Alaska gov.'s pipeline bill seen passing: official - Reuters

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Alaska gov.'s pipeline bill seen passing: official

1 hour, 17 minutes ago

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Alaska's state legislature will approve a
proposal from Governor Sarah Palin to allow competitive bidding
for rights to build a long-envisioned Alaska North Slope natural
gas pipeline, a top federal pipeline official predicted on Monday.

"Governor Palin is going to get a bill," Drue Pearce, the federal
coordinator for the Alaska pipeline project, told Pipeline
Opportunities Conference in Houston.

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The pipeline, a mega-project proposed long ago by Alaska
officials, would provide a method of delivering the North Slope's
proven reserves of about 35 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

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Palin's plan, which was introduced in March, replaces a failed
contract that former Gov. Frank Murkowski proposed with BP Plc,
ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil Corp.. Some thought the contract
was too much of a giveaway to the oil giants and it was rejected
by lawmakers and the public.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070326/pl_nm/alaska_pipeline_dc_2