By Tony Hopfinger

OAO Gazprom, the Russian state gas company, reared its head in Alaska on Monday while Governor Sarah Palin was away from the helm, busy on the trail in Virginia running for vice president.

Top officials from the natural-gas giant, including Chief Executive Alexei Miller and about a dozen board members, descended on Anchorage and met with Palin’s team charged with delivering the state a multibillion-dollar natural-gas pipeline...