A Citizen’s Guide

Gov. Frank Murkowski has planned a weeklong trip to Europe over the Easter holiday. Oil and gas are among the items on the business agenda, but we’re not sure about whether there’s a vacation aspect to this trip—like maybe a visit to an oil refinery while dressing down into shorts and sandals or something.

Murkowski will meet with oil giant Royal Dutch Shell in Amsterdam for a presentation on a process to convert coal to natural gas or synthetic petroleum. The governor said the technology showed promise for use in Alaska’s large coal deposits.

He will then go on to Frankfurt, Germany, where he’ll hold meetings on tourism and seafood marketing.

The governor will then spend the Easter holiday in Poland.

Before returning to Alaska, Murkowski has tentative plans to stop in London to meet with resource company Rio Tinto, which operates the Greens Creek mine in Juneau and has mineral leases near Kotzebue and Nome.

Murkowski said he also plans to meet with executives from BP while in London. The governor said the London stop is dependent on the Legislature’s schedule.

Gov. Frank Murkowski was asked again today whether he was ready to announce his future political plans. And once again he sidestepped the question.

“No, we’re still ready to get this gas line moving,” he said.

Reporters asked if he was delaying a decision for fear of mucking up negotiations with the major oil companies by being seen as either a lame duck or too political.

“Both those points have some validity and I’m just not ready to make an announcement,” he said.

So the wait continues.