Alaskan North Slope natural gas will soon have a direct route to markets in the Lower 48, thanks to a deal signed with Calgary, Alberta-based TransCanada Pipelines;
Gov. Sarah Palin on Wednesday signed a bill giving the state authority to award TransCanada Corp a license to build and operate a multibillion-dollar pipeline to ship natural gas from the North Slope.
The line, which the company estimates will cost $26 billion to build, would ship about 4 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day starting in 2018, according to TransCanada's plan.
Two big oil producers, BP and ConocoPhillips, are pushing a competing natural gas pipeline plan. But the license to TransCanada would ensure that the state would not negotiate with any other developer.
An overview of the project is available here.
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