test yourself while you are waiting at a red light. If you don't even know the words, how can you have an opinion?

By the way, AGIA stands for Alaska Gasline Inducement Act.