A Citizen’s Guide

Sen. Gary Wilken, R-Fairbanks, asked representatives of the oil companies in Thursday’s roundtable discussion if they would support giving the state a 51 percent vote on any major change to the route of the pipeline.

Wilken raised the question out of concern that the companies would prefer to build the pipeline along Alaska’s northern Arctic coast directly into Canada, the so-called “over-the-top” route.

Ken Griffin, deputy commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources, responded by saying the project could not be changed to include a route substantially different than the southern highway route agreed to by the state.

Martin Massey of Exxon agreed, saying the description of the project could not be changed without agreement by all parties, including the state.

No one, however, actually answered Wilken’s question of whether they would support giving the state majority voting rights on changing the pipeline route.