Alaska officials want to invest billions of state dollars in a major natural gas transportation project that they say will increase energy sales and boost state revenue. The administration of Gov. Sean Parnell, a Republican, said Wednesday that it would seek lawmakers’ approval of an agreement with several big energy companies that would allow Alaska to become an equity partner in the export project, which state officials have been pursuing for years. Oil production has been declining in Alaska, prompting Mr. Parnell and his predecessors to seek ways to shore up the state’s finances, which have been heavily dependent on oil taxes and royalties. Officials have been eager to unlock natural gas that is trapped underground near the Prudhoe Bay oil fields and in another gas-rich region called Point Thomson. “We have a compelling interest in seeing these resources monetized,” Natural Resources Commissioner Joe Balash said […]