The Anchorage headquarters of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, shares space with a sister agency, the Alaska Energy Authority. (Photo by Nathaniel Herz)
The board of Alaska’s embattled economic development agency, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, is set to consider some $70 million in spending and loans for oil and gas development near Anchorage and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
HEX, a privately owned Anchorage-based company, has asked AIDEA for a $50 million line of credit to finance five years of drilling — both in Cook Inlet, offshore of Anchorage, and onshore, on the Kenai Peninsula.
HEX’s drilling effort, AIDEA’s staff wrote in a recent memorandum to board members, is “essential” to alleviate a forecasted shortage of locally produced natural gas. The fuel powers urban Alaska’s power plants and a Kenai Peninsula oil refinery, and utilities have been developing plans to fill gaps with imported liquefied natural gas.
HEX’s chief executive, John Hendrix, has repeatedly argued that drilling for gas on his company’s state leases is too risky unless the state grants concessions that improve his potential for profits.
AIDEA’s board is set to consider HEX’s request at a Wednesday meeting.
The financial terms of the company’s line of credit as proposed by AIDEA staff, including the interest rate, have not been made public. AIDEA meeting documents said those terms are being provided separately to board members under a state law that allows for confidentiality of business information like income tax returns, business plans and trade secrets.
Also on Wednesday’s agenda is a proposal regarding oil leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. AIDEA’s staff, led by Executive Director Randy Ruaro, is asking board members to allow him to bid on those leases in a sale that the Biden administration is required to hold before the end of the year.
AIDEA won leases at a previous sale held by former President Donald Trump’s administration. But those leases were later suspended and canceled by the administration of Trump’s successor, Joe Biden.
If board members approve the proposal, AIDEA would be authorized to spend up to $20 million on bids, consultants, experts and other associated costs.
A third proposal, if approved, would allow AIDEA to hire attorneys to prepare and initiate litigation against the federal government over issues including the upcoming lease sale. The proposal says the Biden administration may use flawed environmental reviews as a basis for making the “most productive portions” of the Arctic Refuge’s coastal plain unavailable for oil development.
Nathaniel Herz welcomes tips at natherz@gmail.com or (907) 793-0312. This article was originally published in Northern Journal, a newsletter from Herz. Subscribe at this link.
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