I see Colville on one of your maps.
Looks like not far from Alpine that already has a pipeline river crossing?
I assume conoco believes it promising or they would not be pursuing it.
ConocoPhillips’s Alpine Pipeline Company is the managing partner of Alpine Transportation Company (ATC), the owner of the Alpine Pipeline System. Ownership of the Alpine Pipeline System is as follows: ConocoPhillips 65%, Anadarko 18.33%, Arctic Slope Regional Corporation 15%, and Kuukpik Coorporation 1.67%. The Alpine pipeline is approximately 34 miles in length having an outside pipe diameter of 14 inches. The system originates at the Alpine Oil Field on the North Slope and connects into the Kuparuk pipeline 34 miles to the east. The system has one pump station located at the Alpine Field. In its tenth year of operation, ATC currently transports approximately 95,000 barrels per day of crude.
This pipeline dives under the main Colville River. But also remember this pipeline is after the Central Processing Facility. The oil/gas/water are already separated out so it is straight crude in that line, rather than the oil/gas/water mix that will have some separation in the line that goes from the drillpad to the central processing station.
Alpine is not connected to rest of the North Slope on the road system. It is because of the Colville River. Every winter they build an ice-bridge across it, hauling up to 100 ton loads.
I traveled it once, I think in 2005, when the temperature at Alpine dropped to -48°F and they shut down the planes. We were scheduled to head out that day. So we made a caravan to Kuparuk, a couple hour drive on the ice road and bridge. At those temperature, the floor of the heated bus is still so cold that normal shoes become painful as the heat is sucked through your soles and the insulated bus floor.
http://maps.google.com/?ll=70.342284,-150.937729&spn=0.023099,0.13175&t=h&z=14&vpsrc=6
If you are curious, you can go to this link and follow the pipeline as it heads south from Alpine, then turns east then dives under the Colville River.