So you wanna build a gasline, huh?

Conoco & BP today announced their plans for a new company, Denali, that will oversee the construction of a new natural gas pipeline.

“This is not an announcement to build a plan, this is an announcement to start the project. This is what we’re doing today,” Doug Suttles, the head of BP’s Alaska unit, is quoted as saying.

Please forgive me if I don’t start jumping up and down with excitement. Some are saying this is the most important announcement in Alaska’s history. Maybe so, but there’s no way to know that for sure, yet. This is dubious, at best. Why now? And what happened to fiscal certainty?

This is nothing but a big F.U. to Sarah, AGIA and everyone that worked towards and supported that process. Now will come the intense PR campaign to convince us to back down when those fiscal certainty talks roll around again. Conoco and BP are polishing up some juicy, golden carrots to dangle in front of Alaska, but never with a guarantee or date to build. Just enough to turn us away from from our objective and appeal to our sense of fear and greed.

AGIA is working and they’re scared. They’ll fight fear with fear. But Sarah will stand strong, I’m sure of it. I just hope we all continue to stand with her. We have what they need and that need will not go away. Whether it be today or we have to fight many tomorrows, we deserve to get fair profits from our non-renewable resources. Otherwise, we will forever be a welfare, pork-barrel state groveling at the feet of the lower 48.

“Whichever project gets us there first in Alaska’s best interests is what we’ll be supporting. I think it’s further proof that competition does work.” - Sarah Palin in response to Denali announcement

Audio of Governor Palin’s response