Sit Down Alaska; It’s China’s Gas?

The news broke on Wednesday night that Alaska’s governor Bill Walker and President Donald Trump inked a deal with Sinopec and China Investment Corporation to begin the planning process of a long-awaited liquid natural gas pipeline. This project is in its infancy, as is the agreement between all parties involved, and there are still many details that must be settled over the next twelve to eighteen months. Regardless, there are things about this project that make me nervous already. I am a lifelong resident of Alaska, and although I can see how this project might be great for our state, I can also see how it might not be a good idea for us to jump in bed with organizations that will have the rights to seventy-five percent of the liquid natural gas that comes out of that line.

Sinopec is a Chinese oil and gas corporation with their offices in Beijing, and the China Investment Corporation is a sovereign fund with direct ties to the communist party that governs politics in the Chinese homeland. They are prepared to invest as much as forty billion dollars to bring the liquid natural gas pipeline to life, but at this point they are the sole contributors to this project, and it seems dangerous to give a government entity from another country so much power in a project that is impactful for Alaskan people. When the Alyeska Pipeline was constructed in 1977, it was the most expensive project…