By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Nov. 15 -- Six American and three Canadian energy companies Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding construction of an Alaska Highway natural gas pipeline project.
The companies will develop a proposal for a pipeline from Prudhoe Bay field that parallels the Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline System to Fairbanks and then the Alaska Highway to northern Canada.
The nine entities expect to present a proposal to the major Alaskan North Slope producers -- ExxonMobil Corp., BP PLC, and Phillips Petroleum Co. -- by yearend. If agreement is reached, they said the line could be in place by 2008.
The six US companies include subsidiaries of Williams Cos. Inc., Duke Energy Corp., Sempra Energy International, Enron Corp., PG&E Corp., and El Paso Natural Gas Co. The three Canadian companies, TransCanada PipeLines Ltd., Westcoast Energy Inc., and Foothills Pipe Lines Ltd., have remained active partners in the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System (ANGTS) project from its inception.
The parties said the MOU sets principles for reenlisting in the Alaskan partnership to construct the Alaskan portion of the pipeline. A key element of the MOU is that the current and reenlisting parties are committed to eliminating historic and other commercial barriers to the project.
The Alaska Highway project would extend 1,700 miles from the North Slope of Alaska to northwestern Alberta. From there, existing lines would carry the gas to US and Canadian markets.
The companies signing the MOU are the original partners in the Alaskan Northwest Natural Gas Transportation Co. In 1977 the US government designated ANNGTC to construct and operate the Alaska segment of the line. ANNGTC holds a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission certificate and other federal permits for the construction and operation of ANGTS.