Alaska Pipeline Project is a joint effort between TransCanada and Exxon Mobil to develop a natural gas pipeline under the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act.
The open season offering will be assessed by potential shippers over a three-month period from April 30 through July 30, 2010. The project has provided information to potential shippers in Alaska and Canada on its anticipated engineering design, commercial terms, estimated projects costs and timelines.
Shippers will assess this information and determine their interest in making a contractual commitment to reserve capacity on the pipeline. Two options will be provided in the open season. The first option is a pipeline from Alaska’s North slope, through Alaska, the Yukon territory and British Columbia, to Alberta, Canada, a distance of approximately 1,700 miles, where the gas can be delivered on existing pipeline systems serving North American markets.
The second option will transport natural gas from the North slope to Valdez, Alaska, a distance of approximately 800 miles, where it will be converted to liquefied natural gas in a facility to be built by others and then delivered by ship to North American and international markets.
Both options are expected to provide opportunities for Alaska communities to acquire natural gas from a minimum of five delivery points on the pipeline. The Alberta option will additionally provide the opportunity for local natural gas deliveries in Canada.
The gas treatment plant (GTP) and Point Thomson natural gas transmission pipeline are components of both options. The GTP will be built next to the North slope’s Prudhoe Bay facilities to treat the gas so it can be shipped on the pipeline. An approximately 58 mile pipeline will connect the natural gas supplies of the Point Thomson field to the plant and pipeline. Only one of the two project options will advance and it is anticipated that the results of the open season will determine the preferred option.
