Stevens says AGIA pipeline a flop, calls for trans-Alaska gas pipeline

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens says the AGIA pipeline plan has flopped and the state should put up billions to pay half the cost of an in-state natural gas pipeline project to Kenai.
It should also switch its support to the building of a trans-Alaska pipeline to Valdez that would export LNG to the Pacific Rim nations, Stevens told Anchorage businessmen at a Commonwealth North meeting on March 12.
“Let’s move ahead. We don’t need any more open seasons, we don’t need any more periods for analysis. We need an emphasis on getting the job done,” he said.
Stevens was among those in Alaska championing the idea of building a gas pipeline along the oil pipeline route to the coast.

TransCanada files open-season plan for proposed gas line

ANCHORAGE - TransCanada Corp. on Jan. 29 filed hundreds of pages of new information with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) describing how it plans to obtain commitments for natural gas to fill its proposed multibillion-dollar North Slope pipeline.
The documents show that building the pipeline could be nearly twice as expensive as TransCanada, a Canadian pipeline company, predicted three years ago. However, the new estimates - ranging from $26 billion to $41 billion - are within the range that has been used by state officials for the project, which many see as critical to Alaska's future economy.
The documents also reveal that the company is trying to sweeten the deal for potential shippers - including oil producers BP, Conoco Phillips and Exxon Mobil. TransCanada says it is reducing the amount it will charge to ship the gas by $500 million per year for 25 years, or $12.5 billion. That's possibly good news for people in Alaska: lower shipping costs translate to higher royalties and tax revenue for the state and larger profits for the producers.