Senate OKs Tax Breaks for Alaskan Pipeline

Oil Daily, The, April, 2002

Senate OKs Tax Breaks for Alaskan Pipeline

The US Senate easily approved a tax incentive for a proposal to build a natural gas pipeline from the Alaska North Slope to the lower 48 states, giving a leg up for a project considered iffy.

The tax incentive proposal was among a stack of amendments that the Senate shuffled through late on Tuesday with the aim of wrapping up debate on a comprehensive energy policy bill by today.

Under newfound bipartisanship, senators agreed unanimously to an amendment from Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska) to provide tax credits to the companies -- Exxon Mobil, BP, and Phillips -- considering construction of the pipeline (OD Apr.24 p1).

Touted as a financial safety net, the tax credit is expected to eliminate...