Iam very pleased to be able to announce that CIRI has secured an opportunity to invest directly in a proposed multi-billion dollar trans-Alaska/trans-Canada natural gas pipeline project as part of a partnership with MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company. Transporting natural gas from Alaska’s North Slope along the Alaska Highway to Lower 48 markets has substantial potential for CIRI.

The approval of MidAmerican’s application to the state moves us a huge step closer to the development of the natural gas reserves and the North Slope. This process has involved senior management of MidAmerican, state officials, and others, all focused on the goal of finding a way to achieve construction of a natural gas pipeline in Alaska with Alaskan ownership being a key ingredient.

Construction of the gas pipeline would be one of the largest projects ever undertaken in history in terms of dollars to be spent, and it has the potential to greatly enhance Alaska’s economic future as well as CIRI’s. Plans call for construction of a 48-inch diameter high-pressure natural gas pipeline. The project would have an initial design capacity of about 4.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day with the capacity of increasing to 5 Bcf/d.

Alaskans haven’t had an ownership interest in the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, and it has piped millions of dollars worth of Alaska oil wealth outside. CIRI and other Alaska Native companies will be directly involved in this gas pipeline, helping to keep profits and jobs in Alaska.

As you know, for some time now, I have discussed the importance of patience with you in regard to quality business opportunities. The strategy we have developed in recent years has focused on restraint in order to reach our long-term goal of finding high quality, profitable investments with outstanding business partners who are capable of executing complex transactions.

Waiting requires forbearance and strength of will. The thing is, it can also yield key strategic opportunities. And that is exactly what has happened at this point in CIRI’s history. The CIRI Board of Directors maintained its focus on the long-term, remembering that we got where we are today through years of building an investment base, riding out the highs and the lows of the national economy and stock market by maintaining our foundation as a diversified company.

CIRI’s recent financial performance has allowed the corporation to accrue the funds needed to participate in a project of this nature independently. We have stood poised, ready to get on with the business of growing our corporation to new heights, and yet patiently waiting for the best possible opportunity. This gasline opportunity shows why it pays to exercise patience.

There will be many more steps before this pipeline becomes a reality. Federal legislation to provide key incentives will be necessary. An agreement with the State of Alaska governing many issues is required. And key economic forces, such as interest rates and Lower 48 natural gas prices, need to remain stable in order to make this project viable. If all goes well, the pipeline could be moving gas as early as 2010.

This project has the potential to be a great thing for CIRI. It holds the promise of financial growth not only through our investment in the pipeline but through our construction companies. It can be good for CIRI shareholders and other Alaska Natives who stand to benefit in the form of jobs. And it holds the potential to be good for all Alaskans and Alaska’s economic future.