In-state gasline task force: costs could top $11 bln

According to Reuters, a task force formed to study the feasibility of a 24-inch diameter natural gas pipeline from Alaska's North Slope to the Anchorage area, a project known as the "Alaska Stand Alone Pipeline Project," has given its report to the Legislature. The study concludes that the line will likely cost between $5.7 billion and $11.8 billion and will likely require state subsidy or partial state ownership to become a reality. The in-state gasline is viewed as a back-up to the large-diameter export lines being proposed to run from the Slope to Alberta, but the task force anticipates that population centers along Alaska's road system will need new supplies of energy before a big line can be completed. Read much more, here.