Claims that huge shale gas plays in the Lower 48 and Canada will dampen the viability of an Alaska natural gas pipeline are unfounded, state Revenue Commissioner Pat Galvin said at a public meeting Tuesday night in Anchorage.

Some people may find it politically expedient to say those unprecedented shale gas plays are akin to a curtain call on plans to tap the North Slope's vast gas reserves and build a giant pipeline to the Lower 48, but the truth is just the opposite, he said. A plan by TransCanada Corp. to build a line, with the state as a $500 million partner, is looking better than ever.

"Contrary to the rumors that may be out there, the project is moving along very well," Galvin said. "It is extremely healthy from an economic standpoint ... it is even more optimistic than when we were talking about this a year and a half ago."

He and Mark Myers, the state's Alaska Gasline Inducement Act coordinator, didn't waver in their support for the pipeline while addressing a group of about two dozen in a presentation arranged by state Sen. Bill Wielechowski and Reps. Pete Petersen and Max Gruenberg. A fourth Anchorage Democrat, Rep. Chris Tuck, also sat in.

That's despite increasing concerns that the state's deal to subsidize TransCanada isn't a wise investment and that a changing worldwide natural gas picture could put the economic pinch on the state's pipeline plans.

Abundant shale gas reserves may be more expensive to access than reported, but the promise of the clean fuel may drive demand as power plants and others shift from less environmentally sound resources, like coal, Myers said. Shale gas supplies could taper off by the time Alaska gas would start flowing. The take by some industry insiders that shale gas supplies could cut out Alaska's gas is "a goofy conclusion," he said.

Voices have grown louder in recent months questioning the pipeline's viability and the wisdom of the state's half-a-billion-dollar subsidy to TransCanda to spark construction on a gas-line. Part of the dissent may be because pipeline project planners - both with TransCanada, which lured Exxon Mobil Corp. as a partner on a gas treatment plant, and Denali, a partnership of ConocoPhillips and BP - are working less in the public eye as they each develop their own project cost estimates that will come into play next year during an open season. That's when the pipeline company lays out its project, including costs and potential tariffs, and asks companies with gas to commit to buying space in the line. Pipeline builders need those commitments to secure project financing, which in turn helps in acquiring a certificate to start work from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Galvin said the open season -- which should conclude in July for TransCanada -- will be the moment of truth for Alaska gas. Producers will be offered a commercial opportunity and a chance to "put their money where their mouth is," he said.

He said AGIA was always intended to simply jump-start work toward a gas pipeline, and as long as the state sticks to its deal with TransCanada, Alaska can move cautiously with hard data to "evaluate the economics of this project ... and make a decision as to whether additional state changes to our fiscal system are warranted."

Producers have long held that developing gas resources will only prove economical if the state agrees to more favorable fiscal terms.

Contact Rena Delbridge at rena_alaskadispatch.com