Wednesday, 02 November 2011 08:06
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| Aaron Jansen illustration. Alaska Dispatch. |
The Alberta Oil Magazine asked as much of the Calgary-based pipeline firm's chief executive, Russ Girling, during a recent interview, published Tuesday in an article called, "The (Oily and Gassy) World According to TransCanada."
Girling told the magazine that liquefying Alaska's gas reserves and shipping them had, in fact, always been an option under consideration and that if the major producers -- BP, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil -- agreed with Gov. Sean Parnell's position, TransCanada "would 'adjust accordingly'."
Parnell last week made headlines when he told the Alaska Oil and Gas Association he supported an LNG pipeline to tidewater, in light of TransCanada's failure to line up shipping contracts for the Alaska Pipeline Project.
While the "All-Alaska" gasline idea isn't a new one to Alaskans, decades have passed since a governor has blessed it.
Parnell also hinted that Asian markets may ultimately be Alaska's best natural gas customer -- not the U.S. market intended by the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act. Girling wasn't so sure, however. He noted that "despite the shale gas revolution that has North America awash in the stuff, the U.S. market isn't dead":
Our view continues to be that the Lower 48 will continue to need natural gas. It's an 80 billion cubic feet per day market ... and there is a need to replace 100 percent of the supply every five years. There is still a strong case to be made for the Lower 48.
Read more of the interview with TransCanada's chief, including response to concerns about a State Department permitting delay for the Keystone XL pipeline project, at the Alberta Oil Magazine.
Originally posted November 1, 2011