ADN by Nathanial Herz.  

… At a news conference Friday, (Governor Bill Walker) repeatedly ticked through a list of project agreements that the state had failed to reach in its negotiations with the producers, including a commitment from them that they wouldn’t block the pipeline’s construction if they decide to pull out of the partnership with Alaska.

CLICK HERE to watch the governor's press conference

“If you don’t know your history, you’re destined to repeat it. And that’s the problem we’ve had with the gas line for the past several decades. And we are destined to repeat it unless we take a bold move and do what’s best for Alaska,” Walker said. “This is not anything about anti-oil. This is about pro-Alaska.”

The gas tax will be debated at a special session of the Legislature that Walker is convening in Juneau Oct. 24.

The concept, however, faces widespread skepticism from oil companies, observers, and the lawmakers who must approve it — many of whom say they feared a new tax could upend a delicate agreement between the state and its three oil company partners. 

In a pair of prepared statements Friday, ExxonMobil and BP — two of Alaska’s partners in the pipeline project and, with ConocoPhillips, the major North Slope oil producers — both said a gas tax would impede the state’s progress on the project, which could cost up to $65 billion.

Alaska House Speaker Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski, said in his own prepared statement that he was “shocked” by an “unusual and confrontational step.”

“Why is there a need to take a shot at our partners?” Chenault said, citing Walker’s optimistic statements last week about Asian demand for Alaska’s gas.