Looking to the Future
The North Slope of Alaska holds approximately 35 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of currently proven natural gas reserves, and an estimated additional 100 to 200 tcf could ultimately be discovered. Connecting these vast reserves to Alaskan, North American and potentially world markets holds the promise of tremendous benefits to Alaska, the U.S. and Canada.
Benefits for Alaskans & Canadians: Jobs, Revenue and Energy
Getting North Slope gas to market will mean major opportunities for Alaskans and Canadians and their local economies. The project has the potential to:
- Create thousands of jobs for Alaskans and Canadians, including Alaska Natives, First Nations and other Canadian aboriginal peoples.
- Offer consumers and industries in Alaska, the U.S. and Canada the opportunity to obtain North Slope natural gas supplies for local needs. Both pipeline route options being considered by the project 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.
- Provide new opportunities for businesses that will support pipeline construction and operation.
- Generate 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.
- Extend the economic life of existing North Slope fields by encouraging new oil and gas exploration and production.
Clean Burning and Reliable Energy
The Alaska Pipeline Project can help provide Alaska, the United States and Canada with a stable and secure source of clean energy for decades to come. When completed, the project will 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.
North America faces rapidly growing demand for reliable sources of clean-burning energy for generating electricity, transportation, industrial uses and home heating. Natural gas demand in North America is expected to steadily increase over the next several decades. Much of the growth in natural gas demand will be driven by the need for natural gas at power generation facilities responding to requirements to reduce air emissions. Natural gas can produce energy with lower emissions levels than other comparable fuels such as coal and oil.
To meet North American demand, new natural gas sources must constantly be brought online as output from earlier sources naturally decline. This combined effect of steadily increasing demand and the constant need to replace old supplies makes it likely there will be a market for the new natural gas supplies provided by the Alaska Pipeline Project.