Alaska state senator Lesil McGuire has introduced a bill (Senate Bill 109) that would grant $475 million in state investment tax credits toward development of plants converting natural gas-, coal- or biomass-to-liquids products (GTL, CTL or BTL = xTL) on the state’s North Slope.
The $475 million credit against state corporate income tax liability would be for each plant built in Alaska, although the credit cannot exceed 60 of the total cost of the facility.
With declining throughput in our pipeline and growing uncertainty over the prospects of a large diameter pipeline we need to look to alternative solutions to monetize our North Slope natural gas resources. A gas-to-liquids facility could provide both a way to develop incremental amounts of North Slope gas and near-term throughput in the pipeline.
—Senator McGuire
Analysis by the Department of Revenue and other economists shows that a 50,000 barrel-a-day GTL facility could generate between $9 and $11 billion in additional state revenues by extending the life of the Trans Alaska Pipeline, additional production, corporate income and property taxes.
Gas-to-liquids is really a value added process that creates good jobs and a whole host of products that command a premium in the market. I introduced Senate Bill 109 to reopen the debate on GTL as a part of the State’s efforts to monetize our gas reserves.
—Senator McGuire