Denali awards contract for design of giant gas treatment plant

JUNEAU, Alaska - The company competing with state-endorsed TransCanada to build a large-diameter natural gas pipeline from Alaska’s North Slope is spending several million dollars on early engineering for a gas treatment facility there.
The plant would be the largest of its kind and could cost $5 billion to $6 billion, said Dave MacDowell, director of media and communications for Denali The Alaska Gas Pipeline LLC, a partnership formed by North Slope producers BP and ConocoPhillips.
The engineering work is a major step toward an open season. Treatment plant costs will factor into the tariffs producers will pay to ship gas through the line.
Denali and TransCanada have competing proposals to build a large-diameter, transcontinental gas line. Denali has actively advertised each step toward an open season.
TransCanada won a state license and up to $500 million through the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act in 2008.