Looking to the Future
The Alaska Pipeline Project is important to the future of Alaska, Canada and the broader United States for many reasons:
Benefits for Alaskans & Canadians
Depending on the pipeline route selected, the Alaska Pipeline Project will transport natural gas from Alaska’s North Slope to markets in Alaska, and possibly Canada, the lower 48 states and international markets. The North Slope of Alaska holds approximately 35 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of currently proven natural gas reserves, and it is estimated that another 100 to 200 tcf ultimately could be discovered. Connecting these vast reserves to growing North American and potentially world markets holds the promise of tremendous benefits to Alaska, Canada and the broader United States:
- Offering Alaskan, Canadian and U.S. consumers and industries the opportunity to obtain North Slope natural gas supplies for local needs from the main pipeline.
- Creating thousands of jobs and job training opportunities for Alaskans and Canadians, including Alaska Native and Canadian aboriginal peoples.
- Providing new opportunities for businesses that will support pipeline construction and operation.
- Generating billions of dollars in natural gas revenues to the State of Alaska, helping to offset the decline in oil revenues and to sustain contributions to Alaska’s Permanent Fund.
- Extending the economic life of existing North Slope fields by encouraging new oil and gas exploration and production.
Gas for Local Needs
Communities in Alaska and Canada know the importance of energy in their daily lives. A frigid Arctic winter and a big energy bill say it all. That’s why both of the open season options would provide the opportunity for a number of connections to the main pipeline, called off-takes, that would allow local natural gas suppliers to obtain natural gas to meet community needs.
Clean Burning and Reliable
North America faces rapidly growing demand for reliable sources of clean-burning energy for generating electricity, transportation, supplying other businesses and heating homes. Even when new discoveries of shale gas are considered, additional natural gas resources will be required to supply the energy needs projected by the U.S. Department of Energy. Demand for natural gas runs high, underlining the need to have new domestic supplies.
The Alaska Pipeline Project would help provide Alaska, and the United States and Canada with a stable and secure source of domestic clean energy for decades to come. When completed, the project is expected to provide an initial capacity of up to 4.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas each day. The system will be designed to allow for future capacity expansions as well.