Alaska official lays out in-state gas plan

ASSociated Press/Forbes ^ | 03.03.09 | ANNE SUTTO

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A state official charged with helping develop a small diameter natural gas pipeline from the North Slope to Cook Inlet said Tuesday the so-called bullet line could cost about $4 billion and bring gas to Alaska homes and businesses as early as 2015.

Harry Noah, recently appointed project manager of an in-state gas line by Gov. Sarah Palin, outlined the schedule with Palin at a news conference.

"This schedule is very ambitious. A lot of things can affect it but when you are trying to develop a project, it's always easy to go slower, but if you stretch it out, it's very hard to contract it later on," Noah said.

Noah said he would build on work done by Anchorage natural gas company, Enstar, and the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority to determine if the state should sanction a gas line that could provide a low cost energy alternative to the state's Interior region and replenish dwindling gas supplies from Cook Inlet gas fields.

The most viable project identified so far is an 800-mile, 24-inch diameter pipe between the North Slope and Cook Inlet that would have two compressor stations and provide about 500 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, he said.