Alaska politicians may try to use AIDEA to invest in ANWR tracts

A state-owned agency that endeavors to keep as many secrets as possible has just scheduled a secret session for Dec. 23 to discuss “confidential matters related to a potential new project for the Arctic Infrastructure Development Fund.”

This is to be followed by a resolution “for the funding of the Arctic Infrastructure Development Funding.”

While that phrase makes no sense at all, we are left to guess about what might be happening because the resolution has not been made public.

My guess is that AIDEA wants to meet in secret to talk about bidding on tracts in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an idea floated by former Govs. Frank Murkowski and Bill Walker.

Perhaps that’s the wrong guess. Maybe AIDEA wants to invest in plans by Santa Claus to amp up toy production infrastructure at the North Pole or expand the flying reindeer market.

The timing of this meeting, revealed in a public notice posted at the close of business Friday, makes me think that timing is a big factor. The Jan. 6 ANWR lease sale, unless stopped by the courts, requires bids be made before the end of the month.

AIDEA is owned by the state, so Alaskans deserve to be part of the debate, even if it takes place on the afternoon of Dec. 23. And we shouldn’t be forced to guess about what AIDEA is doing with our money.

The AIDEA Arctic Infrastructure Fund had $35 million, as of this June 30 audit.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy can’t bid on ANWR tracts without a legislative appropriation, but the AIDEA board might claim that it’s a good investment to tie up millions for a prolonged battle with the Biden administration.

The AIDEA board consists of people who would think that using state money to bid on tracts in ANWR is a tremendous idea. There are two state employees—Commerce Commissioner Julie Anderson, former Sen. Anna MacKinnon, along with Dana Pruhs, Julie Sande, Bernie Karl, Albert Fogle and Bill Kendig.

If all seven of them agree to risk their own fortunes in this endeavor, they’d have an easier time making the case that this is a sound business proposition.

The logic for having the state invest in ANWR is that since the oil companies may not do it, it makes perfect sense for the state to get involved. This turns 40 years of political babbling about the ANWR bonanza on its head. Instead of getting 90 percent of the lease sale money or even 50 percent, the state would get nothing.

The oil industry hasn’t been clamoring for an ANWR lease sale, which is probably why the Trump administration delayed it so long that it has become legally vulnerable. There is a possibility the courts will delay the Jan. 6 sale, which would be tantamount to killing it.

“So far, there has been no indication from the producers of an intent to bid on the tracts,” Murkowski wrote in a newspaper column calling for state bids instead of private bids.

Walker wrote that the state “should submit a minimum bid on every tract put up for lease, not to compete with other bidders, but to ensure Alaska is at the table in the event there are few to no bids submitted. This would assure that the leases would then be under state or private control and the state would be positioned to transfer its holdings to private control in the future.”

“Trading investment dollars for developing valuable revenue producing leases, which when operational could generate a handsome return to the investors,” Murkowski said of his plan. But the oil industry doesn’t see it that way, which means that this may not be as good an investment as the proposed road to Mars that Mike Doogan once wrote about.

To push the state’s claim to ANWR leases, the Dunleavy administration may turn to its version of an elite strike force—the plan to spend $4 million hiring lawyers for “Outside counsel and expertise for statehood defense” and to “develop and protect the state’s natural resources . . .”

Considering that $500,000 has been wasted so far in hiring Trump’s lawyer on losing a simple case, Dunleavy will have to ask the Legislature for a lot more than $4 million to push the ANWR battles ahead.

But remember, I’m just guessing because these are state secrets.