LOS ANGELES, CA Alaska Intrastate Gas Company (AIGCO) and AECOM announces that they have entered into an agreement to provide engineering and associated services that will provide an opportunity to bring gas to 17 southeastern Alaskan communities. The project will include building and operating gas supply infrastructure as a public utility in rural communities that are currently using diesel fuel for heating, industrial process, and power generation needs.

AIGCO is an Alaskan corporation that holds the Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity to provide gas to the 17 Alaskan communities of Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, Cordova, Kodiak, Valdez, Angoon, Craig, Haines, Kake, Klawock, Klukwan, Metlakatla, Petersburg, Skagway, Wrangell, and Yakutat, Alaska. AECOM, a premier, fully integrated global infrastructure firm, and its predecessor companies have been operating in Alaska for 75 years and providing services to Alaska's oil & gas industry since the discovery of oil on the North Slope.

"After considering many partners, we determined AECOM was best suited to spearhead this project, especially in light of the strength of the company and its strong Alaskan roots," said Frank Avezac, Chief Executive Officer of AIGCO. "We look forward to providing low-cost energy to consumers in our service area without requiring them to spend any upfront money to convert to gas, and our relationship with AECOM is a large leap toward making this vision a reality."

In the years ahead, the project is expected to replace diesel and fire wood with clean burning gas, in the form of piped propane mixed with air. We believe the approach is a prudent alternative to bringing liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the state, which at current prices would require subsidized costs. However, if LNG becomes cost effective in the future, it can be seamlessly interfaced into the system.

AIGCO's Chief Financial Officer Juline Magden, said, "Based on the current pricing, we project that customers could realize immediate savings of up to 30 percent, without any out of pocket costs."

"AECOM looks forward to bringing clean burning, lower cost fuel to southeast Alaska," said Larry Head, AECOM's National Practice Leader for Gas Utilities. "We are hoping to break ground in the spring so that we can move towards our ultimate goal of improving the lives and environment for southeast 

Alaskan residents."

Construction of the project is slated to begin in Cordova in early 2016 with Juneau, Valdez and Ketchikan to follow. The first assignment in Cordova will comprise building a propane landing facility and piping infrastructure.