ExxonMobil To Work With TransCanada On Alaska Gas Pipeline

On June 11, Exxon Mobile Corp., the largest natural gas holder on the North Slope, said it will work on the long awaited natural gas pipeline project with TransCanada Corp. In an article from the Anchorage Daily News, the two companies said Exxon will participate in all aspects of TransCanada’s project: technical, commercial, regulatory and financial. TransCanada will retain the lead in its project and be majority owner. The alliance of Exxon and TransCanada was hailed by Governor Sarah Palin, whose administration is backing the TransCanada project under legislation – the Alaska Gas Line Inducement Act she pushed through in 2007, her first year in office. The TransCanada Exxon project is one of two being explored to bring the North Slope’s huge gas reserved to Lower 48 customers. ConocoPhillips and BP, the second and third largest holders of the North Slope gas reserves, are pursuing a separate pipeline project called Denali.