An accessible conversation about Cook Inlet natural gas and other locally relevant industry economics will be the focus of the next Kenai Peninsula College Showcase, “Gasonomics,” featuring Larry Persily. The showcase is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 30 in the Kenai River Campus’ McLane Commons.
Persily said Wednesday that he’s planning to cover a “wide range” of topics, including the “extreme unlikelihood” of the Alaska Liquefied Natural Gas project, the state of Cook Inlet natural gas reserves, and the shifting price of oil, but he wants people to feel like they can come and ask questions.
To be explored are the market forces and economics facing the LNG project and discussion around why solutions “aren’t easy.”
Gasonomics will open with a brief outline, then Persily said he plans to take questions for as long as people want. He wants to start a back-and-forth conversation to tackle the complex questions surrounding natural gas with a sense of humor.
The goal, he said, is for people to walk away with a better understanding of the state of natural gas on the Kenai Peninsula and beyond, providing clarity on big topics like why, in 2023, there’s still no LNG pipeline.
Information provided by the showcase says that Persily “as a journalist has focused on oil and gas issues, resource development, taxes and the state’s unsolved fiscal problems.” He has served as a deputy commissioner for the Alaska Department of Revenue, a staffer for a co-chair of the House Finance Committee and chief of staff to Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Mike Navarre.
Owing to his varied background, “decades” spent following these topics, and because he doesn’t represent any company or interest, he said he feels unencumbered to respond honestly and informatively.
“I can’t solve the problems of the world,” Persily said. “But I can explain some.”
Gasonomics with Larry Persily will start at 6 p.m. in the McLane Commons at Kenai Peninsula College’s Kenai River Campus in Soldotna.
For more information, find “Kenai Peninsula College Showcase” on Facebook.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
