In fall 2008, then-Gov. Sarah Palin stood alongside presidential candidate John McCain on the national campaign trail and proclaimed Alaska was building a multibillion-dollar natural gas pipeline to the lower 48.

"I fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history," she told an enamored crowd at the Republican National Convention last year. "And when that deal was struck, we began a nearly $40-billion natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence."

And after she and her running mate lost the election, she continued to remain optimistic about a pipeline. In her 2009 State of the State address to the Alaska Legislature, Palin called a natural gas pipeline the state's next "economic lifeline."

"I assure you, the line will be built. Gas will flow. Alaska will succeed," she said.

More than 10 months later, Palin's pipeline dream is clouded in uncertainty. There won't be a decision on whether to launch a project until 2014. And between now and then, the $26 billion to $40 billion project must overcome significant challenges, from competing natural gas projects to an industry that's unsure itself whether it wants to pursue the project.

Since the mid-1970s, Alaskans have sought to tap the North Slope's vast natural gas reserves and usher in another pipeline boom. The quest has seen a bumpy road, especially in the past several years. From then-Gov. Frank Murkowski's failed 2006 pipeline deal to the political corruption scandal that set the stage for Palin's popular showdown with industry, a natural gas pipeline project remains elusive. And some are wondering if it is ever going to happen.

Most recently, increasing interest in developing shale gas deposits in the lower 48 has colored the optimism surrounding an Alaska line, long touted as a way to deliver much-needed energy to America and promote energy independence. Does the rest of the world need Alaska's gas? Some say not now, but perhaps down the road, in the 2018 to 2030 timeframe.

The 2010 gubernatorial election will undoubtedly raise questions about the state's current approach to gas development -- one that began under Palin and involves subsidizing a Canadian pipeline company with up to $500 million to spark construction of a pipeline. Palin's administration pegged her big plan -- the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act -- as the answer. But under Gov. Sean Parnell, the administration is cushioning its call of triumph and softening its talk, making it clear that the AGIA is only a framework to spur action among industry to pursue a pipeline, and is not a project itself.

The Parnell administration remains optimistic that natural gas will flow from the North Slope, but the proposed project is cast in uncertainty. What happens if the dream dissolves? When can Alaskans say with confidence what Sarah Palin touted on the national campaign trail last fall -- that Alaska is building a gas pipeline?

The stakes couldn't be higher for the state. Oil taxes and fees fund up to 90 percent of state government. But oil production is in decline, and without that revenue, the treasury could drain in a matter of years. A gas pipeline would provide a new tax-revenue stream.

"A large-capacity natural gas pipeline is the single-most important project to the economic future of Alaska," said Alaska Revenue Commissioner Pat Galvin.

The next economic lifeline

From the time the first North Slope oil well gushed in the late 1960s, Alaska politics and oil have parried back and forth in an uneasy relationship wrought by the state's unique circumstance. Unlike other states, Alaska maintained its sovereignty by securing at statehood ownership of natural resources on millions of acres, with the right to lease those holdings and tax companies for production.

For 30 years, oil has been Alaska's lifeblood. Annual revenue reaching into the billions flowed into state coffers, enabling a fledging new state to add roads and libraries, provide basic services, and invest millions that have grown to billions as the Alaska Permanent Fund, the earnings of which are paid out to residents each year.