TransCanada launches open season for proposed Alaska gas pipeline

TransCanada on April 30 began taking bids for space on its proposed natural gas pipeline from the North Slope.
The open season is the 90-day period in which a pipeline owner takes bids on space in the proposed line. Depending on the bids and the conditions placed upon them, the project might or might not proceed.
The Alaska Pipeline Project, as TransCanada has dubbed its proposal, was developed in accordance with the process outlined in the state’s Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA). That means the proposal complies with a variety of state-imposed requirements, in exchange for state assistance with the preconstruction planning and design costs and certain incentives.
The bids, if they come, will come from gas owners, and that primarily means the three major North Slope petroleum producers.
Exxon Mobil, the primary leaseholder at the North Slope’s largest undeveloped gas field, Point Thomson, is working with TransCanada. The two firms together have proposed two alternatives - a 1,700-mile line to Alberta, Canada, or an 800-mile bullet line to Valdez.

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.