Governor considers buyback of coal-bed methane leases
ANCHORAGE - Gov. Frank Murkowski has suggested he is open to the possibility of the state buying back coal-bed methane leases before companies start exploring in earnest.
Citizens at public meetings in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and Homer have pressed state officials to purchase gas leases in such sensitive areas as neighborhoods.
Murkowski's comments came Thursday at a press conference in the Hotel Captain Cook.
Asked if the buyback option could fly, the governor recalled a 1976 decision by the Legislature to buy back offshore oil and gas leases in Kachemak Bay.
"We have had a history of buying back offshore leases down in the lower Cook Inlet area, and if that's what the people want, why that's clearly an alternative," Murkowski said.
The governor suggested that the leasing uproar might be resolved by exploring for gas in uninhabited areas. But he also said current efforts to find methane might fizzle.
The governor's comments were strictly preliminary, John Manly, the governor's spokesman, told the Anchorage Daily News.
Any buyback would require approval from the Legislature, Manly said. Before the process moved forward, the governor would need to consult with leasing officials on issues such as cost and alternate lease sites away from populated areas, he said.